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Why does the baby often hiccup during pregnancy?
Any movement of the crumbs in the womb brings joy to a pregnant woman. Thanks to shocks of different intensity, the mother distinguishes between the periods of sleep and wakefulness of the baby, tries to predict its nature. One of the manifestations of such contacts is the baby’s hiccups, which are felt as light rhythmic movements in the abdomen. And although this phenomenon is absolutely painless, it is worth figuring out why the child hiccups during pregnancy and whether it is dangerous.
Is it dangerous to hiccup a baby in the womb?
Hiccups are an inborn reflex that occurs due to irritation of the nerve centers of the brain. It manifests itself by a uniform contraction of the muscles of the diaphragm, separating the chest from the abdominal cavity. A woman can feel intrauterine hiccups from the 25th week of pregnancy, since by this time the crumbs have a fully formed nervous system.
It is possible to recognize that the baby is hiccuping during pregnancy by light rhythmic pushing
Important! Periodically occurring short hiccups of the fetus are not a cause for concern, but a sign of a normally developing central nervous system.
Why does a baby hiccup during pregnancy? The most common reason is that the baby swallowed amniotic fluid while yawning or thumb-sucking.
Both the frequency and duration of hiccups in children are individual.
Sometimes the tremors are felt for 5 minutes, sometimes for a third of an hour.
How often hiccups are observed depends not only on the activity of the baby, but also on the woman’s sensitivity.
What to do if baby hiccups frequently during pregnancy?
A woman should be alerted by the increased frequency of attacks of hiccups. Occasionally, this may indicate chronic intrauterine hypoxia – a lack of oxygen in the fetus.
The risk group includes women with oligohydramnios and polyhydramnios, multiple pregnancies, gestational diabetes. Prolonged oxygen starvation leads to underdevelopment of the central nervous system, low weight and growth retardation of the baby.
The baby hiccups during pregnancy when swallowing amniotic fluid
In addition to frequent and severe hiccups, signs of hypoxia are:
- increased motor activity of the crumbs;
- weakening or cessation of fetal movements;
- decreased heart rate in a child;
- decrease in the height of the fundus of the uterus.
Sometimes intrauterine hypoxia develops against the background of late toxicosis. In this case, the woman is worried about insomnia, headache, dizziness, vomiting, nausea.
If a baby hiccups during a high-risk pregnancy, only a doctor can dispel or confirm doubts. During routine examinations, the gynecologist must listen to the heartbeat of the baby with a stethoscope. Regular tests indicate possible deviations.
If necessary, the doctor prescribes an ultrasound scan with Doppler and a cardiotocogram for the pregnant woman.
So, in itself, fetal hiccups are normal. It can be a cause for concern if there are symptoms of intrauterine hypoxia.