Updated December, 2020
I have heard a lot of myths regarding fetuses during pregnancy. These old tales can give new families a completely inaccurate picture of what their baby is experiencing in the womb. So I put together a Fact or Fiction piece to ensure you know exactly what is going on.
Fact or Fiction
1. The womb provides the fetus with a stable, unchanging, silent, and dark environment in which to grow and develop.
Answer: Fiction
The womb environment is varied, changing moment to moment as the mother walks, talks, eats, drinks, listens to music, becomes frightened or stressed, laughs, or takes a bath. It is noisy, bumpy, dimly lit, and full of different tastes and smells.
2. The course of prenatal development is genetically determined.
Answer: Fiction
Genetics play an important part, but prenatal development involves the dynamic interaction of many biological, behavioral, and environmental behaviors.
3. Fetal movement is random and unimportant to development.
Answer: Fiction
Fetal movement is generated by the developing nervous system and, in turn, influences its development. Over time, fetal movements become more coordinated and intentional. Fetal activity is necessary for normal development. For example, limb movements are necessary for the joints to develop properly, swallowing fluid facilitates development of the digestive tract, and tongue movements affect the formation of the palette.
4. The fetus is a passive recipient of sensory stimulation.
Answer: Fiction
The fetus actively and selectively responds to sensory stimuli. It responds to tactile stimulation, increases swallowing of amniotic fluid when it is sweetened and covers its eyes when exposed to bright light.
5. The fetus is protected from maternal stress.
Answer: Fiction
The experience of stress in the mother is accompanied by a physiological stress response that results in an increase in stress hormones, heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration, and a decrease in digestion. These factors affect the level of oxygen and nutrition that the fetus receives. Also, stress hormones cross the placenta and affect the fetus directly. Evidence is accumulating that severe and chronic stress can affect the fetus. This is an important and growing area of research. There is much more to learn about mothers and babies before birth.
Lightening Round
When does a fetus start to hear?
- Answer: 21 weeks. They also will demonstrate a significant preference for their mother’s voice.
When does taste develop?
- Answer: Your fetus will develop taste buds around 11-13 weeks.
When do they begin to feel?
- Answer: Your fetus will start responding to touch as early as 7 1/2 weeks. Their mouth is the first area to become sensitive to touch (likely why they will suck their thumb even in the womb!). The rest of their body will begin to respond to touch in a head to toe pattern (starting at their head and moving down).
When does the fetus start to see?
- Answer: Sight is the last sense that will develop, around 26 weeks. They will notice variations of light, their own limbs, and shadows.
