The baby is always moving and swimming. You’ll be astounded at what more your baby is capable of besides kicking, though. Feeling the movements inside your womb when pregnant is one of the most beautiful experiences you might have. Here are 13 secrets of baby behavior in the womb:
- Your baby’s first movements start at about the ninth gestational week. Though a mother might not begin to feel these movements yet, they can be seen in an ᴜʟᴛʀᴀsᴏᴜɴᴅ.
- Mothers begin to feel the fetal movement between the 16th and 20th gestational weeks when they can feel the baby stretch, twist, and kick. Around the 25th week, your baby would be able to expand her lungs and get ready for life outside the womb.
- After the 16th week, your baby can move 50 times or more every hour. By the 29th week, you may feel the baby move ten times an hour. Movements could involve extending the body, flexing, moving the head or face, moving the limbs, and trying to touch the warm surroundings. A baby may try to touch her face, feel one hand with the other, or reach for the ᴜᴍʙɪʟɪᴄᴀʟ ᴄᴏʀᴅ.
- By the 20th week of pregnancy, your baby may have developed certain gestures that she will retain in the postnatal years.
- As your baby grows bigger inside, there will be a shift in his movements. The somersaults might almost be replaced by kicks because there is little room inside for your baby to move around so much.
- Babies are active during the day, just after the mother has had breakfast. Be ready to experience a lot of kicks as you sit or lie down. When you move to seat yourself comfortably, the baby will try to move too.
- Sometimes you might not feel the baby move. This would be your baby’s napping time. Yours and your baby’s nap times can differ and as you advance into your pregnancy you will feel that your baby’s sleep duration lasts longer.
- Your doctor might recommend that you count the ꜰᴇᴛᴀʟ movements beginning in the 28th week. Now is when you can feel your baby move several times a day. Counting your baby’s kicks, jabs, and rolls might help you identify potential problems and be instrumental in preventing sᴛɪʟʟʙɪʀᴛʜ.
- Some mothers might find it hard to feel the kicks. If you are overweight or if the placenta is on the front side of the womb, you may feel fewer kicks.
- At around 32 weeks, your baby sleeps deeply 90-95% of the day. At times it could be REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep whereby your baby can move her eyes back and forth, and some scientists believe that ꜰᴇᴛᴜsᴇs can dream during this time. At other times, your baby would be in an indeterminate state of sleep due to her immature brain.
- At around the 36th week of gestation, babies would pass through sleep cycles alternating between deep and light sleep, which lasted about 70-90 minutes. Unlike in deep sleep, in light sleep your baby will move around a little and even suckle her finger or thumb.
- As your baby is close to being born, she sleeps about 85-90% of the time, which is the same after she is born.
- Most mothers find sleeping on the left side convenient as it gives maximum comfort and also makes it effective for monitoring their babies. It also helps in ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ circulation, making your baby more active.
They could be kicking, but they could also be exploring the world out of curiosity. So now you know how your baby moves and spends time inside the womb.
