Pregnant: baby has hiccups - how dangerous is it?

During pregnancy, babies can have hiccups in the womb. This is nothing to worry about, a study confirms.

• Hiccups in embryos in the womb - nothing to worry about.
• A study of the UCL reveals that babies through the hiccups their respiratory muscles are exercising.
• What can be done about the hiccups in babies ?

Immediately after a birth , the most important task of a newborn is to breathe independently. To do this, the embryo learns breathing exercises during pregnancy - through hiccups . As early as the ninth week of pregnancy, a baby can have hiccups in the womb. In the last trimester of pregnancy, this can happen every 15 minutes in an embryo.

There are no general rules about the length or occurrence of the hiccups , because every baby behaves differently. Pregnant women are often concerned about their unborn babies. The hiccups in particular give expectant mothers many questions.

Hiccups in babies during pregnancy: They learn to train their respiratory muscles

The hiccups in babies is during pregnancy quite natural. In the womb , the embryos begin breathing exercises so that they can train the muscles of their rib cage and diaphragm. Since the baby cannot breathe air in the stomach, the amniotic fluid is inhaled and pushed through the diaphragm. This can lead to hiccups.

Researchers at University College London ( UCL ) conducted a 2019 study on newborn babies in the nursery to determine what happens in babies' brains during hiccups . The researchers attached electrodes to the heads of the newborns, which measured brain activity for a short period of time. In addition, sensors were installed that recorded the babies' movements . This enabled the researchers to see what happens to the infants as soon as they have hiccups. Previous studies have shown that hiccups are an important motor activity in babies during pregnancy. The UCL study confirms this.

The activity resulting from a hiccup may be helping the baby's brain to learn how to monitor the breathing muscles so that eventually breathing can be voluntary controlled by moving the diaphragm up and down.

A head of the study , Dr. Lorenzo Fabrizi, explains the results of the research: "The activity resulting from the hiccups can help the baby's brain learn to monitor the respiratory muscles so that breathing can ultimately be controlled at will by moving the diaphragm up and down." From the study shows that a baby's brain can learn through hiccups to process and combine various sensory impressions.

Each time a newborn baby hiccups, it triggers a large wave of brain signals that could help the baby learn how to regulate their breathing, finds a new study led by Kimberley Whitehead & Dr Lorenzo Fabrizi @uclnpp @uclbiosciences https://t.co / 4vy1GTZl3b

Hiccups in babies in the womb: It's important to keep calm

Pregnant women are often very concerned about the health of their baby . Diet during pregnancy also plays a major role here. A hiccup in a baby during pregnancy is very normal, so you can show as expectant mother no thought and should remain calm. However, if in doubt, an ultrasound scan can help determine if everything is okay with the baby. Only in the rarest of cases is an insufficient supply of oxygen the reason for movement in the abdomen. The size of the baby also plays a role, because the bigger it is, the more intense the hiccups can become.

There is not much that can be done about the hiccups in general. Changing your eating habits or adjusting exercise doesn't have much of an effect, say many doctors. However, they were able to prove that relaxation and rest would be good for both mother and child. The baby belly caress and relaxation courses can calm the expectant mothers.

Baby has hiccups in the stomach: why do adults still have hiccups?

According to researcher Kimberley Whitehead, the reason why adults often suffer from hiccups lies in evolution. The reflex that infants have in the womb to control their respiratory muscles is therefore a remnant of evolution in adults that has been retained:

"The reasons for why we hiccup are not entirely clear, but there may be a developmental reason, given that foetuses and newborn babies hiccup so frequently." 

Pregnancy: names of the unborn child

During pregnancy , the child goes through various phases in the abdomen during which it grows and develops. The name of the child depends on the time of pregnancy. However, this is not correctly defined. According to the professional association for gynecologists, this period can be used as a guide: