Did you know that your baby can touch and sense inside your womb?
But what is there inside your womb for your baby to touch and sense? What’s going on in there? Stay until the end of this article to get your answer.
What’s Your Baby Doing Inside Your Belly?
Above all the senses of a human being, the sense of touch is the first sense that your baby develops.
Studies say that your baby’s somatosensory system begins to develop right after intercourse and the sense of touch begins to form after a couple of weeks.
Within the 8th week of pregnancy, your baby already has touch receptors in his face. Those receptors are connected to his brain as well.
Further, the touch receptors spread out to your baby’s genitals, palms and the soles of their feet. However, this process takes until the 12th week of pregnancy. During the 12th week, your baby can feel and even respond to touch all over his body. However, the top of your baby’s head stays insensitive until birth.
By the 17th week of pregnancy, the receptors will have covered the full abdomen of your baby. When you are 32 weeks pregnant, your baby can even feel a single hair brushing on the skin.
Slowly, your baby will also be able to feel and even taste the amniotic fluid. When and how? During the 8th week, the taste buds of your baby begin to develop until 13th or 15th week. Whatever you eat, the flavor of the food is added to the amniotic fluid. Since the amniotic fluid fills up your womb, your baby can taste and consume the amniotic liquid.
Along with the sense of taste, babies can even smell from around 28th week. But, what is there to smell inside the womb? Well, there are a lot of chemicals present in the amniotic fluid that have a strong scent. The scent then reaches to the smell receptors of your baby’s nasal cavity.
Along with it, the somatosensory receptors also help in building your baby’s whole nervous system.
Some studies show that an unborn baby can feel and even respond to their mother’s touch. With the help of 4D ultrasound observations, scientists saw how fetus responds to the mother rubbing her stomach.
RECAP :
- Sense of touch is actually the first sense that your baby develops.
- Your baby’s somatosensory system.
- During the 12th week, your baby can feel and even respond to touch all over his body.
- By the 17th week of pregnancy, the receptors will have covered the full abdomen of your baby.
- During the 8th week, the taste buds of your baby begin to develop until 13th or 15th week.
- Whatever you eat, the flavor of the food is added to the amniotic fluid.
- Along with the sense of taste, babies can even smell from around 28th week.
To sum up, your baby can indeed feel and respond to your touch. So, why to wait? Start creating a strong bond with your baby right away!
If you like this article, please share it with your friends and family.
