Do infants sneeze in the womb?
One
of the delights of receiving a pregnancy newsletter (like ours!) is seeing how
much growth your child is making each week.
It's
easier to relate to the tiny person you're waiting to welcome into the world
when you know that they're developing tiny ears or that they've begun to blink.
You'll
probably start to see familiar habits forming as the pregnancy goes on. Perhaps
you and your partner notice your child is particularly active every evening
while you cuddle on the couch. Or your surrogate might indicate that she
experiences brief flutters and kicks every morning.
You
might be wondering if this indicates that your child is occasionally asleep and
occasionally awake. You might be curious about their prenatal awareness. In
order to provide you with answers to these questions and others, we looked into
the study.
Do children sleep in the womb then?
Yes.
In actuality, from what we can determine, babies sleep the majority of the time
while they are inside the womb. They spend over 95% of the time sleeping
between 38 and 40Trusted Source weeks of pregnancy.
Sleep
during the early stages of foetal development is less understood. Even now,
technology has its limits. Rapid eye movement, a characteristic of REM sleep,
is the focus of the majority of studies on foetal sleep in the early stages of
pregnancy. The initial rapid eye movements are noticed sometime in the seventh
month of foetal development.
There
are four stages of sleep, according to studies: the first two are lighter
sleep, and the latter two are deep restorative sleep.
A
sleep cycle also includes REM sleep, which starts about 90 minutes in. An
increase in respiration, blood pressure, and heart rate are characteristics of
this stage. The brain waves resemble those of someone who is awake, and the
eyes move swiftly. You might start dreaming at this point.
Although
there are limitations to what researchers can learn about foetal sleep, it is
possible that infants are dreaming during REM stages based on what is known about
sleep in general. We can't be certain of what they're dreaming about.
But
given how intense their desires are during pregnancy, some might counter that
they must be having food dreams.
What do the studies reveal?
Numerous
techniques have been employed by researchers to examine foetal sleep habits.
Researchers
examined foetal heart rate in a 2010 study and discovered that the results
showed consistent sleep and waking habits.
In
a 2008 study, scientists compared the same participants between utero and birth
using foetal electrocardiographic (FECG) data. The four states they monitored
were quiet sleep, active sleep, quiet waking, and active waking. Eye motions,
heart rates, and body movements were used to determine each stage.
They
discovered that the sleep patterns formed in utero were identical, but that
babies who had spent more time sleeping during the foetal stage had more
developed sleep patterns, which meant that they slept less before giving birth.
Having
said that, don't assume that simply because you weren't awake all night while
you were pregnant, your child would sleep well. Even though newborns still
prefer to sleep for the majority of the day, they should wake up for feedings
every few hours all day long.
In
a 2009 study, researchers focused on foetal sheep to learn more about the early
sleep habits, which are more challenging to investigate in human beings. The
unborn sheep's brain activity displayed behavioural patterns that suggested
early, immature sleep cycles.
In
fact, sleep is more than just a time for rest and dreaming. A tiny 2018 study
of premature infants showed that movement during REM sleep aids in environment
processing and promotes brain development.
The
majority of the research on sleep that is now accessible focuses on the
negative effects of sleep deprivation, but the evidence we do have suggests
that sleep is crucial for brain development and general health.
Having knowledge of prenatal development
The
brain of your unborn child starts to grow as soon as one week after conception.
The brain and other significant organs are increasing in size but are not yet
clearly characterised in the early stages. It becomes more substantial and
intricate as the weeks go by.
The
first trimester is when taste buds first develop. Amniotic fluid contains
flavours and fragrances that mom's diet left behind.
Long
before you feel it, movement starts (usually around 20 weeks). Although you
might not be aware of every movement, your foetus probably moves at least 50
times per hour. Despite the fact that they move both during their resting and
waking periods, these motions do not necessarily indicate that they are awake.
In
the second trimester, the middle ear's structure begins to take shape. Your
baby may start to show evidence of speech recognition in weeks 25 or 26.
Therefore,
even though your child may sleep for the majority of their time in utero, a lot
is happening at the same time. They are expanding their senses, becoming aware
of their environment, and getting ready for their big debut even as they are
snoozing off.