Why does it take 9 months to give birth?
The traditional explanation for our nine-month gestation period and helpless newborns is that natural selection favored childbirth at an earlier stage of fetal development to accommodate selection for both large brain size and upright locomotion—defining characteristics of the human lineage.
“From a medical standpoint, doctors always talk in weeks and days,” says obstetrician, gynecologist (OB-GYN), and Flo medical board member Dr. Charlsie Celestine. “A full-term pregnancy is 40 weeks long, which equals 10 months. Yet commonly, people talk about pregnancy as being nine months long.”
Pregnancy is counted from the first day of your last menstrual period. This means an extra 2 weeks are counted at the beginning of your pregnancy when you aren't actually pregnant. So pregnancy lasts 10 months (40 weeks)—not 9 months—because of these extra weeks.
Human reproduction is unique because of the comparatively tight fit between the birth canal and baby's head, and it is likely to stay that way because of these competing biological imperatives. The size of the pelvic floor and canal is key to keeping this balance.
If your pregnancy lasts more than 42 weeks, it is called post-term (past due). This happens in a small number of pregnancies. While there are some risks in a post-term pregnancy, most post-term babies are born healthy. Your health care provider can do special tests to check on the health of your baby.
A woman's peak reproductive years are between the late teens and late 20s. By age 30, fertility (the ability to get pregnant) starts to decline. This decline becomes more rapid once you reach your mid-30s. By 45, fertility has declined so much that getting pregnant naturally is unlikely for most women.
There are many online pregnancy calculators (see Baby due date calculator ) that can tell you when your baby is due, if you type in the date of the first day of your last period. A simple method to calculate the due date is to add 7 days to the date of the first day of your last period, then add 9 months.
Our gestation is also relatively extended compared with chimpanzees or gorillas, suggesting pregnancies got longer, not shorter, in hominids. The team also looked for evidence that widening the pelvis to accommodate bigger brained babies would make walking less efficient.
Pregnancy lasts for about 280 days or 40 weeks. A preterm or premature baby is delivered before 37 weeks of your pregnancy. Extremely preterm infants are born 23 through 28 weeks.
(fertility counselor). Even though popular belief says that pregnancies last 9 months, actually it is 10 months. The rationale for this is that, from the medical viewpoint, gestational age is counted from the date of the last menstrual period (LMP).
What week are most babies born?
- 57.5 percent of all recorded births occur between 39 and 41 weeks.
- 26 percent of births occur at 37 to 38 weeks.
- About 7 percent of births occur at weeks 34 to 36.
- About 6.5 percent of births occur at week 41 or later.
- About 3 percent of births occur before 34 weeks of pregnancy.
Elephants have the longest pregnancy period of any living mammal. If you – or someone you know – has experienced a pregnancy that seemed to go on forever, spare a thought for the elephant. It's the animal with one of the longest gestation periods of all living mammals: nearly two years.
That's because humans are born with brains that are largely immature, leaving babies with little control over their movements. This uniquely human attribute is the result of a lengthy evolutionary battle between big brains and narrow pelvises.
30% of couples trying to conceive did so in the first month. 75% of couples conceived within 6 months. 90% of couples conceived within 1 year. 95% of couples conceived within 2 years.
There is no evidence that such pregnancies exist, and doctors use the term cryptic pregnancy to describe cases where women don't realize they are pregnant, either for psychological or hormonal reasons.
They found that 26.5 percent of the male babies were born at 41 weeks, compared to 22.5 percent of females. Only 7.6 percent percent of male babies and 5.5 percent of female babies were in the womb 42 weeks or longer.
Most doctors and midwives are happy for you to go a few days over your due date as long as everything seems to be okay. Many will let pregnant women go up to two weeks over. After 42 weeks, however, the baby's health might be at risk.
Experts say the best time to get pregnant is between your late 20s and early 30s. This age range is associated with the best outcomes for both you and your baby. One study pinpointed the ideal age to give birth to a first child as 30.5.
Male fertility generally starts to reduce around age 40 to 45 years when sperm quality decreases. Increasing male age reduces the overall chances of pregnancy and increases time to pregnancy (the number of menstrual cycles it takes to become pregnant) and the risk of miscarriage and fetal death.
Have sex regularly. The highest pregnancy rates occur in couples who have sex every day or every other day. Have sex near the time of ovulation. If having sex every day isn't possible — or enjoyable — have sex every 2 to 3 days a week starting soon after the end of your period.
Why does it take so long to get pregnant?
There are lots of reasons pregnancy doesn't always happen right away. Some common reasons include stress, not timing baby-making sex with ovulation, residual effects of hormonal birth control, and certain health conditions.
One possible problem is that ovulation may not occur every month. If you've recently stopped taking hormonal contraception, ovulation may be delayed or irregular for a short time. If you've been using a contraceptive injection, ovulation may be delayed or irregular for up to a year.
Common causes of infertility in women include: Fallopian tube obstruction. Blocked or scarred fallopian tubes that prevent sperm from reaching the egg are a frequent cause of infertility. A history of pelvic infections, sexually transmitted diseases or endometriosis increases your risk for fallopian tube obstruction.
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| Lina Medina | |
|---|---|
| Spouse | Raúl Jurado (m. 1970s) |
| Children | 2 |
One study estimated a woman can have around 15 pregnancies in a lifetime. And depending on how many babies she births for each pregnancy, she'd probably have around 15-30 children.
The truth: They might feel uncomfortable, but no, tight clothes won't hurt baby, Prabhu says. So go ahead and show off your baby bump in maternity jeans or a fitted dress, though of course there are plenty of other options when it comes to maternity clothes these days.
If “early” means preterm — before 37 weeks of pregnancy — first babies are more likely to be early. Based on live births recorded in the National Survey of Family Growth, about 12% of first babies are born preterm, compared to 10% of other babies.
First babies are less likely to be born on their due date than subsequent babies. First babies are more likely to be late than second or third babies, but he also found firstborns are more likely to be born early compared with their younger siblings.
More than 90% are born two weeks either side of the predicted date. But, as noted above, only 4% (or 4.4%, ignoring pregnancies with complications etc) are born on the predicted date itself - in other words, the chance of this happening is less than one in 20.
Can a baby stay in the womb for 12 months?
“It's highly unlikely that you would have a pregnancy that would go beyond 10 or 11 months. Highly unlikely…”
What Happens at 9 Months of Pregnancy? 36 Weeks Pregnant.
Researchers now believe that when a baby is ready for life outside his mother's uterus, his body releases a tiny amount of a substance that signals the mother's hormones to begin labor (Condon, Jeyasuria, Faust, & Mendelson, 2004). In most cases, your labor will begin only when both your body and your baby are ready.
The shortest known gestation is that of the Virginian opossum, about 12 days, and the longest that of the Indian elephant, about 22 months. In the course of evolution the duration of gestation has become adapted to the needs of the species.
Why Are Some Babies Born Early? Babies born before 37 weeks are premature. A premature birth is more likely to happen when a mother has a health problem — like diabetes — or does harmful things during her pregnancy, like smoke or drink. If she lives with a lot of stress, that also can make her baby be born too early.
It all happened when Mary Gorgens got up to go to the bathroom, two days before her baby was due, where she was surprised to feel her son's head crowning. She quickly woke up her husband, but when he ran to the bathroom himself, thinking he had time, it was too late: She had already delivered in 120 seconds!
WARSAW (Reuters) - A Polish woman lay nearly upside down in labor for 75 days to save the lives of her two premature babies after the first of three fetuses growing inside her was born prematurely and died.
Some women give birth in less than three hours—it's called "precipitous labour." One couple shares their story of an unusually speedy delivery.
When babies are delivered, they are exposed to cold air and a new environment, so that often makes them cry right away. This cry will expand the baby's lungs and expel amniotic fluid and mucus. The baby's first official cry shows that the lungs are working properly.
Human embryos develop a tail between five and eight weeks after conception. The tail vanishes by the time humans are born, and the remaining vertebrae merge to form the coccyx, or tailbone.
What can a baby not do when born?
- Even from birth, babies can communicate with you.
- A newborn doesn't realise they are a separate person.
- Infants in the first eight weeks have no control over their movements and all their physical activity is involuntary or reflex.
It's important to know what is considered normal, so you don't worry if there is no cause for concern. 90% of couples will conceive within 12 to 18 months of trying. If you are 35 years of age or older, doctors will start evaluating your fertility after six months of unsuccessful attempts at pregnancy.
How soon can we try and get pregnant after having a baby? For the health of mom and the baby, research recommends waiting at least 18 to 24 months but less than five years between pregnancies.
The average age of first-time mothers in America is now 26, while for fathers, it's 31. “One important implication of waiting to have children is the health risks that both new mothers and their infants may face when a first-time birth parent is 35 or older,” Dr.
While 37 weeks has been considered full-term up until now, 39 to 40 weeks is the new definition (37 to 38 weeks will now be considered early term). Late term is now 41 to 42 weeks, and the poor unfortunate souls still pregnant past 42 weeks will be classified as postterm.
What Happens at 10 Months of Pregnancy? 40 Weeks Pregnant.
Your 40 weeks of pregnancy are counted as nine months.
Studies have shown that infants as young as one month-old sense when a parent is depressed or angry and are affected by the parent's mood. Understanding that even infants are affected by adult emotions can help parents do their best in supporting their child's healthy development.
First Trimester (0 to 13 Weeks)
The first trimester is the most crucial to your baby's development. During this period, your baby's body structure and organ systems develop. Most miscarriages and birth defects occur during this period. Your body also undergoes major changes during the first trimester.
The group describes the condition as: "A pregnancy where there is no detectable hCG in the mother's system due to a hormonal imbalance, resulting in an extremely long gestation period, that is typically 3 to 5 years.
How many babies can a woman have in her lifetime?
One study estimated a woman can have around 15-30 children in a lifetime, taking pregnancy and recovery time into account. Since men require less time and fewer resources to have kids, the most "prolific" fathers today can have up to about 200 children.
The shortest known gestation is that of the Virginian opossum, about 12 days, and the longest that of the Indian elephant, about 22 months. In the course of evolution the duration of gestation has become adapted to the needs of the species.
Baby Saybie was born at a San Diego hospital at 23 weeks gestation in December. The world's smallest surviving baby has been discharged from the hospital five months after she was born at just 23 weeks gestation, according to the hospital.