Well before they're born, babies seem wired to be social. A very small study that followed five pairs of twins in utero concluded that they start to interact socially with each other by week 14 of pregnancy.
When you are pregnant, your baby is exposed to everything you experience. This includes the sounds in the environment, the air you breathe, the food you eat and the emotions you feel. When you feel happy and calm, it allows your baby to develop in a happy, calm environment.
At approximately 20 weeks the baby can start to feel your touch. Caressing and massaging your tummy and responding to his kicks and nudges is the start of a positive two-way communication. It also facilitates blood flow and calms your body (Brion). The fetus's hearing is developing all the time.
In the U.S., the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG 2020) and the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine (SMFM 2021) state that fetal pain is not structurally possible until at least 24–25 weeks gestation, that the fetus cannot be conscious of pain “until the third trimester at the earliest,” (>28 ...
Washington, D.C. – A new study “Reconsidering Fetal Pain” confirms that babies in the womb can feel pain as early as 12 weeks old. Writing in the Journal of Medical Ethics, Stuart W.G. Derbyshire and John C.
The takeaway
While it's true your baby can cry in the womb, it doesn't make a sound, and it's not something to worry about. The baby's practice cries include imitating the breathing pattern, facial expression, and mouth movements of a baby crying outside of the womb. You shouldn't worry that your baby is in pain.
In the first trimester, the baby is deep inside your abdomen and surrounded by a lot of amniotic fluid. Her body is tiny and still developing, so it's unlikely she has any awareness of the outside yet. However, big changes happen in the second trimester, which allows your little one to feel touch and respond to it.
A fetal heartbeat may first be detected by a vaginal ultrasound as early as 5 1/2 to 6 weeks after gestation. That's when a fetal pole, the first visible sign of a developing embryo, can sometimes be seen. But between 6 1/2 to 7 weeks after gestation, a heartbeat can be better assessed.
You at 8 weeks pregnant
Nausea peaks around this time, so you might feel quite sick. You might also feel more emotional, and you could be happy or grumpy at a moment's notice. Or you might feel like you have a lot of energy. Either way, emotional swings are normal when you're pregnant.
Significant changes in your hormone levels can affect your level of neurotransmitters, which are brain chemicals that regulate mood. Mood swings are mostly experienced during the first trimester between 6 to 10 weeks and then again in the third trimester as your body prepares for birth.
Most recently, some studies are suggesting that stress in the womb can affect a baby's temperament and neurobehavioral development. Infants whose mothers experienced high levels of stress while pregnant, particularly in the first trimester, show signs of more depression and irritability.
Baby may start to know when their father is touching mom's belly. Babies can sense touch from anyone, but they can also sense when touch (and voice) is familiar. And by 24 weeks into pregnancy, dad can usually feel baby kick – but the exact time varies.
A baby's experience before birth is still largely unknown — but some research suggests they may sense how a pregnant parent feels. Experts are still learning about what can be sensed from inside the womb, like joy, stress, and whether or not an unborn baby can feel unwanted.
Can crying and depression affect an unborn baby? Having an occasional crying spell isn't likely to harm your unborn baby. More severe depression during pregnancy, however, could possibly have a negative impact on your pregnancy.
Although less studied than depression, research suggests that anxiety may negatively affect both the mother and the fetus. Anxiety increases the risk for preterm birth, low birthweight, earlier gestational age, and a smaller head circumference (which is related to brain size).
Sound can travel through your body and reach your baby. Very loud noises may be able to damage your baby's hearing. Ear plugs or earmuffs do not protect your baby's hearing. If you're pregnant the only way to protect your baby's hearing is to stay away from loud noise.
Don t be surprised if you develop a bit of a 6 weeks pregnant belly. Although your 6 week embryo is still well down in your pelvis, some women, especially those who've been pregnant before, seem to show much earlier. General abdominal distention is usually the cause.
First trimester movement: Weeks 1–12
Given the teeny tiny size of your baby during early pregnancy, it's unlikely that you'll feel any type of fetal movement in your first trimester.
The lungs are the last major organ to finish developing. When fully mature, they produce a chemical that affects the hormones in your body.
At around 18 weeks of pregnancy, your unborn baby will start being able to hear sounds in your body like your heartbeat. At 27 to 29 weeks (6 to 7 months), they can hear some sounds outside your body too, like your voice. By the time they are full term, they will be able to hear at about the same level as an adult.
The results? The babies moved their arms, heads and mouths more when their mothers touched their bellies than when their moms spoke to them. They also responded to maternal touch earlier in gestation than was previously known, between weeks 21 and 25 of pregnancy.
The idea that unborn and newborn babies cannot feel pain is obsolete, refuted by an extensive and growing body of scientific evidence. The myth that unborn babies cannot feel pain comes from a bygone era when newborns were strapped down for surgery without pain relief.
Studies have shown that infants as young as one month-old sense when a parent is depressed or angry and are affected by the parent's mood. Understanding that even infants are affected by adult emotions can help parents do their best in supporting their child's healthy development.