What time do they give birth - features and norms

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Pregnancy is a unique time in a woman's life. When else can you boast that two whole hearts are beating in your body, despite the fact that this is not some kind of pathology. Despite the fact that during pregnancy, the expectant mother cannot yet hold the baby in her arms and look into his face, this period most clearly expresses the very essence of motherhood. A woman carries in herself a small creature that her body completely nourishes, warms, and provides with oxygen. A closer bond cannot be imagined.

How long does pregnancy last? The simplest answer “9 months” suggests itself first. Those who were interested in pregnancy issues, read something and discussed with friends, can answer: "40 weeks." And you can also remember about the obstetric and true gestational age. All this brings a lot of confusion. So what time do they give birth?

Obstetric and true term

Obstetric term is the time that began from the beginning of the last menstruation. As a matter of fact, in the first days, or even two weeks, a woman is not yet pregnant. It's just so much easier to count. What can a doctor ask when a woman comes to see him? The date of conception is usually not so easy to determine. With an irregular sexual life, this day can be guessed. But if a woman is married or lives with a regular partner, then there will simply be too many expected dates. Not everyone monitors the state of their body at this moment and tries to determine the onset of ovulation. But everyone remembers the beginning of menstruation, and often writes it down. Conception occurs after this, when ovulation occurs. Most often, the obstetric period differs from the true one by 2 weeks.

There is one point that can be misleading when determining the term. At the beginning of pregnancy, there may be spotting. At this time, it seems to many that menstruation has come, only for some reason very little blood is released. But this is a completely different phenomenon in the body. It may occur 1-2 times early in pregnancy and normally disappears quickly.

How many weeks

At what week is the baby due? So, the obstetric period, that is, the time from the beginning of the last menstruation to childbirth, is usually 40 weeks, and the true or embryonic period from fertilization to childbirth in most women is 38 weeks. If you count in days, the obstetric period will last 280 days, and the true one will be 266.

Cycle length and due date

The length of the menstrual cycle affects the date of birth, however, doctors usually do not take this into account. Ovulation most often occurs 14 days before the end of the cycle. If one woman has a cyclelasts 24 days, and the other 36, then the second ovulation date will shift by as much as 12 days compared to the first. At the same time, they will predict the same date of birth. The reality of how many weeks these women give birth will be completely different.

Therefore, when determining the duration of pregnancy, the doctor must take into account ultrasound data, the size and development of the fetus, as well as an increase in the woman's abdomen.

Prematurity

Any deviation from these numbers should be considered pathological? Of course not. The norms for how many weeks he althy children are born are as follows - from 37 to 42 weeks of the obstetric period. A premature baby is considered if he was born no later than 37 weeks of pregnancy. However, prematurity is determined not only by the duration of pregnancy. Babies weighing less than 2.5 kg are considered premature.

In addition, they have external features - their skin is reddish and wrinkled, the umbilical cord is lower than in full-term children, there are structural features of the ears. The genitals of such babies are underdeveloped - in boys, the testicles have not yet descended into the scrotum, in girls, the small labia are not covered by the large ones. The nails do not yet reach the edge of the phalanges of the fingers. Their behavior is also different - the cry is quiet, the movements are sluggish, there are no reflexes, only sucking and swallowing can be observed. Sometimes a baby born before 37 weeks can weigh more than 2.5 kg and not have all of these signs. Then doctors can recognize him as full-term - his body is formed and ready to collide with the environment. True, if a childborn before 31 weeks, he is considered premature in any case.

Sometimes, on the contrary, babies born at term show signs of prematurity. How many weeks are non-viable babies born? If the baby was born before 24 weeks and weighs less than 500 g, such a case is not considered a premature birth, but a miscarriage. These babies are almost impossible to go out. However, modern medicine does not stand still. Children weighing 500 g or more, thanks to the efforts of doctors, still survive.

Morning

If a baby is born 2 weeks after the due date, it is considered post-term. In such children, “bathing” feet and hands are observed - the skin on them wrinkles, as after a long stay in the water. After all, the original lubricant ceases to protect the skin of the baby. On the body, the skin may be dry and flaky, sometimes greenish in color. Oddly enough, such children are not larger, but thinner than those born at term.

Many women who have prolonged pregnancy are trying to bring the birth of folk remedies. They walk up the stairs, go on long and active walks, have a stormy sex life with their spouse, stimulate the nipples. Sometimes childbirth can be caused by hanging linen or curtains - the load in this position affects the woman's body. But it is better to do all this after consulting with your doctor in advance. The fact is that the cervix must be ready for childbirth. If she is not “ripe”, and the birth has begun, only a caesarean will help.

Doctors resort to artificialinduction of childbirth, if there are signs dangerous for the child. Meconium may be found in the amniotic fluid. They may have a complete lack of lubrication, which means that the baby's skin is not protected. The baby's head may not be surrounded by amniotic fluid at all, and the placenta is rapidly aging and does not provide the baby with enough oxygen.

Why are many people born prematurely?

Often, when interviewing their relatives and acquaintances, women can find that a large number of children were born 2 weeks before the due date. What is it - a mistake of doctors? Any tendency in work of an organism of pregnant women and their children? This may be due to various factors. For example, with the floor. How many weeks can you give birth? 2 weeks before the due date, that is, at 38 weeks and later - such terms are included in the normal interval. Children are usually of normal body weight and height.

Sometimes people say that girls are born earlier. "We are always in a hurry - then to be born, then to get married." It is difficult to find reliable statistics on how many weeks girls and boys give birth. Some data does say that girls, on average, are born slightly earlier than boys. Their birth weight is usually less. The same tendency continues to operate in childhood and adolescence. Girls grow faster and reach puberty earlier, but stop growing earlier.

First and second children

There is also a perception that the second pregnancy is 7-10 days shorter than the first. For this there isphysiological preconditions. After the first birth, the pelvic muscles become more plastic, and the cervix smoothes out faster. True, this is not always the case. If you ask women how many weeks they gave birth to their second child, not everyone will answer that the second pregnancy was shorter than the first. After all, its duration is influenced by many other factors. For example, the size of the fetus. And second and later babies are often bigger.

By the way, the second pregnancy is different from the first. The abdomen usually becomes visible earlier, and the woman feels the movement of the fetus earlier. In addition, the stomach drops lower. This can cause inconvenience - frequent urination, increased stress on the back. At the same time, there will be less breathing discomfort and digestive problems like heartburn. Repeated births are usually easier. The woman is already familiar with this process and knows how to behave.

Genetic predisposition

It happens that a woman has a tendency to early childbirth. If you ask her how many weeks the first child was born, you can find out that he was born around 38 weeks. Then the probability of having a second child before forty weeks is also great. Sometimes the tendency to early childbirth is transmitted genetically. Therefore, it is best to ask your mother, and if there is, then your grandmother and sisters, what time did they give birth.

Multiple pregnancy

Multiple pregnancy is considered, starting with twins. It is characterized by early childbirth. How many weeks are twins born? Twins can be bornat the standard term, and may be born at 34-35 weeks. At the same time, babies will lag behind other children in height and weight, because it would be very difficult for a mother to carry large babies in herself. However, their bodies will already be formed by this time, and they will not show signs of prematurity.

How many weeks can you give birth if there are even more children? When pregnant with triplets and a large number of children, which happens even less often, the likelihood of giving birth at term is very small. And phenomenal cases, when 5 children are born at once, are usually accompanied by prematurity. Some of these babies were born at just 26 weeks, for example, girls from the Artamkin family, who are currently he althy and in school.