What is a child falling
"Baby Falls" may sound shocking if you're not familiar with it. After all, everyone knows that you shouldn’t abandon a child.
In the context of pregnancy, it is a natural phenomenon that occurs at the end of the third trimester and signals that the baby is preparing for birth. How to understand that the belly has dropped during pregnancy: “Fall” means that the baby’s head drops lower into the pelvis and is set in the position necessary to move along the birth canal.
When the belly drops during pregnancy, the baby takes up less space in the upper torso and puts less compression on internal organs such as the lungs and abdomen. For this reason, you will likely be able to breathe easier and eat more comfortably after your baby falls.
Because of this sensation, a child's fall is also called lightning. Your baby will likely not have noticeable symptoms, especially if it happens gradually. How to tell whether your stomach has dropped or not by Lightning is something that you tend to notice after the fact, and immediately after that you realize that it has already happened.
The belly has dropped photo in the picture:
How can a woman determine when her belly has dropped before giving birth?
When childbirth approaches, a number of changes occur in a woman's body.
The expectant mother may notice that training contractions have appeared, frequent mood swings, appetite has worsened, but breathing has become easier. One of these signs is prolapse of the uterine fundus, which is popularly called “prolapse of the abdomen.” When this happens, it means that birth is very close.
How to understand that the stomach has dropped? Let's take a brief look at the changes that occur in a woman's body during pregnancy. The uterus, when the fetus is in it, changes the location of the internal organs in the body: the stomach rises up, pressure appears on the lungs, which causes failures of the respiratory system in the last trimester.
However, starting around week 33, your belly may begin to droop. When the baby is about to be born, it begins to move closer to the outlet and occupy the presenting side in the pelvic area. The baby takes the position in which he will be comfortable.
Most pregnant women feel when their stomach has already dropped: breathing becomes less difficult, shortness of breath disappears, because the uterus does not put pressure on the diaphragm. Moreover, belching and heartburn immediately disappear, because the internal organs located in the upper part of the abdominal cavity return to their places and are freed from oppression.
But when the stomach drops, the woman begins to experience many other unpleasant sensations: she increasingly wants to go to the toilet, she feels discomfort when walking and sitting, some pain in the perineum and pelvic area, difficulty sleeping (it is difficult to choose a comfortable position). The main reason for this is the pressure of the uterus on the bladder and rectum. The baby's head is located in the pelvic area.
However, many expectant mothers, when their belly drops, do not even notice such changes and sensations. This process occurs differently for everyone, and it does not depend on age or the number of previous pregnancies. The main sign that the stomach has sagged is an increase in the space between the chest and abdomen. If a palm is placed between them, it means that everything has already happened. However, for many it happens differently: the stomach drops completely imperceptibly and immediately before childbirth. In each organism, only changes characteristic of it occur.
There is no clearly defined period when the belly drops before childbirth. For most women, this occurs approximately 2-3 weeks before labor begins. However, for those who are not giving birth for the first time, this can happen immediately before the birth itself or a few days before it.
Don't worry if you're already approaching 39 or 40 weeks and your belly hasn't dropped. It’s just that in this case it’s better to move more and move contractions vertically in order to speed up the baby’s progress along the birth canal.
If, for example, you notice that your stomach has dropped earlier (as it seems to you) than expected, you should not panic either. Despite the fact that this process is considered the main sign of impending labor, no one can determine exactly when this will happen - in a week or in a month.
In every woman, as noted earlier, the stomach drops at its appointed time, which even a doctor cannot predict. All time frames are considered normal, so the expectant mother should not panic if, according to her calculations, the process should have already begun or occurred much earlier than expected. There is no need to concentrate your attention on this sign. Believe me, you will not give birth with a belly that has not yet dropped. Sooner or later this will happen anyway. So look forward to the approaching birth calmly and confidently, without unnecessary nervous tension. They can only harm your baby.
Based on materials from fb.ru
What happens when my baby goes down
In early pregnancy, your baby has plenty of room to move around. They regularly twist, turn and flip over.
As your child grows, he or she becomes increasingly short on space. You can still feel that they are extremely active - kicking, stretching and even spinning. However, as your baby gets bigger and bigger, he will begin to leave the "room" to move around. Limited to the chest, internal organs and the uterus itself.
At some point, how long before birth, the belly drops. Towards the end of your pregnancy, your baby will stand up and stay in place. Ideally, this will be with your head down, facing your back.
How to tell if your belly has dropped before birth: Once your baby is in the optimal position, he may begin to sink into your pelvis. The exact point where your baby sits:
- The baby's head is still higher than the pelvis.
- The baby's head is in the pelvis.
- the baby's head passes through the birth canal; child crowns
Your OB/GYN can check to see if your baby has had a vaginal exam, while they check for dilatation and removal of the cervix. These exams may be done during your prenatal visit during the last month of pregnancy or if you think you are in labor.
Where the baby lies in the pelvis is determined by bony projections that the doctor may call the ischial spines. If the head is viewed from the fingers when the patient is checked, they may not even be in the pelvis and may be considered balloted. Ballooned means that when the baby's head is pressed, it floats up from the pelvis and from the fingers
When the baby is firmly positioned in the pelvis, it is considered fully occupied. This is the point at which your child is considered to have officially "gone down."
How can you tell if your tummy is drooping?
The lowering of the abdomen is a process that directly depends on the characteristics of the body of each individual woman. For some, the prolapse may last a week, while in other cases it takes less than a day.
You can understand that your tummy has dropped by the following signs :
- almost disappears .
- Heartburn disappears - this is due to the movement of the fetus down to the pelvis, due to which the pressure on the stomach decreases.
- The fetus is less active - the decrease in the baby’s motor activity is due to the fact that there is not enough space for him.
- The urge to urinate becomes more frequent - the reason for this is excessive pressure of the uterus on the bladder.
- Vaginal discharge appears - this is directly related to the fact that the uterus becomes toned before childbirth. But, be careful - if the discharge has a brown or red tint, you should immediately consult a doctor.
How quickly does a baby drop during pregnancy?
The term "fall" makes it sound like the process of descent is a quick and sudden event. And while it is possible that this will happen within a few seconds, it is also possible that it will happen within a few weeks.
For first-time moms who may be expecting their baby to fall a few weeks before giving birth, they may find their baby gradually going down during each weekly prenatal appointment. For women who have given birth before, they may find that the baby stays high and then descends completely in one quick contraction during labor.
when the stomach drops before childbirth in multiparous women
In modern obstetrics, pregnancy is considered full-term at 38 weeks. Carrying a child for more than 41.5 weeks is considered post-term. Thus, urgent, that is, births that occurred on time, fall within the interval from 270 to 290 days. However, there are women who give birth to completely normal, healthy and full-term babies at 36 or 42 weeks. Moreover, these weeks can be counted in different ways, from the immediate date of conception or from the first day of the last menstruation. Taking into account the individual characteristics of each woman, it would be fairer to talk not about the actual date of birth, but about the most likely interval when they can occur. This interval usually varies from 2 to 5 weeks, i.e. in periods from 38 to 42 weeks.
Going to the maternity hospital with unsettled labor, a woman in labor risks being “stuck” in the pathology department for several days or being subjected to immediate stimulation. Therefore, it is better to go to the maternity hospital with labor already established. And to be able to navigate this, it is not always necessary to call a specialist. For example, there are a number of phenomena that accompany the last weeks of pregnancy, which are called harbingers of labor. The presence of one or more precursors indicates that childbirth is coming soon, and you shouldn’t, for example, go on a visit out of town, but it’s too early to go to the maternity hospital.
dress rehearsal
Pain in the lower abdomen and lower back
In the last 3-4 weeks before giving birth, periodic nagging pain in the lower abdomen and lower back may appear. They may be spastic in nature. The appearance of such pain is a consequence of increased excitability of the nervous system, as well as displacement of the vertebrae in the sacrum, which can lead to pinched nerves. Sometimes, as a result of such infringement, in the last weeks of pregnancy the leg may be periodically amputated and immobilized. This phenomenon has a physiological basis and disappears without a trace after childbirth.
In addition, there may be a feeling of fullness, tingling and pain in the pubic area, which is associated with increased pressure from the presenting part of the fetus on the symphysis (pubic bone). Wearing a bandage, as well as frequent rest in a lying position, helps to alleviate this condition. This phenomenon also goes away after childbirth.
Descent of the abdomen
2-4 weeks before giving birth, the pregnant woman’s stomach drops (“slides”). As the belly lowers, the woman notes that it has clearly changed its shape and seems to have become smaller. At the same time, it becomes noticeably easier to breathe and eat. This occurs as a result of the lowering of the presenting part of the fetus, thereby freeing the diaphragm, stomach and lungs.
Excitability of the uterus
Due to the increased excitability of the uterus, it begins to react more and more strongly to any irritants. Very often, 5-6 weeks before birth, tonic tension of the uterus occurs. First 1-2, then 3-4 times a week, and closer to childbirth and 1-2 times a day, the uterus can become very tense. At the same time, it becomes hard and this tension is present for quite a long time.
False contractions
In addition to tonic tension of the uterus, 3-4 weeks before birth, periodic contractions may occur, which are called harbingers of labor or false contractions. Precursors do not lead to the development of labor. False contractions are also called Braxton Hicks contractions. Apparently this learned man quite often felt false contractions, which never led to the development of labor in him, and thus he went down in the history of obstetrics.
False contractions can appear after 7-10 minutes (and sometimes after 4-5 minutes) and last for 2-3 hours, and then fade away. They are not systematic, but can be accompanied by quite severe pain in the sacrum, lower back, and lower abdomen. Sometimes women experience much more discomfort and anxiety from false contractions than from labor.
False contractions in most cases are noticed by multiparous women, who are much more wary of everything that happens to them. A primigravida woman notices them only if she has increased sensitivity. A warm bath helps to cope with the unpleasant sensations that arise during false contractions. If you immerse yourself in water at a comfortable temperature for 20 minutes - 1 hour, false contractions either subside completely or occur much less frequently and at the same time their intensity becomes noticeably less.
Appetite and weight
1-2 weeks before giving birth, a woman’s appetite may become worse and that debilitating feeling of acute hunger that was observed throughout pregnancy may disappear. She begins to relate to food more calmly. Such indifference and even refusal to eat are especially evident in the last 3-4 days before childbirth. Sometimes a woman stops wanting to eat only a day before giving birth, and in some cases her appetite does not suffer at all before giving birth.
Approximately 7-10 days before giving birth, a woman’s weight may drop by 1-2 kg. Weight loss does not always occur, but, in any case, weight gain stops. 1-2 weeks before giving birth, the woman’s weight stabilizes and its increase is no longer observed. A decrease or stabilization of a pregnant woman’s weight before childbirth is associated with increased fluid secretion from her body.
Thus, by the end of pregnancy, conditions are created for a very unstable balance, which is about to be disrupted in the direction of the development of labor, but childbirth occurs only at a certain point in time.
By what signs can you understand that labor has already begun?
1-3 days or several hours before giving birth, brownish mucus may begin to be released from the woman’s genitals, similar to the beginning of menstruation. It can come out with a pop (really, as if a “plug” has popped out, which is associated with the force of intrauterine pressure caused, for example, by the large weight of the fetus: over 4.5 kg), or it can flow out gradually, in small portions. The appearance of a mucus plug indicates that the cervix has begun to dilate. This is a definite sign of labor beginning. The abundance of discharge and the characteristics of its appearance are individual. In quite rare cases, the secretions of the cervical glands are so scanty that the mucus plug does not appear at all before childbirth. In other cases, on the contrary, the ripening of the cervix occurs very slowly, and the secretion of its glands is very intense. In this case, the mucus plug may begin to come out 7-14 days before labor begins. However, in the vast majority of cases, the mucus plug appears with the onset of labor or several hours before it begins.
Contractions
Undoubted evidence of the onset of labor is regular contractions, i.e. periodic contractions of the uterine muscles, occurring with a steady rhythm. Labor contractions are always accompanied by dilatation of the cervix, and they cannot be neutralized by relaxing procedures, such as taking a warm bath. But if a woman has had false contractions several times the day before, it can be difficult for her to navigate her feelings and distinguish between labor pains. If the appearance of contractions is accompanied by brown discharge from the genitals, then we can speak with complete confidence about the onset of labor.
Digestive system
On the eve of childbirth, as a rule, bowel movements occur. A woman may go to the toilet repeatedly, and at the same time the stool will come out in a slightly larger volume than usual. Immediately before the onset of labor, i.e. several hours before the onset of labor contractions, nausea, vomiting, complete loss of appetite or stomach upset may occur. This reaction of the digestive system is associated with the action of hormones that stimulate labor. The listed phenomena can occur both together and separately and accompany the appearance of the first weak contractions. In addition, the first contractions may be felt as abdominal pain, increased peristalsis and frequent empty urge to go to the toilet.
Pain
Sometimes labor begins with the appearance of vague dull pain in the lower abdomen and lower back or girdle pain (lower abdomen and lower back). They can be periodic in nature, or they can serve as a painful background, i.e. continue without ceasing.
Chills
Quite often, all these phenomena are accompanied by a feeling of cold and chills. Labor chills may accompany the onset of labor.
Do not rush to go to the maternity hospital if you do not have any complications. Contractions are much easier to bear at home than in the maternity hospital. The optimal time to go to the maternity hospital is when contractions occur with regularity - 5/45, i.e. in five minutes for 45 seconds. If you are not confident in yourself, then go right away, perhaps you will be calmer in the maternity hospital. And one more undoubted indication for going to the maternity hospital is the breaking of water. If your water breaks, you need to go to the maternity hospital immediately.
Source www.rojana.ru
