Amniotic fluid during pregnancy: meaning, composition, volume

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

Everything in the human body is arranged reasonably, a pregnant woman is no exception. For example, amniotic fluid is a unique environment in which a baby lives and develops for nine months, and which helps him to be born comfortably, safely and easily. This environment of the child fully meets all his needs and carries valuable information about his he alth.

The fetal bladder in Latin is called "amnion", and the fluid from here is called amniotic. It is believed that its smell is very similar to the smell of mother's milk, so the baby after birth accurately determines where the mother's breasts are.

Every pregnant woman should understand what role amniotic fluid plays and what functions it performs. In addition, she should have an idea of the pathologies that should be diagnosed and treated in time.

Functions

Baby swims in the wombin a special shell, which is called the fetal. Together with the placenta, it forms the fetal bladder, and it, in turn, is filled with amniotic fluid.

At the very beginning of pregnancy, this fluid is produced by the cells of the fetal bladder, and in the later stages, it is additionally produced by the kidneys of the baby itself. He first swallows water, it is absorbed in the stomach, and then it leaves the body in the form of urine.

But the fluid in the amniotic sac is completely renewed approximately every 3-4 hours. That is, the place of "recycled" waters is occupied by completely clean and renewed ones. Such a kind of "cycle" occurs all 40 weeks.

But a person cannot stay under water for a long time. Why does the baby develop in this environment? The answer is very simple. For the normal development of the baby at any stage of life, a harmonious environment is simply necessary. The water element is perfect for this role.

• Too loud sounds do not reach the child through the water.
• The temperature of the liquid is always constant, no matter if mom is suffering from a heat wave or she is cold.
• Water, together with the walls of the uterus, perfectly protect the baby from blows, squeezing or pushing.

Of course, this does not mean that you can safely ski, it is dangerous, like any extreme sport during pregnancy, but yoga or gymnastics is very useful and harmless for the baby.

The baby breathes in the stomach, but not yet with lungs, but with oxygen that enters its blood through the placenta. Minehe will take his first breath only after birth.

In the birth process, too, can not do without water, so during contractions, the baby's head presses on the cervix, helping it to open up. And the waters that are located in front of the head soften this pressure significantly, resulting in a smoother opening.

In the body of a pregnant woman, everything is thought out, and water is ideal for the intrauterine development of the baby.

How amniotic fluid is formed

The fertilized egg is attached to the uterus, begins to divide, the placenta, embryo, membranes and umbilical cord are formed. The fetal membranes form a bubble filled with a sterile liquid. After two weeks, the bladder completely fills the entire uterus.

But where does this liquid come from? Initially from the blood vessels of the mother, and in late pregnancy, the lungs and kidneys of the baby begin to participate in the process of water production. By the end of pregnancy, its amount reaches approximately 1.5 liters and it is updated every 3 hours.

Composition

On ultrasound, the doctor evaluates the amount, transparency and color of amniotic fluid each time.

Determining the amount of water is necessary to diagnose the condition of a pregnant woman and baby. If there are more or less of them at a certain stage of pregnancy, then something may be going wrong. However, it should be noted that this is very rare. Most often, doctors give a conclusion: "Moderate oligohydramnios", which indicates that the amount of amniotic fluid has slightly decreased. Howas a rule, additional examinations are prescribed to help establish that everything is fine with the child. In this case, oligohydramnios is a feature of the course of pregnancy in this particular period.

On ultrasound, the doctor must determine the quality of the amniotic fluid. Normally, they are transparent, like pure water. But by the end of pregnancy, they can become cloudy due to the fact that they contain baby skin cells and particles of the original lubricant, which gives a certain degree of cloudiness. This is also the norm.

The composition of the liquid consists of 97% of water, in which proteins, calcium, sodium, potassium, chlorine are dissolved. With a thorough analysis of amniotic fluid, alkaloids, baby hair and skin cells can be found in it. In addition, the liquid contains carbon dioxide, oxygen, electrolytes, hormones, proteins, enzymes, biologically active substances, vitamins. The concentration of each element depends on the gestational age.

The volume of water increases towards the end of pregnancy and reaches its maximum by the 38th week, but then begins to decrease closer to childbirth. So at the 38th week, the volume of amniotic fluid is normally about 1500 ml, in comparison, at the 10th week it was only about 30 ml. A change in the volume of fluid occurs when pregnancy is overdue and in pathologies.

Research methods

In order to diagnose the course of pregnancy, the color, quantity and transparency of the amniotic fluid, its hormonal, cellular and biochemical composition are very important. Doctors have in their arsenaldifferent ways to study amniotic fluid.

Diagnostic methods:

• Ultrasound. Attention is paid to the quantity, since a direct relationship has been revealed between this indicator and the pathology of the development of pregnancy (preeclampsia, postmaturity, fetal hypoxia). The amount of liquid is estimated by the size of free areas (“pockets”). With the help of ultrasound, it is also possible to assess the homogeneity of waters, the presence of suspensions, which indicate the infection of the liquid.
• Amnioscopy. This is an examination of the amniotic fluid and the lower part of the fetal bladder using special optical equipment - an amnioscope. This method allows you to evaluate the color of the liquid and its amount. Exercise it at the end of pregnancy.
• Amniocentesis is a puncture of the fetal bladder and the sampling of amniotic fluid for hormonal, biochemical, immunological studies. It is carried out in order to assess the condition of the fetus, it is mainly used for Rh-conflict. Fluid is taken during ultrasound control. Complications can be: miscarriage, the onset of preterm labor, premature rupture of amniotic fluid, injury to the intestines or bladder of the mother or fetal vessels. It should be noted that complications are very rare. This type of diagnosis is not carried out with the threat of premature birth or miscarriage, with malformations of the uterus. After surgery, bed rest for up to a week and medicines to relax the uterus are recommended.

Amniotic fluid leak

According toAccording to statistics, every fifth pregnant woman loses some amount of water even before the rupture of the amniotic sac. Leakage of amniotic fluid always scares the expectant mother, there is a feeling that she does not have time to run to the toilet. To self-diagnose this condition, you must tighten your muscles, the flow of urine can be stopped by willpower, but the amniotic fluid cannot. Leakage can lead to an infection, so see a doctor at the first sign of symptoms.

If the leakage of amniotic fluid occurs before the 34th week of pregnancy, then the baby's lungs have not yet fully formed, doctors will prolong the pregnancy, protecting the baby from infection with antibiotics. Mom will be prescribed medications, with the help of which the baby's lungs will fully form, and the cervix will prepare for the birth process.

If the leakage is already accompanied by an infection, the body temperature rises, leukocytes are found in the blood test and in the smear, then the pregnant woman immediately begins to prepare for childbirth.

When water should normally break

In an ideal state, amniotic fluid discharge occurs in the first stage of labor, when the cervix is almost open. It is at this time that the fetal bladder becomes thinner and breaks during contractions. After that, the contractions intensify and the baby is born.

But this is what a perfect birth looks like. However, premature rupture of amniotic fluid may occur, even before contractions begin. What to do in this case?

It doesn't matter at all whether there are contractions or they are not yet there, after the water breaks, you need to go to the hospital and be under the close supervision of doctors.

How does the water break?

The flow of amniotic fluid is different for everyone. It can happen, like in the cinema, in public transport, but without the "demonstrative screen" drama, it does not flow like water. Most often, not all waters come out, but only those that are located in front of the baby's head, and they, as a rule, are not more than 200 ml. The rest of the water flows out only after the birth of the baby.

But more often than not, a pregnant woman feels that her underwear has become wet, and she believes that involuntary urination has occurred.

There is also such a variant, the amniotic sac does not burst, but only bursts and the water begins to drain in small portions. The woman in this case only feels that her discharge has become more abundant and watery.

Pathologies of pregnancy associated with amniotic fluid

Among the pathological processes during pregnancy are:

Polyhydramnios, which is characterized by the fact that the liquid begins to exceed the norm in volume. The exact amount of water is determined by the doctor on ultrasound. The reasons for the development of this phenomenon are very difficult to establish, but there are groups in which the risk of getting a pathology is higher than in others: patients with diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases; having infections in any organs; with multiple pregnancy; with a conflict in the blood rhesus; large fruit; malformations of the child

Symptoms of polyhydramnios can beshortness of breath, abdominal pain, rapid pulse, swelling of the extremities. Usually, a pregnant woman is admitted to a hospital, where she undergoes an additional examination.

Low water is the second most common pathology of pregnancy development. It is characterized by an insufficient amount of fluid. The reasons may be congenital malformations of the kidneys in the baby; maternal diabetes; infections in the genitals of a pregnant woman; bad habits; transferred influenza; late preeclampsia; multiple pregnancy; post-term pregnancy

Symptoms of oligohydramnios:

• aching pain in the abdomen;
• painful fetal movements;
• weakness;
• high temperature.

The patient is hospitalized in the hospital and by all possible methods they keep the pregnancy, support the baby and normalize the he alth of the mother. Excessive activity and stressful situations are contraindicated for a woman.

Instead of a conclusion

Amniotic fluid provides metabolism between mother and baby, and also plays the role of mechanical protection. They protect the baby from external influences, protect him from pressure from the walls of the uterus, they also smooth out the blow if this happened when a pregnant woman fell.

The fetal bladder protects the baby from infection and other negative factors. In the body of a pregnant woman, everything is thought out, and amniotic fluid is no exception.