Child's behavior before birth. How does a baby behave before birth?

Every woman wants to accurately understand the behavior of her child both during pregnancy and immediately before childbirth. Does the baby calm down before birth or should he actively move, how often should the kicks be felt and how long before birth does the baby calm down? There are a lot of questions.
To correctly recognize the baby’s signals, let’s take a closer look at the baby’s behavior before birth.

Every pregnant woman, especially in the early stages, wonders whether her pregnancy is going well. Even if the doctor says that everything is fine and the tests are normal, on a subconscious level the question is tormented: “Is everything okay with my child?” Only when a woman feels her baby move for the first time does the feeling of anxiety decrease a little.

The child’s movements are a kind of “baby language”, his way of communicating with his mother and the world around him. On it he conveys messages about his physical and emotional state. Knowing such a “language”, a woman can understand whether the pregnancy is proceeding normally, how the child is lying, and even whether he is ready to be born.

It is believed that a pregnant woman can feel the first tremors no earlier than in the fifth month. In fact, already in the early stages the baby begins to actively move and try to express himself. Already at the 8th week, with the help of an ultrasound, you can see how the baby moves his arms and legs. A woman herself may feel movements during this period. At first, the baby's movements can easily be confused with gurgling in the intestines or light tickling. Some describe it as feeling like a small fish swimming in their stomach.

The reason for such feelings is very simple. Starting from the second month, the development of the nervous system, which is responsible for the motor activity of any person, is in full swing. By this point, the baby has already developed muscle tissue and the brain is beginning to develop, which transmits impulses along nerve fibers, causing the muscles to contract. The baby's movements are completely unconscious. Due to the fact that the child is very small, and, being in the amniotic fluid, his limbs do not yet reach the walls of the uterus, the expectant mother does not feel the movements or mistakes them for intestinal processes.

Interesting Facts:

• at 2.5 months the child is able to change the trajectory of movement, pushing off from the walls of the uterus;
• at the 16th week, a reaction to sounds appears, primarily to the mother’s voice;
• at the 17th week the baby may squint;
• at the 18th week, moves his arms and legs, touches his face, squeezes the umbilical cord, covers his face if he hears sharp sounds;
• in the fifth month or 20 weeks, the child makes from 20 to 60 pushes within an hour. The pace and strength varies depending on the time of day;
• at the 24th week, the baby begins to actively talk with his mother in the “language of movements” - with his sharp jerks or smooth movements, he expresses joy, anxiety or calmness;
• According to statistics, starting from the 24th week, the baby moves on average 10 times per hour. For three hours he sleeps and remains completely calm.

Before birth, does the baby become quiet or active?

In the sixth month, the expectant mother’s belly is still quite spacious and has enough space for the baby to rotate and move. But later the situation changes, and the child’s activity decreases before birth.

There are two reasons why a baby becomes quiet before birth:

1. The child has grown and continues to develop. Although the uterus tends to stretch, towards the end of pregnancy the amount of free space is greatly reduced. Accordingly, there is practically no room left for somersaults and pushes. It is also influenced by the fact that in the last stages the uterus descends, and the child finds itself in a fixed state between the pelvic bones.
2. The position of the baby before birth changes from horizontal to vertical, that is, he ends up upside down. Thus, most of the impacts will occur in the upper area of ​​the uterus. And this is a less sensitive area in a woman due to the smaller number of nerve endings. In fact, even in this upside down position, the baby is active before birth. But the sensations of the second trimester are incomparable to those she is experiencing now. If earlier “the belly was shaking” and the expectant mother could constantly observe either a protruding heel or an elbow, this will not happen at the end of pregnancy. We can say that the baby began to behave much quieter and calmer. He calms down and prepares for birth. Periodically, a woman feels shoving, but it is less intense and is repeated infrequently.

In order to evaluate the baby’s movements starting from the fifth month of pregnancy, you need to do the following:

• drink a cup of sweetened tea or eat something sweet;
• 15 minutes after your snack, relax on the sofa or in a comfortable chair for about an hour. Such simple actions encourage the baby to express himself.

If you are unable to move your baby, try repeating your steps after a couple of hours. Maybe you were in a period of “quiet hour” and the child was sleeping. If during the day the baby still does not respond, you should consult a doctor. Listening to heart tones will explain the situation and calm you down.

Do not forget that everything is individual and depends both on the character of the baby and on the “threshold of sensitivity” of the expectant mother. For some, the child is more active before birth, for others less. Some people feel the blows on their arms and legs more strongly, for others it’s like a tickle. Most often, girls are calmer by nature, but boys already show their character in the womb and behave like real football players. No need to worry about little things. Attention should only be paid to sudden changes in behavior. They can signal the emergence of problems during pregnancy. It is especially worth paying attention if the child suddenly begins to show great activity and does not calm down for a long time.

In order to find out what causes deviations in the frequency and nature of movements, cardiography is performed. CTG is a method of assessing the condition of a child through studying the frequency of his heartbeat. Simply put, the doctor analyzes the baby’s cardiac activity when he is at rest, in motion, during uterine contractions, and also when exposed to various environmental factors. This study helps to find out whether the baby has oxygen starvation. Hypoxia or oxygen starvation is very dangerous; it can lead to various disorders during childbirth and in the early postpartum period, and also affect the development of the child.

Causes of hypoxia:

• bleeding;
• various diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and anemia;
• fetoplacental insufficiency;
• umbilical cord compression;
• Rhesus conflict;
• other.

At the initial stage of oxygen starvation, sudden restless behavior of the child can be noted. The baby is constantly on the move, does not calm down for a very long time, and its sharp and strong kicks can sometimes even cause pain to the mother. With progressive hypoxia, the behavior is extremely dramatic. The baby stops expressing himself completely. He calms down and does not make contact for a whole day. This condition is very dangerous and can be fatal. Therefore, it is very important to pay attention to whether the baby is moving before birth and to analyze its activity.

But it is worth remembering that the manifestation of sudden activity does not always indicate the presence of problems. Most likely, the mother sat cross-legged or lay on her back. And these are the least favorite positions for a child, since the oxygen supply to him is reduced. In this case, you need to change your position. If within a few hours the child does not calm down, you should consult a doctor. Obstetricians recommend starting to pay attention to movement starting from the seventh month. Monitoring should be carried out twice a day.

How a baby lies before giving birth

Before birth, the baby in the womb takes the starting position for a safe birth. The correct position is vertical, head down, chin pressed to the chest, buttocks up, arms and legs folded and pressed to the body. There are times when the baby does not roll over. He can “sit on his butt” with his legs crossed, or be in a horizontal position with his buttocks down and keep his legs straight. But this happens very rarely, approximately 5% of children remain in a breech position. Even less common are cases when the child is in an oblique or transverse state. If the child does not want to take the correct position, he will not be able to be born. In such cases, doctors refuse natural childbirth and use cesarean section.

The way the baby moves and moves can tell the mother, without an ultrasound, whether the baby is positioned correctly. In recent weeks, you can tell with certainty which part of the baby’s body is pushing. Most mothers feel the child’s back on the left side, and all the child’s pokes and kicks fall on the right side.

The feeling of the legs moving in the upper abdomen indicates that the child has taken the correct starting position. If such sensations are in the lower abdomen, then with a high degree of probability the baby is in a breech position.

At 32-34 weeks, the expectant mother undergoes a screening ultrasound, during which the doctor determines the position of the baby. Sometimes this is a breech presentation, which may change closer to birth. If the situation does not change at 38-40 weeks, there is still a chance that the baby will turn over. The correct position of the child can be formed almost on the day of birth, but this is a very rare case.

Factors contributing to breech presentation:

• a large amount of amniotic fluid and the small size of the child;
• oligohydramnios;
• uterine fibroids;
• low position of the placenta.

An expectant mother can help her baby roll over like this:

1. It is necessary that the stomach drops slightly under its own weight. To do this, sit on the edge of the sofa or on a chair. Spread your legs and let your stomach hang down. It is better to sit on a chair backwards, that is, with your stomach to the back.
2. Buy a fitball and practice on it. Sit on the ball, bounce and swing slightly, do a warm-up, or just sit on it.
3. Walk more, take a walk in the fresh air. Try to travel by car or public transport less often.
4. You should sign up for the pool. Water aerobics is very useful for pregnant women. Swim on your back more.
5. Lie on your side on a hard surface, spend 15 minutes like this, then roll over to the other side over your back and also lie in this state for a quarter of an hour. Such turns must be performed five times.
6. On the floor, take a position on all fours and rock your hips a little.
7. You can do gymnastics, but under the supervision of a specialist.

It is worth remembering that physical activity can only be done with the permission of a doctor, otherwise you can harm both the child and yourself.

Child before birth. Does the baby move during contractions?

Contractions are a process that occurs immediately before childbirth. It occurs due to involuntary contraction of the smooth muscles of the uterus and is necessary for the baby to be born. According to statistics, babies do not stop their activity during contractions and with their movements help the mother to quickly induce labor. When contractions begin, the baby actively moves, rests his head on the pelvic floor, turns his head to squeeze in and pass through the winding birth canal, and pushes his legs against the fundus of the uterus with all his might. Babies learn the push-off reflex before they are born.

At the same time, if a child experiences oxygen starvation, he becomes too active due to the discomfort he experiences. This manifests itself in the fact that the baby also moves between contractions. As soon as the mother feels the baby's activity between contractions, she urgently needs to tell the doctor about it.

Lack of movement between contractions is a normal part of childbirth. After all, the baby, like the mother, needs to accumulate strength and periodically rest.

During childbirth, a woman experiences a “painful shock.” Due to their pain, contractions dull sensitivity. Therefore, in most cases, women do not feel the baby’s activity during childbirth. The birth of a child is not only a huge job for the expectant mother, but also for the child. This is also a huge stress for him.

Let's sum it up

The moments when a woman saw the coveted two lines on the test, heard the baby’s heartbeat for the first time, saw him for the first time on an ultrasound, felt the first kick in her stomach, heard his first cry and finally saw him live - these are the most important and happiest moments, which belong only to you and the baby.

Of course, even if the pregnancy proceeded normally for the entire nine months without any deviations, the expectant mother is concerned about a huge number of questions. Especially if this is the first and long-awaited pregnancy. Any careless movement of the baby, any sudden blow, or, conversely, calm behavior can plunge you into panic. The first thing you need to do is calm down and analyze what is happening. Remember all the information you received in pregnancy courses, from books and from doctors.

You should remember the following important points about how a child behaves before birth:

1. It is very rare that anyone feels the baby’s movements until the fifth month. This is natural, since the child is still very small and simply cannot reach the walls of the uterus.
2. From the seventh month, it is necessary to monitor and analyze the child’s movements twice a day - in the morning and in the evening. If your baby doesn’t “get in touch,” try to provoke him by eating something sweet and lying down for a while.
3. Closer to childbirth, activity decreases, the baby seems to calm down.
4. Sudden activity does not always mean a problem. Perhaps you are sitting or lying in an uncomfortable position.
5. Oxygen starvation or hypoxia may be the cause of an unusually prolonged activity of the baby. It is worth seeing a doctor and undergoing all the necessary tests.
6. Starting from the 32nd week, the baby turns upside down. Sometimes the baby is in a breech position until the day of birth, but these are rare cases. Most often, a couple of weeks before birth, the baby still turns over.
7. The expectant mother can influence the correct position of the baby. Water aerobics and gymnastics for pregnant women, as well as fitball exercises, are very effective. Physical education classes can be carried out only after the permission of the doctor leading the pregnancy.
8. The baby moves actively during contractions. But between contractions, he, like his mother, rests. Therefore, if movements continue, be sure to notify your obstetrician.

And, the main thing that the expectant mother should remember is that she shouldn’t stress herself out over trifles. A positive and optimistic attitude is the key to a successful birth of a child. You will miss those nine months during which you carried a child under your heart. Take care of yourself and your baby.

Video “How a baby behaves before childbirth”

Like any person, the baby that is about to be born is unique: the temperament, physical capabilities, and needs of newborns are quite similar. That is why the feelings before childbirth every mother is different.

Some people say that the baby seems to be sleeping before giving birth, others, on the contrary, say that only the frantic activity made them rush to the maternity hospital. Any changes, increased or decreased activity cause alarm, especially since the stories of friends and even their own experience, if any, are very contradictory.

Toddler activity

Having barely grown stronger, the child in the mother’s womb begins to perform your first movements. Then the woman feels small tremors, and sometimes discomfort, even pain. And at the end of the third trimester, the size of the fetus increases so much that it can no longer “run around” to its heart’s content; the amount of amniotic fluid has decreased, which also makes movement difficult.

But a person can show his dissatisfaction with the cramped space very noticeably. The decrease in activity in most cases is completely “compensated” by the strength and hardness of the blows, each of which the mother feels very well. Quiet activity or violent “dancing” is considered normal if there are at least 10 movements within 6 hours.

Sometimes women whose belly has already sank have no more than a month left until birth, complain of cramps, not strong, not painful, but alarming. This may be the usual hiccups of a practically formed fetus.

Doctors believe that hiccups are one of the methods of preparing for breathing; they associate this phenomenon with the ingestion of a large amount of amniotic fluid after the mother has eaten sweets, but they do not find anything dangerous if the “stomach” hiccups for no more than an hour. Freed from excess fluid, the baby calms down.

And grandmothers advise in such cases stroke your belly, talk affectionately with your future child in order to distract him a little and calm both him and yourself.

It’s not for nothing that doctors ask you to carefully monitor the number of movements in the last weeks of pregnancy: the mother, of course, feels the condition of the child, but correctly interpret his signals maybe not always.

The norm is considered to be at least 2 kicks per hour, but a woman should understand that if nothing happens for a couple of hours, then there is nothing dangerous about it: the baby can just sleep. That’s why movements are considered to take 6–10 hours.

Pregnant women are very worried in the last days before giving birth, having ceased to feel the tremors that have already become familiar.

The movements become completely different, because the child tries to roll over, rotates, taking a position convenient for birth. The movements can be so smooth that mommy may not even feel them.

Someone advises drinking milk and lying on your left side: babies don’t really like this position and they start to get quite protest violently. The woman can be reassured by the future father, who, pressing his ear to the mother’s tummy, can easily hear the child’s heartbeat: it beats faster than the heart of an adult.

If the baby calms down or, on the contrary, is very active?

In preparation for the most difficult process of birth, the baby in the last month begins to rapidly gain weight, grows, taking up almost all the space in the mother’s tummy. And if everything goes well, he pushes less, but mothers complain that sometimes the child seems to be spinning like a spinning top. This is how the baby turns his head down, after which it becomes much easier for mommy to breathe.

Excessive activity may be due to several reasons:

• a large number of movements in the last month before childbirth may indicate restlessness of the baby;
• the child sleeps while the mother is driving in the car, walks, communicates, waking up as soon as the mother lies down and begins to “rage”;
• the fruit is small, its size allows it to “dance” in the tummy until the last moment;
• the mother is too nervous before giving birth, the baby feels and understands this very well, a violent reaction may be associated with this.

But sharp, strong movements may also be associated with oxygen starvation in the fetus. If your child’s behavior is too active and causes pain, it is best to consult a doctor who, after an examination, will be able to determine whether something is going wrong.

No movement It can be a subjective sensation when the baby is almost ready to be born and smoothly turns its head down.

But other reasons can also cause his calmness:

• the baby experiences severe hypoxia;
• too little amniotic fluid;
• death.

Anxiety is extremely contraindicated for expectant mothers, so you must inform your doctor about any alarming processes.

Contact your doctor immediately necessary if:

• the child moved sharply and strongly, and then calmed down: this is how the baby can report oxygen starvation;
• the baby’s movements cause pain, the activity is too high, the stomach is tight, cramps have appeared: there is a high probability of premature labor;
• lack of movement for more than 6 hours.

The doctor should prescribe cardiotocography, ultrasound, so that everything find out about the baby's condition and take necessary action if something goes wrong. There is no need to wait, ask for advice, get more and more nervous, you just need to tell the doctor that the child’s behavior has changed and it worries you.

Considered normal and active movement before childbirth, and subsidence 1 - 2 weeks before it. Some babies, who often remain very active, do not give their mother peace until the last hour; the calmer ones seem to fall asleep several hours before birth. But the excitement and panic of mothers is always only harmful, so another examination to calm down will not hurt, and in case of unpleasant surprises will help you avoid trouble.

Childbirth is a long-awaited and inevitable physiological process that occurs at the end of pregnancy. Before birth, fetal activity undergoes significant changes and reflects the state of its health. A pregnant woman and a doctor should carefully monitor every movement in order to find pathology in time and protect themselves and the baby.

How does a baby normally behave before giving birth?

How does a child behave before birth? The level of development of the baby at 37–38 weeks of pregnancy is maximum. Height, weight and other anthropometric characteristics are almost equal to those of a newborn. Before birth, the child begins active preparation: he takes a comfortable position in the uterine cavity, but tries to avoid unnecessary movements, as he experiences strong pressure.

The period of position change is externally manifested by the baby’s active movements (the baby pushes in the stomach). The movements of the growing fetus in the last weeks before birth are a good indicator that signals the full development of all systems and organs of the baby and adaptation to new conditions.

Just before birth, the baby becomes quiet, preparing to leave the uterus. The fetus in the abdominal cavity moves down, the pressure on the anterior abdominal wall and bladder decreases, the frequency of urination increases, so the expectant mother experiences relief. In both primiparous and multiparous women, this occurs at 39 weeks.

Does the baby move during contractions?

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Contractions are an integral part of the first stage of labor. They represent a synchronous process of contractions of the smooth muscles of the uterus, ensuring the opening of the cervix and preparation of the birth canal.

The baby's behavior during contractions changes, as the fetus experiences strong resistance from all sides. When contractions begin, he moves actively. True, a pregnant woman may not feel movements in the womb. This is due to the painful shock she experiences during childbirth and the general stressful situation.

Why does a child begin to move intensely? Firstly, he feels fear and panic due to a sudden change in living conditions in the stomach. Secondly, the baby kicks, trying to get into a comfortable position. When the “path to freedom” is found, the child tries with all his might to move towards it (towards the opening of the cervix), pushing off with his feet from the bottom of the muscular organ.

The third reason is oxygen deficiency. During contractions, blood flow from the placenta slows down sharply, causing the baby to panic, and is restored immediately after the contraction (all indicators return to normal, and the baby calms down).

Does the baby move between contractions?

Fetal movement between contractions (before childbirth) is almost not felt. The child needs to gain strength, recover, and fully prepare for the next “attack from the uterus.” Rarely, movements caused by the movement of the fetus along the birth canal or its change of physiological position in the uterine cavity can be observed.

When should you sound the alarm?

Childbirth is a very complex dynamic process. Violations can occur at any time. You should be concerned in the following situations:

• complete cessation of the child’s activity;
• the child is too active.

The child’s activity must be monitored before birth, as well as for a certain period of time before it (12 weeks). This will give a complete clinical picture.

Child hyperactivity

An active child before any birth is always bad! Typically, a child's hyperactivity is caused by compensated hypoxia, which is quickly monitored using cardiotocogram data or by listening to the fetal heartbeat (more details in the article:). Normally, this procedure should be performed every 30 minutes during childbirth. The main causes of hypoxia that occurs during childbirth are the following:

• Rh conflict between mother and child;
• moderate to severe anemia;
• disturbances of fetoplacental blood flow;
• placenta previa;
• premature detachment of a normally located placenta;
• large fruit.

The child becomes quiet

Just before birth, the baby experiences significant discomfort, as pressure is exerted on him by the walls of the uterus. Any pathology of this organ (hypertension, uterine prolapse, uterine fibroids, suture after cesarean section) can significantly worsen the baby’s condition. Under the influence of the described factors, the movements of the crumbs subside, but do not stop completely.

The child needs to position his head down, near the entrance to the pelvis, while free movements of the arms and head are limited, movements become weak. It is very important to be able to feel them to make sure that everything is okay with the baby.

Thus, the child’s behavior changes dramatically before birth. The baby should show mobility, but very weak, barely noticeable. If the child’s activity sharply decreases or stops completely, this means that the child is in a state of severe hypoxia or has received an injury, possibly incompatible with life.

Why count kicks?

The frequency of movement is an important indicator of the baby’s health and a criterion for assessing the process of labor. How many times a day should a baby move? Normally, a child makes from 45 to 55 movements per day. With this rhythm, there is no reason to panic. Two extreme indicators are taken as pathology - less than 6 and more than 60, at which emergency interventions are required.

The expectant mother should record every push, move, hit or jump, roll, push. You don’t have to record individual movements, but use another method: every day for 10 hours, track up to 10 episodes of maximum motor activity in the form of complexes.

During pregnancy, a woman should take care of herself, be attentive to the health and condition of her baby, and monitor his activity indicators. In general, the following is recommended:

1. Maintain a table showing fetal movements. This way the doctor will receive meaningful information. The table should start from the 28th week of pregnancy (see also:). You should monitor when any motor changes begin or, conversely, periods of calm.
2. Monitor the nature of movements on the eve of childbirth. This data must also be displayed in the table.
3. Periods of calm (usually lasting no more than a few tens of minutes) should not be confused with a complete cessation of activity. The baby “slows down” before the upcoming birth, but never stops moving completely.
4. The main thing is to come for a consultation with a doctor in a timely manner and report any deviations!