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Baby Begins Responding and Sensing Touch
The tactile system begins to develop from week 7-8, allowing the foetus to feel and sense its own body and mother's belly. The foetus develops eyes and ears during weeks 4-9, and they start to function around weeks 18-24. The foetus's retina starts to recognise light and responds by blinking or turning its head away from bright lights. They can also hear external sounds muffled.Babies enjoy flavours and smells from their mother's diet. Mother's positive interactions, family interaction, calm music, laughter, and massages soothe the baby inside and calm their heart rate.
Show Auditory Awareness
A foetus can hear you singing, talking and cooing. Otic placodes (precursor of the inner ear) develop during weeks 4-9, and the foetus starts hearing from 18 weeks. During 24-25 weeks, they can recognise and pick up the sounds in the outside world. This helps the babies get familiar with their mother tongue and their parents' voices. When the baby comes out, they can recognise and respond to their language and their closest family member's voice.Taste Preference Develops
Around weeks 8-12, taste buds are fully formed, and swallowing begins at week 12. A mother's dietary preference helps shape the baby's eating preferences. The food the mother eats flavours the amniotic fluid, which the baby drinks and inhales. Strong flavours, such as ginger, clove, garlic, mint, and chocolate, can mix with amniotic fluid. When the baby drinks it, they are also introduced to other flavours. If the baby tastes a sweet flavour, they make happy expressions. They grimace or frown when tasting something bitter or pungent. If the flavour tastes good and the baby likes it, they consume more.Poop and Pee
The baby would swallow a small amount of amniotic fluid, which would then be filtered through the kidneys. The kidney begins its work and passes it again through urine. Sometimes they also poop a little, known as meconium, a thick, sticky, greenish substance. Swallowing amniotic fluid helps develop the gut and digestive system and prepares the kidneys to produce urine.When the foetus likes the flavour they taste through amniotic fluid, they consume more, resulting in more poop and pee. Although their first poop does not occur until birth, they expel a poop-like substance that helps them eliminate waste after birth.
React to Stress
Mother's distress, exhaustion, and tension directly affect growing foetuses. Stressed mothers' foetuses show more left-sided movements when touching their left hand on their face. Maternal stress also increases motor hyperactivity, accelerated heart rate, and cortisol levels. Severe depression may bring negative pregnancy outcomes and preterm birth risk.Respond to Touch
The foetus loves gentle touch, strokes, and belly massages. This gentle stroking triggers a positive foetal response, such as increased movements and heart rate. It promotes a sense of security, triggering oxytocin release and setting the stage for early bonding. Warm oil massage and partner-led oil massage reduce the mother's cortisol level by 20-30%.Shed Tiny Tears
Yes, babies do cry in the womb to prepare for communication and lung function in the outside world. Foetus shows a slow, muffled cry-faces which mothers at around 20-24 weeks. Quivering chin, crying motions, squeezing eyes, open mouth, erratic breathing patterns in the ultrasound indicate the baby is rehearsing for postnatal crying. Foetus cries for reasons including loud sounds or bitter amniotic fluid taste.Engages in Active Movement
As a result of foetal neuromuscular development, the foetus grows from gentle twitching to vigorous movement. From subtle twitches in the first trimester to vigorous kicks, rolls, and stretches in the second, and calm, sustained movement (due to the lack of space in the uterus) in the third, the foetus evolves from jerky to calm movements.Practice Breathing Movement
The baby takes its first real breath after birth. However, they start practising breathing movements in the womb to prepare the lungs and respiratory muscles for life outside at around 10-15 weeks. Babies take in and out amniotic fluid rather than air. Oxygen is delivered to the baby from the mother through the placenta.Foetal breathing movements become more consistent in the third trimester. Consistent breathing movements indicate that the baby’s brainstem is functioning well. These fake or practice breaths help tone respiratory muscles, distribute surfactant, and help in lung maturation.
Smiles a lot
The baby's facial features begin to form between weeks 4 and 8. Around week 20, the foetus starts to show simple, single-muscle movements. As the week progresses, the baby develops the ability to show more complex expressions. Baby practices smiling, frowning, yawning, opening their mouths, grimacing, raising eyebrows, wrinkling their nose, and laughing-like movements.Practising facial expressions strengthens muscles and nerves for communication and the expression of emotions after birth. Foetuses practice these facial movements frequently to prepare the facial muscles to be more coordinated and responsive.
A foetus does more than just taste and move. They start yawning frequently to maintain a regular brain temperature and stimulate brain growth. The foetus hiccups when the diaphragm contracts during breathing practice. Babies spend 90-95% of their time sleeping, and they start dreaming around week 28. A baby's dreams are not like an adult's, and this helps memory, learning, and sensory processing. Babies also pull and grab at umbilical cords, which allows them to develop grasp reflexes, hand-eye coordination, and muscle control.
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Frequently Asked Questions on Strange Foetal Behaviours: Weird Things Babies Do In The Womb
- What does my baby do in the womb while I sleep?
Babies spend most of their time sleeping in REM and non-REM cycles. Babies are more active at night than during the day. When mothers are sleeping, the foetus spends their time sleeping, practising movements, and dreaming. Babies dream during REM sleep to help build memory, learn, and process sensory information. - What makes a baby happy in the womb?
Mother's calm state makes the baby happy. Positive maternal-foetal interactions, gentle stroking, oil massage, talking, singing, responding to their kicks, walking, yoga, long, restful sleep, good nutrition, and optimal hydration facilitate foetal growth and make them happy.