Why does your baby get hiccups in the womb at all? Is it something that you should feel concerned about? How can you identify them? All these relevant concerns will be answered in this article.
Baby hiccups in the womb – Let’s contextualize it
From the point where you start sharing the news of your pregnancy with your family to the moment you have your baby in your hands for the first time and for every day after that, your job as a parent will never end. I’m sure it can seem quite a daunting task.
More so when parenthood is new to you and you are encountering many unfamiliar things on a daily basis. This crazy journey starts with your pregnancy, a time of constant growth and change for your baby and yourself. You are excited and careful about the smallest things.
You are going for your checkups regularly. You’re anxious about the next time you hear your baby’s heartbeat. You’re excited for the time when the doctor points out to you all your baby’s limbs and features through the ultrasound. You are watching the size of your tummy grow.
You buy books, talk to mothers, doctors and read articles online to gather the best advice and habits to pick on. Actually, you want to know what’s the best you can give to your baby. You want to prepare yourself for everything that motherhood brings, so that you may be able to deal with all and challenges to the best of your abilities. You want to stay well informed so you can know about anything worrisome way beforehand in order to take the necessary precautions. You’re trying to maintain the right diet and routine and do the right exercises.
Baby hiccups in the womb can be overwhelming
Having a baby growing inside you is a big transition for your body. That coupled with all the new things happening for the baby is a lot to cover. No matter how thoroughly you search on the web, no matter many books you read or how many wise, know-it-all mothers you talk to, it’s quite possible to be caught off guard by something as simple as when your baby gets hiccups in the womb. You feel a movement and the excitement starts to take over. You hush everyone in the room, signaling your family to come closer as you place their hand on your tummy. Wanting for them to feel it as well.
Oh! It happens again! A spell of giggles filling the room but oh wait, another one! And another! And they keep coming. Making you a little concerned. Is the baby okay? Could it be that the baby is uncomfortable? Why is it kicking so much? You want to know.
So let me tell you, like kicks, you are able to feel a lot more of your baby in the womb. One of those things is the hiccups a baby gets in the womb. When being felt for the first time they are often confused with kicks. Babies have hiccups in the womb and it’s totally normal and healthy for that to happen. Let me explain how babies hiccup in the womb.
Why and how do babies get hiccups in the womb?
If you expect the reason why your baby gets hiccups in the womb to be the same as that of an adult, you’re not quite accurate. It’s an unfit comparison to begin with. We are not only comparing a baby with an adult but an unborn baby with an adult. There’s a huge difference between the way an adult functions and the way a baby in the womb functions. Babies live very differently in the womb as compared to when they come out into this world. Your baby isn’t having hiccups in your womb because they have overeaten. That’s not even possible. Your baby gets its nutrients through the umbilical cord which is attached to the placenta on one end and the baby on the other.
They are preparing to come into this world but they aren’t ready for that fully till the time of labor, hence many things that your baby does during this time, you might find very peculiar and hiccups just might be one of those. Babies hiccup in the womb when they inhale amniotic fluid which enters the baby’s lungs. This might sound alarming but in fact, it’s not. Keep in mind, babies function differently in the womb. They practice breathing through this process. A practice that is vital for the baby once it comes out of the womb, for taking a breath in and expelling it out will be the first thing it does in this world, even if it may be in the form of crying.
Their lungs learn how to contract and relax in coordination with the diaphragm (a somewhat horizontally placed accessory breathing muscle that’s present inside the body cavity). But sometimes during this practice inside the womb, the baby might cause itself to get hiccups; making the diaphragm contract at regular intervals for a few minutes which then by themselves will soothe down. Hiccups are actually good. They show that your baby is active and that he or she is growing well.
When do babies start to hiccup in the womb?
Around the 10th or 11th week of pregnancy, your baby will start to test its inhaling and exhaling abilities. With the beginning of this new activity, there will come the chance of your baby getting hiccups in the womb.
Would you be able to feel it then though? No, you won’t but that shouldn’t hinder you from learning about it. There are many things that your baby starts to do in your womb way before you are actually able to feel it. They kick and roll around in the womb-like it’s their custom made playground where, as far as they are concerned, no laws of gravity affect them.
As the size of your baby starts to grow you become more sensitive to their activities. In most cases, this happens around the time you enter your third trimester. Before that, you may be able to see your baby hiccup in the womb through an ultrasound. In your third trimester, most kicks, nudges or rolls they do in the womb are felt by the mother. Some movements can be so powerful that you may be able to see your tummy poking for a fraction of a second.
Final word
Hiccups become a regular part of the baby’s routine which you will slowly get used to as you learn how to identify them. Babies may hiccup in the womb quite frequently so if you feel them a couple of times a day, it isn’t something that should worry you in the least.
That being said, as a mother to be, if you feel the need to let a doctor check you then trust your instinct. No harm will come out of a regular visit to the doctor.