Feeling your baby moving for the first time is a strong time of pregnancy. The Baby’s movements, which are more like a sensation of bubbles at their appearance around 3 and a half months of pregnancy, are for the future mom a first way to communicate with him. They are also a sign of fetal well-being.
When does baby start moving?
Baby moves very early during pregnancy. From The 7th week of pregnancy (9 SA), the embryo that measures between 17 and 22 mm makes tiny movements. Around the tenth week, his muscles form little by little and the movements are getting a little more frequent. Around the 13th week, the muscles get stronger, its members are getting longer; the process of ossification of the skeleton continues actively and some of its joints are functional. This way, he can already close his small hands, open his mouth and perform the essential gesture of suction. But these moves are then imperceptible for the future mom, who has to wait a few weeks to feel her baby moving.
It is usually around 16-18 sa, or 4 months of pregnancy, that the pregnant woman sees the first movements of her baby. And usually a little earlier if it’s not a first pregnancy because the cervical muscle will have been swollen by the previous pregnancy, but also because having already experienced the movements of the baby in utero, the future mom will probably recognize them more easily .
What moves does he make?
The range of movements of the foetus is wide, and range from the smallest movement to large-scale movements of the whole body. In Utero, the baby closes his hands, turns his head, folds his legs and arms, puts his body in extension, jumps, turns around, carries his hand to his mouth, etc… continuously ingesting amniotic fluid, he Also exercises to a very important movement: the one of the swallow.
When baby moves too much, should we worry?
It’s usually around the 6-7 months of pregnancy that the baby is the most active. Her body has developed well and there is still enough room in her mom’s belly to make large movements, which sometimes wake up the mom at night, or prevents her from finding sleep. Important and frequent movements are not a sign of alert, on the contrary: they are signs of its vitality. Fetal movements have always been considered by the medical world as a sign of the well-being. By the way, from the second quarter, during every prenatal consultation, the gynecologist or the midwife will ask the future mom if she sees the movements of her baby.
At the end of pregnancy, it is normal that the baby’s movements are less large because there is simply lack of room in the womb that has become very narrow. However, it is important to stay attentive to the fetal movements and their frequency. In the total absence of movements during a day, it is recommended to go to obstetric emergencies. This lack of movement is indeed an alert signal.
A routine review of more than 71 pregnant women compared several methods of counting fetal movements as a control of baby’s well-being. No method of counting is superior to another, concluded the review. In the end, the future mom must trust her feeling.
Is this for the baby a way to communicate?
Until the second half of pregnancy, the baby moves of because his brain is not yet able to control his movements. Then as weeks, as its nervous system continues to mature and its different senses develop, the baby’s movements can respond to different external stimuli. From The 6th month of pregnancy, the baby’s body is filled with Tactile Receiver, so it is sensitive to the touch. It is also on this ability that the haptonomie or “Science of touch”, is to communicate with the foetus through the placing of hands on the belly.
His hearing also develops as soon as possible, and of have shown that a strong noise caused an acceleration of heart rate and overall movements in the baby, while low intensity noise caused movements of the eyelids. Studies have also shown that a strong emotion in the future mom can cause a sudden hormone secretions immediately caused the baby to react.
Around The 7th month of pregnancy the moro reflex is set up. It is an ancient defense reflex in reaction to an external stimulation: in the face of a sudden noise, the baby is cambre and rejects his arms back. At his birth, the pediatrician will control this reflex to check the correct functioning of the newborn’s nervous system.
The movements of the foetus also have a normal function: they participate in the good development of its joints. In order for the bending and extension movements to be possible, joint cartilage must be used. By Moving, the baby also strengthens all his muscles.
What sensations for the mom?
Baby movements are seen differently during pregnancy, and this evolution seems to be significantly identical in all pregnant women, showed a study.
The participants all described the very first fetal movements as very soft movements, " like a feather in the belly ", " a little breath in the belly, very soft " or " butterflies ".
Then over the weeks, the movements are bigger, stronger and more frequent. Future moms perceive " kicks ", " hiccups " of their baby. They distinguish between the movements of the members, short and net, and those of the whole body of their baby, sweeter.