The Unborn Child Moves Just Like Any Other Baby!

The way the child moves before birth is similar to the way a newborn baby moves. Prenatal movement patterns are easily recognizable to persons familiar with the kinds of movements made by pre-term and full-term infants. It's amazing that the pattern of yawns and stretches seen in the first trimester remains the same throughout life. The child is engaged in all kinds of movements as early as the sixth week after conception. At this time, periods of inactivity typically last no more than about 260 seconds. See if you can identify with the movements that I've highlighted below.

Hiccups first occur during the sixth week after conception. In a study of twelve children all of them were hiccupping by the eighth week, with a median frequency of about 50 hiccups per hour.

Startles first occur from 6 to 7 ½ weeks after conception. During the seventh week, they were observed in twelve of twelve children studied, with a median rate of 42 startles per hour.

Isolated arm movements begin about 7 ¼ to 8 ½ weeks after conception, with isolated leg movements starting after the first 7 ¼ to 10 ½ weeks of life. Backward head movements first occur from 7 ½ to 10 ½ weeks.

Rotations of the head also begin from the middle of the seventh week after conception to the middle of the tenth week. During the eleventh week, these movements were present in twelve of twelve children studied, with a median frequency of five rotations per hour. In a separate study, the median frequency was 63 rotations per hour during the eighteenth week.

Breathing movements begin during the eighth week after conception. A single, large displacement of the diaphragm can seem like a sigh. During the ninth week, ten of twelve children examined were making breathing movements, with a median frequency of about 30 breaths each hour. During the eleventh week all twelve children were breathing, and the movements doubled to about 60 per hour. By the seventeenth week, the median breathing rate was 208 times per hour.

The child's breathing movements are related to the mother's eating pattern. In a study of ten children twenty to twenty two weeks after conception, the frequency of their breathing movements was much higher during the second hour after their mother's breakfast or lunch than during the third hour. Breathing movements occurred most often just after the mother's meal at noon.

Stretches first occur during the eighth week after conception. From the twelfth week onward, stretching an arm is frequently accompanied by extending the fingers.

Jaw openings and forward head movements begin during the 8 ½ to 12 ½ weeks after conception. During the tenth week, ten of twelve children examined opened their jaws, with a median frequency of about 18 movements per hour. By the twelfth week, all twelve children were opening their jaws, and the median frequency had increased to 30 times per hour.

In a separate study of ten children during the twentieth to twenty second weeks after conception, the median number of jaw openings increased from 51 per hour in the early morning to 97 per hour in the early afternoon.

Hand-to-face contacts first occur 8 to 10 ½ weeks after conception. The hand touches the face slowly and the fingers often open and close. The child also sometimes inserts fingers into its mouth.

During the tenth week after conception, hand-to-face contacts were seen in all twelve of twelve children examined, with a median frequency of about 25 contacts each hour. In a different study of nine children, the median number of hand-to-face contacts was 95 per hour eighteen weeks after conception.

Tongue movements begin during the ninth week after conception. Yawning starts from the middle of the ninth week to the middle of the thirteenth week. Finger movements first occur during the tenth week after conception when opening and closing of one or more fingers can be seen.

Sucking and swallowing begin from the middle of the tenth week after conception to the middle of the twelfth week.

By the thirteenth week, the child can accomplish a complete change of position, usually with a backwards somersault.

Slow eye movements first occur during the fourteenth week after conception and rapid eye movements begin during the twenty-first week. In an examination of nine children, the median number of eye movements during the eighteenth week after conception was 25 per hour, increasing to 101 per hour during the thirty fourth week. "Blink-startle" responses have been seen during the twenty second and twenty third weeks.

During the twentieth to twenty second weeks after conception, the daily pattern of the child's heart rate follows changes in the mother's heart rate. The child's heart rate decreases overnight.