Erin Clark, 10 percent of babies in the United States are born too early. There's no actual date that your baby is waiting on, but it could be that labor is triggered by your baby, rather than the other way around. Fit Pregnancy noted that there are certain cell markers happening in a woman when labor starts and those cells tell the baby it's time to be born. The theory is that because DNA from the baby and the placenta is constantly being released into the mother's blood, when the baby feels like it's ready to come out, they can send those labor signals, too.
But researchers from UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that there may be something else telling a baby it's time to come out — their lungs. According to the research, while most studies concluded that the baby signals when to come out, nobody was exactly sure what told the baby it was time. But the study found that two proteins, steroid receptor coactivators called SRC-1 and SRC-2, are released from a baby's lungs just prior to birth. This doesn't mean that your baby will be born sick or too early.
Remember, most babies are born healthy. If you're pregnant or are planning to be, talk with your health care professional. Women who get regular prenatal care are more likely to have a healthier pregnancy and baby. Reviewed by: Armando Fuentes, MD. Larger text size Large text size Regular text size. Here's what you can do to have a healthy pregnancy.
During pregnancy, help your baby grow strong and healthy. Be sure to: Start prenatal care as soon as you think you're pregnant. Prenatal care is the health care that you get during pregnancy. All pregnant women should see a health care professional as soon as they think they're pregnant, and should plan regular prenatal visits throughout pregnancy. Get health problems treated. Two new studies shed light on when Baby will arrive. The biggest guessing game for pregnant women—well, maybe besides whether it's a boy or a girl—is when Baby will decide to make an appearance.
The onset of labor is a mysterious process, and due dates are not an exact science. In fact, only five percent of babies are born on their actual due date, according to one of two recent studies that are shedding light on new ways to better predict the birth day. In the first study, published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology , researchers examined whether measuring cervical length with a common and easy if unpleasant procedure, the transvaginal ultrasound, can predict when labor will begin.
As delivery nears, the cervix shortens and dilates , or begins to open. In an analysis of data that included women pregnant with one baby in the head-down position, the study found that when the cervix measured more than 30 millimeters at a woman's due date, she had a less than 50 percent chance of delivering within a week. But, if the cervix measured 10 millimeters or less, she had more than an 85 percent chance of delivering within a week.
Transvaginal ultrasounds have become the standard for assessing high-risk women's likelihood of preterm labor , so this research aimed to find out if the same is true for low-risk women at full term as well. Because of the positive results of the study, "we are hoping that these new transvaginal ultrasound cervical length checks would become routine, just once, at around 37 to 39 weeks," says senior author Vincenzo Berghella, M.
Whether or not the state of the cervix predicts full-term labor has been a debate for a while, especially when doctors use their own fingers to measure called a "digital" check, not to be confused with the technology of an ultrasound. Some have already been in transition. For example, urine output from the fetus contributes to the amniotic fluid the liquid that surrounds the baby in the later part of pregnancy. Other organs require a sudden change in the first few moments after delivery, such as expansion of the lungs.
But surprisingly, we are still learning many of the details. Read more: Health Check: how long should I wait between pregnancies? Before the baby is born, blood goes through the placenta to get rid of waste and to pick up oxygen and nutrients that come from the mother. The developing baby manages on relatively low oxygen levels while in the uterus.
After birth the child is exposed to suddenly higher potentially dangerous oxygen levels. This shift requires different ways to protect the newborn — so the baby has systems ramped up to cope with this sudden flood of oxygen. Mild jaundice, a temporary yellowing of the skin resulting from a delay in liver enzymes kicking in, may be one such protective mechanism seen in many infants.
After delivery, the placental flow stops. Understanding these processes in the first few minutes guides us in knowing when exactly to clamp the umbilical cord, and to time any breathing help needed for sick or premature newborns.
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