Does the baby feel the mother's love? The child’s feelings and connection with the mother: during pregnancy, childbirth and the first days of life. How does a newborn baby feel?

How does the baby understand that labor has begun?

Modern science believes that the baby, or rather, his body, initiates labor itself. Of course, the fetus has no experience of birth, but in most cases, during childbirth, without complications, it does everything correctly - this is how nature arranged it. When the first contractions begin, the expectant mother produces oxytocin, a substance that we know as the love hormone. He comes to the baby and calms him down, because childbirth is also a great emotional and physical stress for the child. However, all the shocks that await a child during childbirth are within the limits of his capabilities.

How does the fetus feel during contractions?

Supposedly, children feel something like a tight hug, more discomfort than pain. Doctors suggest that adults experience such sensations when they try to crawl under a fence. During contractions, the baby receives less and less oxygen from the placenta (this is normal), and this has a calming effect on him - he falls into a kind of trance, some babies can even sleep while the cervix is ​​dilating.

What does he hear and see while he is being born?

This issue has been little studied. It is known that children hear their mother and other relatives even before birth. During the time spent in the womb, the baby gets used to his mother’s voice and can recognize it at such a difficult moment for him as birth. Nothing concrete is known about vision during childbirth either: doctors say that immediately after birth, the child sees everything unclearly, the picture before his eyes is blurred. However, at a distance from the mother's chest to the face, he is already beginning to see more clearly - and this is not by chance, this is how the baby establishes the first eye contact with his most important person.

How does a baby breathe while passing through the birth canal?

In the womb, the lungs do not work; they are filled with fluid. During childbirth, the baby continues to receive oxygen from the mother, that is, through the placenta. But his lungs are already preparing to take their first breath - the fluid gradually drains away during childbirth, allowing the respiratory organs to expand. After birth, the placenta ceases to perform its function, the pressure drops, and blood begins to flow into the lungs in the required volumes.

How does the baby move during labor?

Shortly before labor begins, the baby descends into the entrance to the pelvis, and when the uterus begins to contract, the fetus begins a journey through the birth canal. During this time, he manages to press his head to the chest in order to squeeze into a narrower section of the pelvis, and then turn over to face the mother’s spine. If the baby lies facing the mother's belly, contractions may become more painful, then doctors may ask the woman in labor to walk around so that the fetus can still take a normal position. Before birth, the baby makes several more movements: he straightens his neck, and when the head is born, he turns sideways (doctors often help the baby do this half-rotation), and then, pushing off from the bottom of the uterus, he emerges entirely.

Is your baby scared?

It is believed that children feel discomfort from the fact that life in the womb is over and that the womb ceases to be a cozy home. Some psychologists are inclined to believe that because of this, the baby experiences fear of loss during childbirth, afraid that he will no longer have a mother. But no one knows for sure. It is known, however, that the birth itself becomes a shock for a child, and the intensity of these sensations depends on how noisy and light the room is.

Is your baby in pain during childbirth?

Scientists have found that children are able to feel pain even before birth, from about the 20th week of pregnancy. However, little is known about the baby's sensations during the birth process. Scientists believe that the child does not feel pain as such, and certainly does not experience the pain of childbirth that accompanies a woman.

How does he manage to get out through such a small hole?

It's all about the mobility of the skull bones. It seems to consist of small tiles that change their position, allowing the baby to move along the birth canal. After a natural birth, the head of any newborn is slightly deformed, but after a couple of days everything will return to normal. In addition, a comfortable position helps the baby to be born (we are talking about children in the cephalic position) - he tries to shrink so as to become as small as possible.

A newborn baby perceives the world around him as a stream of rapidly changing sensations. All feelings, sounds, images are unfamiliar to him and are not interconnected. The baby has no sense of time, sensation and cannot separate himself from the world around him. His system of thinking lacks cause and effect. Events happen as if on their own, independently of each other. The child is hungry and hears his own crying. Is this cry born within his being or comes from somewhere outside? Maybe both the crying and the feeling of hunger disappear because mom came? The child does not know the answer and cannot ask a question... Since frustration causes crying, and crying is followed by consolation, a connection between these events is gradually built in the child's mind. He sees you at his crib and already feels that a feeling of comfort and peace will come. After some time, the baby will begin to intuitively feel safe, knowing that his desires will be satisfied. As your child's trust in you increases, your confidence in your abilities increases. You are already able to correctly assess his inclinations, you know his strengths, you can adapt to the pace of the baby’s development and satisfy his needs. You now become the most important person in his life who understands his needs and character. During the first days and weeks, the bond of love between you and your baby grows stronger. This warm and tender relationship will be his first lesson in love. Throughout his life, he will draw energy from them and build relationships with the outside world on their basis.

Motor skills

A newborn baby is not able to eat or move independently, but he is far from helpless. He enters the world with a fairly large set of behavior patterns based on unconditioned reflexes. Most of them are vital for the baby. For example, if a newborn baby is stroked on the cheek, he turns his head and looks for the pacifier with his lips. If you put the pacifier in your mouth, your baby will automatically start sucking on it. Another set of reflexes protects the baby from physical harm. If your baby covers his nose and mouth, he will turn his head from side to side. When any object comes close to his face, he automatically blinks his eyes. Some reflexes of a newborn are not of vital importance, but it is by them that the level of development of the child can be determined. While examining a newly born baby, the pediatrician holds him in different positions, suddenly makes loud sounds, and runs his finger over the baby’s foot. By how the child reacts to these and other actions, the doctor is convinced that the newborn’s reflexes are normal and the nervous system is in order. While most of the reflexes inherent in a newborn disappear during the first year of life, some of them become the basis for acquired forms of behavior. At first, the baby sucks instinctively, but as he gains experience, he adapts and changes his actions depending on specific conditions. The same can be said about the grasping reflex. A newborn baby clenches his fingers the same way every time, no matter what object is placed in his palm. However, when the baby is four months old, he will already learn to control his movements. He will first focus on the object, then reach out and grab it. We tend to believe that all newborns begin their development from the same starting point, but they differ markedly from each other in the level of motor activity. Some children are surprisingly lethargic and passive. Lying on their stomach or back, they remain almost motionless until they are lifted and shifted. Others, on the contrary, show noticeable activity. If such a child is placed face down in a crib, he will slowly but persistently move towards the head of the crib until he hits the very corner. Very active children may reflexively roll over from their stomach to their back. Another important difference in newborns is the level of muscle tone. Some children look very tense: their knees are constantly bent, their arms are tightly pressed to their body, their fingers are tightly clenched into fists. Others are more relaxed, the muscle tone of their limbs is not so strong. The third difference between newborns is the degree of development of their sensory-motor system. Some children, especially young ones or those born prematurely, are very easily disturbed. At any, even the most insignificant noise, they shudder with their entire being, and their arms and legs begin to move erratically. Sometimes, for no apparent reason, a shiver runs through their body. Other babies look well developed from birth. They seem to know how to put their hand in or near their mouth and often do this to calm themselves down. When they move their legs, their movements are orderly and rhythmic. The different levels of development of motor skills, muscle tone and sensory-motor system that are observed in newborns reflect features in the organization of the nervous system. Children who are active, well developed and have normal muscle tone are considered easy children by their parents. Passive, underdeveloped children with sluggish or, conversely, too tense muscle tone, which is observed in the first months of life, are much more difficult to care for. Fortunately, thanks to the caring care and patience of their parents, most children overcome these difficulties and quickly catch up with their peers in their development.

Ability to see, hear, feel

A child is born with an innate repertoire of reactions that help him adapt to the world around him. He squints his eyes when a bright light comes on or an object comes close to his face. Over a short distance, he can follow with his gaze a moving object or a human face. A newborn child also has the innate ability to receive new information through his senses. It is curious that he even shows certain preferences among what he sees. In general, babies prefer dotted configurations and are particularly attracted to moving objects and black and white combinations. Think about the amazing properties the human eye has. It is difficult to resist the conclusion that a child initially has a unique ability to establish eye contact with his parents. Along with innate visual abilities, the newborn also has remarkable hearing. We are not only confident that the baby hears from the moment of birth, but there is every reason to assume that he hears while still in the womb. The newborn turns his head in the direction from which the sound is coming, especially if it is an unfamiliar sound, and, conversely, turns away from repeated, loud or continuous sounds. Even more amazing is the fact that a child is able to distinguish a human voice from any other sound. In other words, in addition to the innate ability to look into your eyes, the child also has the ability to hear your voice. However, despite the fact that a newborn is able to perceive sound and turn in the direction from which it is coming, its visual and auditory systems are not sufficiently coordinated. If a child hears a noise whose source is directly in front of him, he will not instinctively look for it. Such coordination takes time to develop. By giving the child the opportunity to get acquainted with objects that attract his attention both by their appearance and their sound, parents lay the foundation in the baby’s mind for the ability to connect what he sees with what he hears. So far we have been talking about the child’s ability to see and hear. Now it’s time to talk about other sensations: taste, smell and touch. Children love sweets and refuse salty, sour and bitter foods. In addition, they turn away from strong and pungent odors. It is also known that newborns react to various types of touch. While vigorous rubbing with a terry towel excites the baby, a gentle massage can put him to sleep. By running your fingertips or a piece of soft silk fabric over your body, you can bring it into a state of calm wakefulness. It is especially pleasant for the baby to feel the touch of human skin. Many mothers who breastfeed their children say that the baby begins to suck more actively if his hand lies on the mother’s chest. We have described several typical ways in which children respond to different types of stimuli, with the child's reactions to them manifesting differently depending on specific conditions. Dr. Prechtl and Dr. Brazelton, as well as other researchers who study newborns, note that children have different levels of excitability. This level of excitability determines the behavioral characteristics of children. When the child wakes up, he may be calmly awake or actively awake, or he may scream or cry. How a newborn reacts to what is happening in the world around him depends most of all on the degree of his arousal. A child who is in a state of calm wakefulness, hearing the bell, will immediately stop his actions and try to turn towards the sound. The same baby, in an excited or irritated state, may simply not notice the bell.

We understand our child

The period of infancy is the time when both the child and parents adapt to each other. Caring for a baby forces adults to organize their daily routine in a new way. The newborn adapts both physically and psychologically to life outside the mother's body. An integral part of this process is the child’s self-regulation. He learns to independently regulate the degree of his activity, so as to smoothly transition from sleep to wakefulness and vice versa. In the first weeks after the birth of your baby, you will spend a lot of energy trying to help your baby master these transitional states. A wide-awake child reacts to sounds by looking intently at the faces of those around him, and seems to have an attentive and intelligent gaze. At such moments, the baby’s energy is aimed at perceiving information, and then the parents have the opportunity to study and communicate With him. However, too intense exercise can tire your child out. The newborn cannot get out of the state of excitement on his own. Therefore, it is especially important that parents feel in time that the baby needs rest. If his mouth wrinkles, his fists clench and he nervously moves his legs, then it’s time to rest. Periods of activity and rest in a child’s life should alternate. By creating the right daily routine, you will help your baby move from one state to another in a natural way. After feeding, for example, you can hold him in an upright position, leaning him against your shoulder, or pick him up and gently rock him. Sometimes a child can come to a state of rest even after a strong cry. If the awakened baby begins to be capricious and it is clear that he is about to cry, parents, as a rule, try in every possible way to prevent this. However, in some cases it will be more appropriate to give the opportunity to shout properly. Apparently, crying relieves stress in a child and helps him move from one state to another. Even if he cries immediately after a nap, missing the state of calm wakefulness, after crying he can find it. However, as a rule, it can be very difficult for a newborn to come out of the screaming state without outside help. All children need help to calm down. However, each of them requires an individual approach. Some children become quiet if their parents carefully take them in their arms or wrap them in a warm, soft blanket. Others, on the contrary, become irritated by any restriction of freedom and calm down much more quickly when they are placed on a flat surface, without covering or impeding their movements. Most babies enjoy being carried or rocked. However, each child must have his own approach. Consider which of the following methods is best for your child. Walk around the room holding the baby to your shoulder. Hold the baby in weight, rocking from side to side. Hold it at your shoulder and rhythmically pat it on the back. Place the baby on your lap and rhythmically move them up and down or from side to side, or gently pat the baby's buttocks. Sitting in a rocking chair, place the child face down on your lap or, pressing it to your shoulder, hold it in an upright position, slowly rocking. Rock quickly and rhythmically in a rocking chair. Place the baby in the stroller and push it back and forth. Take a walk with your child in a stroller or a special backpack. Place the baby in a hanging homemade gamachok and rock it gently. Take your child for a ride in the car. Sounds, as well as movements, have a calming effect on children, but here, too, kids have their own preferences. Some people calm down more quickly when they hear the continuous sounds of a clock ticking, a washing machine, sounds that imitate a heartbeat, etc. Others respond better to quiet conversation, monotonous singing or a quiet whisper. There are also children who like music - lullabies, recordings of classical works, melodies from music boxes. So far we have talked about how caring and loving parents help newborns adapt to life outside the womb. In turn, the child also influences the lives of adults. He helps them adapt to their new role as parents. With the birth of a child, they acquire a new social status, and a very close relationship is built between them and the baby. A child can communicate about his internal state in only two ways - smiling and crying. The development process of these methods is almost the same. In the first weeks of a baby’s life, they appear as if by themselves, which reflects his reaction to the physiological processes that occur in his body. A cry is a sign of discomfort or pain, a smile is evidence that the child is at rest and enjoying himself. Gradually the balance begins to shift. Crying and smiling are increasingly regulated by external factors, and as a result, the child begins, of course, without words, to directly communicate with his parents. It is especially interesting to observe how the smile changes in the first one to two months of a child’s life. Initially, a wandering smile appears on the baby’s face during sleep. Then, at two weeks of age, he begins to smile when his eyes are open, which usually occurs after feeding. In this case, a smile, as a rule, is accompanied by a glassy, ​​absent look. By the third or fourth week, qualitative changes occur in the smile. The child responds to the loud voice of the parents, with whom he establishes visual contact, and in the end the baby rewards the adults with a very conscious smile. A child who is happy, calm and in touch with his environment most of the time instills confidence and optimism in parents. A nervous and capricious baby, who is not easy to calm down, despite the caring attitude of adults, causes them much more problems. Those parents who have their first child often associate the child’s irritability with the fact that they are inexperienced and do not know how to handle him correctly. As soon as they understand that the baby’s increased excitability depends on the internal physiological processes occurring in his body, they will regain self-confidence. This will help them get through the challenges that await them in the first weeks of a child's life. Through trial and error, parents gain experience and find their own way to calm their baby - by swaddling, vigorously rocking, or simply giving him the opportunity to scream for a while until he falls asleep. It is very important that parents understand from the very beginning that the difficulties experienced by the child in the first year of life are in no way related to the characteristics of his behavior and character in the future. During the first month of a baby's life, most parents sometimes experience negative emotions. A young mother suffering from constant crying, childbirth and sleepless nights may become depressed or irritable towards other family members. The father, despite his proud smile, may sometimes feel that the baby not only limits his freedom, but also deprives his wife of attention and care. As children get older, they sleep longer and parents adapt to different daily routines. After the first difficult period, when the relationship between parents and baby is just developing, family members will be able to fully reward each other with the joy of communication.

HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR NEWBORN

The most difficult task facing a newborn child during the first month of his life is to adapt to conditions outside the mother's body. Most of the time the baby sleeps. Having woken up, he begins to behave in accordance with his internal physiological state. Periods of active wakefulness, when the child is ready to perceive new information, are rare and short-lived. Therefore, you should not plan activities with your newborn in advance, just try to use the opportunity. This opportunity appears when the child is full and in a good mood. Remember that children have different thresholds for excitability, and if you overtire your baby, he may begin to worry, scream and cry.

Practical advice

Engage your child no more than necessary He needs human warmth, and therefore he loves to be held. Try to find out how your baby feels about this. Some babies become nervous and irritable when held for too long. It happens that a fussy baby calms down if he is placed in a comfortable children's backpack. However, if the baby is very rarely held, he may become lethargic and apathetic. Change baby's position When your child is awake, try to vary his positions. Let him lie on his stomach for a while, then on his back or side. Being in different positions, the baby will learn to move his arms and legs. Children's calendar Hang a calendar and pencil near the changing table or dressing table. You can record each new achievement of your child in a separate column. Enjoy the time you spend with your baby Laugh and have fun with your child. Sometimes he seems to be able to express his joy. Don't be afraid to spoil your child Try to quickly fulfill his wishes. If you give your baby enough attention when he needs it, he won't bother you again. Handle your baby with care When returning home from the hospital, bring your newborn in a comfortable, reliable car.

Daily routine

Feeding time Keep a good mood Regardless of whether you breastfeed or bottle-feed your baby, try to do it in a way that makes both your baby and you feel calm and comfortable. Remember that your baby knows better than you when he is full, so don't try to force him to eat a little more. Avoid coercion so as not to lose the child's trust. Reach out and touch While your baby is eating, gently stroke his head, shoulders and fingers, then he will associate feeding with your gentle touches. Some children love to listen to singing while eating, while others, when they hear their mother’s voice, stop sucking. If your baby is easily distracted, hold off on singing until after meals or while your baby is burping. Bathing First baths Bathe your baby in a baby bath. (Ask your doctor before giving your baby your first bath.) While bathing, hum softly while rubbing gently with a soft sponge or cloth. If your baby is slipping and needs soft bedding, place a towel in the bottom of the tub. Communication through touch After swimming, it is good to have a massage. Using baby cream or vegetable oil, gently massage your baby's shoulders, arms, legs, feet, back, stomach and buttocks. Keep doing this as long as your child is in a good mood. Swaddling/dressing Kisses on the tummy When changing your baby's diapers, gently kiss his tummy, fingers and toes. These gentle touches help your baby become aware of his body parts. At the same time, he not only feels his body, but also feels your love. Undress the child Don't wrap your baby up. If the room is 20-25 degrees, he will feel good in a light shirt and diaper. Children overheat, sweat and feel discomfort if they are dressed too warmly. Time relax Turn on the radio for your child When putting your baby in the crib, turn on the radio, tape recorder, or start a music box. Quiet music will calm him down. Record the noise of the washing machine on tape. Instead of buying an expensive toy that makes sounds, record the noise of your dishwasher or washing machine on tape. The monotonous hum that the child hears will help him calm down and fall asleep. Give your baby a musical toy If, from a very early age, a child associates sleep time with a soft musical toy, it will become an integral element of this process. As they get older, some babies struggle when being put in their crib, and this toy will help them calm down and fall asleep. Use a pacifier Give your baby a pacifier before bed. Children who are accustomed to a pacifier from an early age are able to fall asleep on their own. If your baby refuses the pacifier, you can only put it in his mouth for a few minutes at first until he gets used to it. If your child continues to persist, find another way. Walking in a stroller If the weather permits, take your child for a walk, pushing him in a stroller. Constant movement will help him fall asleep. A game of shadows Children often wake up at night. Leave the night lamp burning - soft light will allow the child to observe the bizarre outlines of surrounding objects. Diapers and soft pillows Over the last few months of utero, the baby has become accustomed to sleeping in close quarters. Therefore, he will feel good if he is swaddled or covered with pillows. Many stores sell hanging hammocks that can be attached inside a regular crib. Some of them are equipped with a special device that creates the illusion of the mother’s heart beating in the child. The rhythmic sounds remind the baby of those he heard while in the womb; this calms him down and he falls asleep.

His height is 50 cm, body weight is 3.3 kg, he has sparse hair and wrinkled skin - this is what a newborn looks like. But what are his feelings, what does he see when he is born, what does he feel? Does he react to a variety of stimuli applied to him?

For centuries, the answer to most questions was categorical: a newborn cannot see or hear. This was the famous "baby-digestive tract" theory, which stated that the child, for at least a few weeks, reacts only to the demands of the stomach; basically he should only be fed and changed.

He is like pure wax on which an adult can engrave anything, like a white sheet of paper on which he can write anything. In addition, they said: “When a child is born, he is so attacked that he is in complete confusion.” In a word, an omnipotent adult found himself in front of a completely unarmed and unresponsive newborn.

But perhaps these theories were put forward mainly by men (doctors and scientists), while the opposite opinion, coming from women, had little chance of being heard.

Nowadays, there has been a complete revolution in views on a newborn: he hears, sees, has a sense of smell and touches! This is a new theory accepted by many. One can continue the long list of perceptions attributed to the child from birth.

Discoveries are not made overnight (except in extremely rare cases). In any field, discoveries are the fruit of long-term research undertaken by numerous researchers simultaneously in many countries.

So, the newborn is more developed and perceptive than previously thought, and this is in many areas, starting with sensory perception.

Vision. The child sees from birth, but his vision is 20 times worse than that of adults; it is still fuzzy and vague. The child sees only the outlines of objects (moving and stationary) located at a distance of only 25-30 cm from his eyes. But this is enough for the newborn to react to different lighting: if the light is too bright, he experiences discomfort, blinks or closes his eyes.

The baby distinguishes between shiny and red objects; he can follow the movement of the shiny red ball with his eyes. It has been observed that from the first days a newborn is attracted to an oval shape, a moving object with red and shiny spots. This is not a rebus at all, it’s just that such an oval corresponds to a human face. The child can follow the movements of such a “face”, and if someone is talking to him, he blinks.

But although the child pays attention to a shape similar to a human face, this does not mean that he recognizes any of the people around him. This will take him a lot of time.

It has been observed that newborns are more interested in complex designs than simple ones. In the very first days, if you show him two sheets of paper - one gray and the other with a black and white checkered pattern, he will look at. second sheet. This was determined by observing the child through a hole in the screen: it is clear that a checkered sheet is reflected in his cornea. So he's looking at him.

The vision of a newborn is not sufficiently developed, since before birth he did not have the opportunity to use it (although some scientists believe that already in the womb the child reacts to bright light). But the child's vision will develop quickly. The baby tries to watch even at night; in the dark, he opens and closes his eyes, looks around (this observation was carried out using infrared rays).

Children differ significantly from each other when it comes to visual activity; it seems that some children spend time looking, while others spend time sleeping.

The pace of child development in all areas varies throughout childhood.

A few words in conclusion. It is not uncommon for a newborn's eyes to appear to be squinting because their eye muscles are not developed enough to coordinate eye movements (but in most cases this is only the appearance).

Hearing. In a child, it is more developed than vision, and this is normal, since the newborn has heard a lot during its intrauterine life. Therefore, it is not surprising that the baby does not flinch when a door slams or a loud noise is heard; since his ear is already trained, he can distinguish between near and distant noises. Even when the baby sleeps with clenched fists, and people whisper next to him, he begins to toss and turn and blink. If the quiet conversation continues, the child begins to fuss and wake up.

Of course, he recognizes human speech, since he already heard it before birth; All researchers agree on this opinion, but on the question of who he hears better - his father or mother, opinions differ. Most doctors believe that while still in the womb, the child hears the father’s voice better, since he perceives low sounds more easily, and when born, the newborn becomes more sensitive to higher sounds, i.e. mother's voice.

Finally, it has been observed that when there is a lot of noise around a child, he literally covers his ears and thus isolates himself from the environment. One of the researchers noted that a child who was being tested on a difficult test began to scream, then suddenly fell silent and fell asleep; When the test was completed and the equipment was turned off, the newborn immediately woke up and began screaming again.

Taste. The newborn is 12 hours old; if you drop sweet water on his lips, he looks very pleased, but if you drop lemon juice, he will make a grimace. From birth, a child distinguishes between sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. Sugar calms him down, bitterness and acid excite him.

It has long been known that children develop taste sensations very early. Nurses have always known that certain products, such as caraway seeds, dill, and green anise, improve the taste of milk. The child sucks this milk with pleasure, and milk secretion increases. A child who is fed industrially produced milk receives bland food without any “surprises.”

Smell. A classic example: if a newborn is given two wipes to smell, one of which has been in contact with the mother's breast and the other has not, the baby will turn to the first wipe. This experiment was carried out by an American researcher with a 10-day-old baby. But the record was broken by a group of researchers who conducted the same experiment on a 3-day-old newborn. And it’s not surprising, because thanks to the sense of smell, the child learns about the proximity of the mother’s breast.

Touch. A newborn is very sensitive to how he is treated. Some gestures calm him down, others excite him. Parents discover this very early. However, the sensitivity of the skin and the reaction to contact go deep into the child’s intrauterine life: in the mother’s stomach he felt the fluid surrounding him, touched the walls of the uterus, during childbirth he felt with his whole body strong periodic contractions of the uterus, thanks to which he was born.

How was it possible to determine the level of sensitivity of a newborn with such accuracy? Sometimes in very simple ways, in other cases - with the help of complex instruments.

Simple methods include direct observation of the child’s immediate reaction to the pathogen; he turns his head, reacts to dull, distant or light noise, and sometimes, on the contrary, stops responding to all these sounds; he screams or stops screaming, blinks, moves his legs, tenses his limbs, shudders. Every subtle gesture, every grimace or cry has meaning for him.

Since it is difficult to see and note everything at once, the researchers filmed miles of films of babies in various situations: in the arms of the father, mother, pediatrician; in front of objects of various shapes and colors; under different lighting, etc. These films are then viewed in slow motion; stop the image, return the film and record all the child’s reactions. Thanks to such films, not a single detail escapes the eye of the observer.

Recording the baby's heartbeat also allowed many observations to be made; thanks to them, it was concluded that the newborn reacts more to a female voice than to a male one. In the first case, the heartbeat slowed down, in the second it remained unchanged.

To find out more precisely what sounds the baby reacts to, the following experiment is carried out: he is given a pacifier in which a miniature radio receiver is placed that records the rhythm of sucking movements. Then the child is given different sounds to listen to; the rhythm of his sucking movements changes, which allows us to draw a conclusion about the baby’s sensitivity to various sounds.

The miniaturization of electronic devices has made it possible to conduct more complex research. For example, using a very small microphone inserted under the amniotic membrane after the membranes burst during childbirth, it was possible to find out what sounds surrounded the child before birth.

Thus, the newborn, who was previously considered devoid of any perception, “closed” in relation to the world around him, turned out to be ready to react to numerous stimuli around him, biologically programmed for many senses.

So what has changed in the attitude towards the newborn as a result of these studies? Essentially, the adult’s view of the child has changed, as well as his attitude towards him, which will certainly have a certain impact on the baby.

Pernu Laurence
Chapters from the book “I’m Expecting a Baby” (M.: Medicine, 1989)

Perhaps the most exciting sensations during pregnancy are the first movements of the baby in the expectant mother’s belly. When and how does a woman feel the baby’s movements and in what cases can the “behavior” of the fetus become an alarm signal? Women, as a rule, feel the first distinct symptoms closer to the second half of pregnancy, and multiparous women feel them earlier than mothers expecting their first child.

This is due to the fact that women who have given birth already know what these sensations are, and women who are pregnant for the first time may initially confuse fetal movements, while they are not yet intense enough, with intestinal peristalsis, gas formation in the abdomen or muscle contractions. In addition, in repeatedly pregnant women, the anterior abdominal wall is more stretched and sensitive. Chubby women feel fetal movements a little later than thin women. Find out more about what is in the mother’s tummy in the article on the topic “The first signs of the baby moving.”

So, during the first pregnancy, women feel the first movements of the fetus, usually between 18 and 22 weeks (usually at 10 weeks), and multiparous women can feel the movements of the unborn baby as early as 16 weeks. When expectant mothers begin to feel the movements of their babies, they have many questions and doubts: how often should a child move? Is he moving intensely enough? It should be remembered that each baby is individual and develops at its own pace, and the norms regarding fetal movements have a fairly wide range.

Character of movements

First trimester. The most intensive growth of the unborn child occurs in the first trimester of pregnancy. First, a group of cells rapidly divides, grows, and becomes an embryo, which attaches to the wall of the uterus and begins to grow, protected by the amniotic fluid, membranes, and muscular wall of the uterus. Already from 7-8 weeks, when performing an ultrasound examination, it is possible to record how the limbs of the embryo move. This happens because his nervous system is already mature enough to conduct nerve impulses to the muscles. At this time, the embryo moves chaotically, and its movements seem to be devoid of any meaning. And, of course, he is still too small, and the movements are too weak to be felt. Second trimester. By 14-15 weeks of pregnancy, the fetus has already grown and its limbs have completely differentiated (they have acquired the familiar appearance and shape of arms and legs), movements have become intense and active. During this period, the baby floats freely in the amniotic fluid and pushes away from the walls of the uterus. Of course, he is still very small, so these repulsions are weak and the expectant mother does not feel them yet.

By 18-20 weeks, the fetus grows and its movements become more noticeable. Pregnant women describe these light first touches as “the fluttering of butterflies,” “the swimming of fish.” As the fetus grows, the sensations become more distinct, and by 20-22 weeks, as a rule, all pregnant women clearly feel the movements of their child. In the second trimester, expectant mothers may feel “pushes” of the baby in different parts of the abdomen, because he has not yet taken a certain position in the uterus and there is still enough space for him to turn over and rotate in all directions. What do children do while in their mother's womb? According to observations made during an ultrasound examination, unborn babies have many different activities: they drink amniotic fluid (ultrasound shows how the lower jaw moves), turn their head, twist their legs, can clasp their legs with their arms, finger and grab the umbilical cord. As the pregnancy progresses, the baby grows and becomes stronger. Light pushes are already replaced by strong “kicks”, and when the baby turns over inside the uterus, it is noticeable from the outside how the stomach changes its configuration. At the same time, a mother may experience that her baby “hiccups.” At the same time, the woman feels the child shudder at regular intervals. “Hiccupping” movements are associated with the fact that the fetus intensively swallows amniotic fluid and its diaphragm begins to actively contract. Such movements of the diaphragm are a reflexive attempt to push out fluid. This is completely safe and normal. The absence of “hiccups” is also a variant of the norm.

Third trimester

By the beginning of the third trimester, the fetus can freely turn over and rotate and by 30-32 weeks it occupies a permanent position in the uterine cavity. In most cases, it is positioned head down. This is called cephalic presentation of the fetus. If the baby is positioned with his legs or buttocks down, then this is called breech presentation of the fetus. With a cephalic presentation, they are felt in the upper half of the abdomen, and with a pelvic presentation, on the contrary, they are felt in the lower sections. During the third trimester, a pregnant woman may also notice that her baby has certain sleep-wake cycles. The expectant mother already knows in what body position the baby is most comfortable, because when the mother is positioned in a position that is uncomfortable for the baby, he will definitely let you know about it with violent, intense movements. When a pregnant woman lies on her back, the uterus puts pressure on blood vessels, particularly those that carry oxygenated blood to the uterus and the fetus. When they are compressed, the blood flow slows down, so the fetus begins to experience a slight lack of oxygen, to which it reacts with violent movements. Closer to childbirth, movements are felt mainly in the area where the baby’s limbs are located, most often in the right hypochondrium (since in the vast majority of cases the fetus is positioned head down and back to the left). Such pushes can even cause pain to the expectant mother. However, if you lean forward slightly, the baby will stop pushing so hard. This can be explained by the fact that in this position the blood flow improves, more oxygen reaches the fetus and it “calms down”.

Shortly before labor begins, the baby's head (or buttocks, if the fetus is in a breech position) is pressed against the entrance to the pelvis. From the outside it seems as if the stomach has “sank”. Pregnant women note that before childbirth, the motor activity of the fetus decreases. This is explained by the fact that at the very end of pregnancy the fetus is already so large that there is not enough room for it to actively move and it seems to “quiet”. Some expectant mothers, on the contrary, note an increase in the motor activity of the fetus, since some babies, on the contrary, respond to mechanical restrictions on motor activity with more violent movements.

How often does the baby move?

The nature of the motor activity of the fetus is a kind of “sensor” of the course of pregnancy. By how intense and often the movements are felt, one can indirectly judge whether the pregnancy is going well and how the baby is feeling. Until approximately the 26th week, while the fetus is still quite small, the expectant mother may notice large periods of time (up to a day) between episodes of fetal movements. This does not mean that the baby does not move for so long. It’s just that a woman may not notice some movements, because the fetus is not yet strong enough, and the expectant mother has not yet learned well enough to recognize the movements of her child. But from 26-28 weeks it is believed that the fetus should move 10 times every two to three hours.

Obstetricians-gynecologists have developed a special “”. During the day, the woman counts how many times her baby moves and records the time when every tenth movement occurred. If the pregnant woman thinks that the baby has calmed down, she needs to take a comfortable position, relax, eat something (it is believed that after eating, the fetal motor activity increases) and within two hours note how many times the baby moves during this time. If there are 5-10 movements, then there is nothing to worry about: everything is fine with the child. If the mother does not feel the baby's movements within 2 hours, she should walk around or go up and down the stairs, and then lie down quietly. As a rule, these events help to activate the fetus, and movements will resume. If this does not happen, you should consult a doctor within the next 2-3 hours. The nature of the movements is a reflection of the functional state of the fetus, so it is necessary to listen to them. If the expectant mother has noticed that in recent days the child has begun to move less, she should also consult a doctor to check how the baby is feeling.

By the third trimester of pregnancy, expectant mothers, as a rule, already know well the nature of their children’s movements and can notice any changes in the “behavior” of their babies. For most women, an alarming sign is violent, too active movement. However, increased physical activity is not a pathology and is most often associated with the uncomfortable position of the expectant mother, when less oxygen is temporarily supplied to the fetus due to decreased blood flow. It is known that when a pregnant woman lies on her back or sits leaning far back, the fetus begins to move more actively than usual. This is due to the fact that the pregnant uterus compresses the blood vessels that, in particular, carry blood to the uterus and placenta. When they are compressed, blood flows to the fetus through the umbilical cord in a smaller volume, as a result of which it feels a lack of oxygen and begins to move more actively. If you change your body position, for example, sit leaning forward or lie on your side, the blood flow will be restored and the fetus will move with its normal activity.

When should you worry?

A terrible and alarming indicator is a decrease in motor activity or the disappearance of the child’s movements. This suggests that the fetus is already suffering from hypoxia, that is, lack of oxygen. If you notice that your baby begins to move less often, or you do not feel his movements for more than 6 hours, you should immediately consult an obstetrician. If it is not possible to visit a doctor on an outpatient basis, you can call an ambulance. First of all, the doctor will use an obstetric stethoscope to listen to the fetal heartbeat; normally it should be 120-160 beats per minute (on average 136-140 beats per minute). Even if during normal auscultation (listening) the fetal heart rate is determined within normal limits, it is necessary to carry out another procedure - a cardiotocographic study (CTG). CTG is a method that allows you to evaluate the fetal heartbeat and its functional state, to check whether the baby is suffering from hypoxia (lack of oxygen). During the study, a special sensor is attached with straps to the anterior abdominal wall on the back of the child in the approximate projection of his heart. This sensor detects the fetal heartbeat curve. At the same time, the pregnant woman holds a special button in her hand, which should be pressed when she... This is shown on the chart with special marks. Normally, in response to movement, the fetal heart rate begins to increase in frequency: this is called the “motor-cardiac reflex.” This reflex appears after 30-32 weeks, so CTG before this period is not sufficiently informative.

CTG is performed for 30 minutes. If during this time no increase in heart rate is recorded in response to movements, then the doctor asks the pregnant woman to walk for a while or climb up the stairs several times, and then makes another recording. If myocardial complexes do not appear, then this indirectly indicates fetal hypoxia (lack of oxygen). In this case, and also if the baby begins to move poorly before 30-32 weeks, the doctor will prescribe a Doppler test. During this test, the doctor measures the speed of blood flow in the umbilical cord vessels and in some fetal vessels. Based on these data, it is also possible to determine whether the fetus is suffering from hypoxia.

If signs of fetal hypoxia are detected, obstetric tactics are determined by the severity of hypoxia. If the signs of hypoxia are insignificant and unexpressed, then the pregnant woman is advised to observe, conduct CTG and Doppler measurements and evaluate their results over time, as well as prescribe medications that improve blood circulation and the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the fetus. If signs of hypoxia increase, as well as in the presence of pronounced signs of hypoxia, immediate delivery should be performed, since effective drug therapy aimed at eliminating fetal hypoxia does not exist today. Whether it is a cesarean section or a vaginal delivery depends on many factors. Among them are the condition of the mother, the readiness of the birth canal, the duration of pregnancy and a number of other factors. This decision is made by the gynecologist individually in each specific case. Thus, every woman should listen to the movements of her child. If you have any doubts about the well-being of the fetus, you should not delay a visit to the doctor, since a timely visit to an obstetrician-gynecologist can prevent negative pregnancy outcomes. Now you know what the first signs of a baby moving in the womb are.

Newborns children perceive the world around them completely differently than other people. Everyone wants to know what they see, hear and feel baby, emerging into the world. Let's try to figure it out.

Scientists have proven that kids Immediately after birth, they not only hear and see, but also have a sense of smell and touch.

sees from the first minute of birth. However, his vision several times worse than that of any adult. The child sees everything around him indistinctly. eyes able to distinguish form objects that are located at a distance of 25-30 centimeters from it. What is most interesting is that this distance corresponds to the average distance of the face moms who is holding a child.

Starting from the fifth day of life, babies begin to look much longer and look at objects and figures more carefully, and the most interesting for them are items, which move and are three-dimensional.

Some mothers are worried when they notice that their baby's eyes are a little squinted. This is because eye muscles Newborns are not yet well developed to direct eye movements. Over time, this imaginary squint disappears.

Scientists have found that infants up to four months old are able to distinguish only blue, red, green and yellow colors. In addition, eye movements infants similar movements that are committed by an adult.

Hearing.

In a baby hearing more developed than vision. This is quite normal, since children begin to hear while still in womb mother.

Oddly enough, but babies are able not only to hear various sounds, but also recognize them by height.

Particular attention is drawn to the sounds of human speeches, since it already sounded before the birth of the child. Voice The baby recognizes its mother from the first second of life, which is why it feels safe.

Specialists claim that kids like meaningful speech more than a bunch of syllables. And if a child is given a recording of his voice to listen to, he will instantly calms down, even if before that he cried for a long time and uncontrollably.

Taste and smell.

Newborn toddler able to recognize sweet, bitter, salty and sour. If you give your baby a drop of sweet water, he will show a desire to try it again, and if you drop lemon juice on his lips, the child will grimace and may even cry.

It has been known since ancient times that babies from birth have well-developed taste sensations. This is why mothers could improve the taste of breastfeeding milk, eating dill, anise or caraway seeds.

Newborns also react to smells.Unpleasant aromas can cause seizures in your baby tantrums and crying for a long time.

Touch.

Babies react quite sharply to how they treat him. touch. Alone movement have a calming effect on him, while others, on the contrary, irritate him.

While still in tummy at the mother's, the baby developed his tactile sensitivity: he put his finger in his mouth, he could grab the umbilical cord. The baby receives his first real touches when birth.When he is born, all his tactile sensations begin to “awaken.” Leather The baby is very susceptible, she responds to any movement or change in temperature. Tender touch, carrying in your arms has a beneficial effect on the development of the baby. Experts have found that children who were constantly in the arms of parents,have high intelligence and grow much faster. As it turned out, pleasant touches lead to the production of hormones that affect growth and development mental activity of the child.