Yes, babies pee in the womb. The human attribute of excreting waste products applies to babies while they’re still in the womb. In the early stages of development, the unborn child is surrounded by a fluid called amniotic acid.
This fluid is initially formed from the accumulation of fluid due to the cellular activity surrounding the early embryo.
After the 11th week of pregnancy the renal function of the unborn baby begins to get noticed (the bladder starts to accumulate urine) and the baby begins to urinate providing the main component of the amniotic fluid: the unborn baby’s urine.
Amniotic fluid is composed of the urine of the unborn babies by more than 90%. Other minor components are pulmonary, funicular (umbilical cord), cutaneous, ocular secretions, etc.
The baby controls the volume of the liquid by compensating the speed of production (urinating) with the speed of elimination (swallowing).
When the baby swallows, most of the liquid passes to the mother in the form of water.
Do babies drink pee in the womb?
By the time their kidneys are fully developed, babies will begin to consume and re-excrete the amniotic fluid around them as urine and then consume it again.
Isn’t it surprising?
Well, this awkward process is a very crucial medical factor as medical personnel relies on it in determining the state of the unborn child.
Extremely low amount of amniotic fluid translates to malfunctioning of the baby’s kidneys while the extremely high amount of amniotic fluid. On the other hand, indicates that the baby is experiencing difficulty in swallowing.
The baby continuously swallows amniotic fluid but gets nothing practically from it to nourish himself.
By ultrasound, the stomach can be seen “full” of fluid, which means that the upper digestive tract is developed correctly and that the nervous system works correctly in what reflexes swallowing refers — it doesn’t mean that the baby has eaten recently.
The stomach should always be visible; otherwise, it may suggest severe fetal problems of a structural or functional nature.
What happens if baby poops in the womb?
Most babies wait until after their birth before passing out their first poop —a greenish-black substance called Meconium.
There are, however, complex cases wherein Meconium is released while a baby is still in the womb.
When this happens, the baby’s health is in danger because Meconium affects ante-natal respiratory and digestive processes negatively.
But experienced doctors can treat this condition by getting the baby’s airways suctioned to take out contaminated fluid.
The passage of Meconium into the intestines of unborn babies is not supposed to happen until they are born. However, it’s not so unusual for babies to poop in the womb.
According to studies, about 12% of fetuses are not able to hold Meconium in until delivery.
These babies will have MSAF-meconium tinted amniotic fluid, usually greenish or yellowish, present in waste bile.
It may be of concern for the chances that Meconium enters the fetal airway, causing a respiratory disease called meconium aspiration syndrome or MAS although the syndrome can cause fetal death if it extends into pregnancies that last longer than 42 weeks.
When a baby ingests a small amount of Meconium while in utero or during delivery, ingesting small amounts of Meconium, either in the lungs or through the mouth in utero runs the risk of contracting MAS for babies.
This condition can be a health risk for the baby, but most of the time does not cause serious complications. This condition is technically referred to as meconium aspiration syndrome.
It is not uncommon for babies to pass Meconium into the uterus that can result in amniotic fluid stained with Meconium.
Decreased oxygen in the uterus, the process of hard or long delivery, and the health conditions of the mother suffers can contribute to meconium aspiration syndrome.
Such conditions may include pre-eclampsia, diabetes, and high blood pressure.
Mothers with traces of Meconium in the amniotic fluid should be monitored very closely, which helps to take timely and effective measures if meconium aspiration syndrome occurs.
If traces of Meconium are found in the amniotic fluid, then it is best to have a special care team present at the time of delivery. There is no treatment needed if the newborn is crying and shows activity.
If the baby does not cry or little activity shows after birth, the nurse or doctor places a tube in the child’s airways.
The traces of Meconium can be removed by aspiration. If necessary, the procedure can be repeated.
If the baby’s heart rate is very low or the baby is not breathing properly, the team will place a mask on the baby to help breathe.
This mask is connected to a bag that provides a mixture of oxygen to inflate the baby’s lungs.
To keep track of the baby’s condition, he can be placed in the neonatal intensive care unit or the special care nursery. Other treatments that can be given are:
- Antibiotics for the treatment of infection
- Insufflator (breathing apparatus) to continuously inflate the baby’s lungs
- Keep normal blood levels by providing oxygen
- Maintaining body temperature by radiant heating
Also, you will need to know how to cope with the first stool move of your little new family member.
The first stool of a newborn is a tar-like colored substance and black, and the smell of the first saddle adopted by the baby is not because the fault meconium is sterile.
However, the baby’s odorless shit is not something to boast of because the colonization of bacteria begins immediately after the first feeding.
The baby’s poop remains non-stinking until bacterial colonization in the gut begins.
The white and red color of the baby’s stool should be concerned. White stools that look like clay color are an indication of severe liver disease. Red stools indicate the presence of blood in the stool of the baby.
Although this blood could have come from bleeding to the mother’s nipples or had been swallowed at birth, the wise thing would be to consult a doctor and get the baby checked.
How does a baby eat in the womb?
Inside the womb, babies cannot consume the kind of hard food we take, but that notwithstanding, they still get all the food, water, and oxygen they need. How does this happen?
Well, babies derive vital nutrients they need from already digested food in their mother’s bloodstream.
Molecules of food pregnant women eat eventually get absorbed into their bloodstream.
From there, they flow to the placenta after which they are transferred to the blood of the baby through its umbilical cord.
During pregnancy, the woman will need more energy than usual.
On account of this, she will have to increase her intake of proteins, vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, and fats, due to the increasing demands of the baby that is developing in her womb.
Therefore, the healthy growth of the unborn baby depends on the mother’s diet, which should increase in terms of both quality and quantity.
If the mother does not take adequate amounts of food, the placenta will also absorb the nutrients and oxygen from the mother’s blood, which will cause the mother to weaken, generating subsequent problems for the mother, during childbirth and in extreme cases it could affect the baby inside.
The placenta is a complex organ that feeds the unborn baby, releases hormones and enzymes, has space with villi where endocrine, metabolic functions are performed and depend almost entirely on the mother’s blood.
The placenta transports food and oxygen from the mother’s circulatory system to the unborn baby, and the unborn baby sends elimination products to the placenta.
In this way, there is an exchange between the mother and the unborn baby, the blood circulation of the mother and the unborn baby are completely independent.
The blood spaces surround the villi of the placenta, are filled with blood from the blood of the mother’s arteries, blood that contains food and passes through the walls of the villi.
The umbilical cord is the tube through which facilitates the exchange of blood between mother and child.
It has two arteries spirally linked around a single vein, these three components are attached to the navel of the unborn baby, and the other end attached to the placenta.
The arteries of the mother provide oxygen and nutrients, these are collected through the villi of the placenta, absorbing the blood from the arteries of the mother, from there it passes to the circulation of the unborn baby using the two arteries of the umbilical cord.
By week-7, the umbilical cord becomes evident, and the first ultrasound indications of the placenta are appreciated as it then can be seen through the Doppler study, how the embryonic circulation is directed towards the placenta.
From this moment, and during the rest of the pregnancy, the baby will get all its nutrients and oxygen through this route.
The baby does not need to eat or wait for mom to eat to get her nutrients since, in the placenta, magnificent but hideous factory, there is all the necessary exchange so that the baby gets everything it needs to grow.
Exchange: In the placenta, the maternal and fetal circulation approach without ever contacting.
In the placenta, there are small pockets where the maternal blood, oxygenated and full of nutrients is introduced to bathe the capillaries (villi) corals) that are inside and that are the terminal structures of the umbilical cord capable of exchanging substances on either side.
The baby gets water, minerals, oxygen, varied biochemical precursors, glucose, amino acids and fatty acids that will allow the growth of the organs of his body; the mother will receive, in return, waste products that will be disposed of in her blood.
Baby feeding: As hinted earlier, all the baby’s nutrition comes through the umbilical cord in the form of dissolved substances in the mother’s blood.
These nutrients pass to the baby continuously whether or not the mother has eaten.
The baby is continuously parasitizing her mother to guarantee her development.
When the mother is fed properly during pregnancy, the baby will always have satisfactory maternal sources for her development without affecting her mother’s health.
If the mother is malnourished, the baby will accelerate maternal malnutrition until it reaches a point where the baby will not be able to obtain adequate nutrients, and both will be severely compromised.
When the placenta does not work well, the exchange surface is reduced and therefore, the diffusion of oxygen and nutrients from the mother to the unborn baby will be limited even when the mother is well nourished. This condition is called ‘placental insufficiency.’
It is the cause of the so-called chronic fetal distress that leads to babies of low weight or with intrauterine fetal growth retardation.
The baby continuously swallows amniotic fluid but gets nothing practically from him to nourish himself, by ultrasound the stomach can be seen “full” of fluid, and that means that the upper digestive tract is properly developed and that the nervous system works correctly in what reflexes swallowing refers; It doesn’t mean that the baby has eaten recently.
The stomach should always be visible; otherwise, it may suggest serious fetal problems of a structural or functional nature.
Do babies fart in the womb?
Babies can not fart in the womb. This is so because your unborn baby is indeed surrounded by water and not of air, and because an ‘air’ is nothing but the gas that is produced during digestion and your child doesn’t digest food digestion since he/she gets all the nutrients from the placenta.
What does a baby do in the womb?
In addition to the inconveniences, the addition of a lot of kilos and a spicy birth, the pregnancy is extremely special.
The life that you feel grows in you and more and more shows that it is a truly mature person in the making.
At times when it is very heavy (if you are hanging over the pot or lying in bed with a merciless cramp in your legs), think about what great things are happening inside.
Of these special developments of your baby in your belly, you are guaranteed to get emotional.
Highlighted below are 10 special things that your baby does in the womb:
1). Yawn
Yawning and yawning start around the twelfth week. The purpose of this is to take the first steps towards an active life.
Stretching is also one of the activities. Now don’t think that your baby will find you boring, isn’t that bad?
2). Cry
With a vibrating pout, your little one is already practicing hard to make himself heard in the outside world.
Crying is an important way of communicating for newborn babies. Scientists have discovered crying behavior in the womb, and that means that your little one is getting ready for the step outside.
3). Dream
It seems that fetuses make REM movement with their eyes. This could indicate the possibility of dreams. What could that possibly be about? Wonderful.
4). Taste your food
Certainly, with certain foods, tastes are released that can be tasted in amniotic fluid.
Sweet flavors, garlic, ginger. The more intense flavors, therefore, change the amniotic fluid. And a preference for sweet already develops in the belly.
Bitter flavors are received with a grimace (I now think of that).
5). Open the eyes
From week 28, your baby will occasionally open its eyes. There is not much to see, but the reaction to light is already noticeable.
Researchers have observed that fetuses tend to avoid bright light and turn away from it. From now on, no more construction lights shine on your stomach…
6). Laugh
Due to the development in equipment, ultrasound technicians with 4D equipment have discovered that fetuses already practice their toothless smile in the abdomen.
Smart, because they quickly conquer the hearts of every parent, grandpa, and grandma and other random passers-by who takes a look in the baby carriage.
7). To have hiccups
Are you pregnant or you’re a new mom already? Then you recognize this. I always thought it was very sweet: the hiccups inside. It is so human and tangible.
The hiccups can start early, in the first trimester.
Then you will hardly notice it. At the end of the third trimester they become present and sometimes a bit irritating, but most of all very cute.
8). Sucking on the thumb
That is cute to behold. On many echoes, ‘parents to be ‘discern the beginning of an addiction that expert parents say ‘help, how do we get rid of it?’
Although, English research indicates that thumb sucking is a sign of a healthy baby.
Frequently touching the lower part of the face can be an indication of social interaction, learning to eat, and being able to ‘comfort’ yourself.
9). Bonds with you
In the last few weeks, your baby will listen more and more to how you talk. The sound, the intonation.
It doesn’t matter what you say, if only in a normal tone, but even if you shit and pee, your baby will automatically positively recognize your voice after the birth. And that immediately produces a special bond.
Conclusion
All in all, unborn babies are fully human like the rest of us.
Otherwise, they would not be able to develop organs, feel, grow, eat, and even poop as we all do.
The only major things unborn babies are incapable of is thinking and effective communication.
