How the fetus eats in the womb. How does a baby eat in a mother's womb?

30.08.2019

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In the first two weeks after fertilization, while the egg has not yet managed to implant into the wall of the uterus and acquire a placenta, it receives nutrients from its thickened inner membrane - the yolk sac.

From the fourth week, the embryo receives the oxygen and nutrients it needs through the chorionic villi, which is then converted into the placenta - into the baby's safe abode, which protects him, and also this is the main organ that exchanges between the mother and the fetus. The placenta is also called a baby's place. It is a temporary organ that only forms and functions during pregnancy.

It is through the placenta that the baby communicates with the mother's body. From here, it receives the proteins necessary for the structure of tissues, carbohydrates to obtain energy and maintain the body's work, and fats, vitamins and minerals for proper metabolism. Through the placenta, the child also receives oxygen - without it, the fetal body cannot exist. All metabolic products are also excreted through the placenta. The placenta protects the child from infection, prevents an immunological conflict between foreign tissues of the mother and the child, and supplies both organisms with the hormones necessary for their development.

Nutrients are extracted from the food that was eaten by the mother, and in the event that her diet is inadequate - from those reserves that are available in her body, in her bones and soft tissues. The developing fetus in the uterus requires a certain amount of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. All these substances enter the mother's body with food, are broken down in the digestive system to simple molecules and are absorbed into the blood, which delivers all vital components to the fetus.

The mother's womb is a unique micro-system that protects the baby and constantly adapts to his changing needs. The organisms of the mother and the fetus work in unison. Even a small change in the level of one of the indicators of the child's blood composition instantly causes a compensatory reaction of the mother's body. This feedback ensures the supply of all the nutrients, vitamins and minerals necessary for the normal growth and development of your baby. At the same time, this ensures the removal of waste products of the fetus from its body.

The fetus is connected to the mother's body through the placenta and blood vessels that form the umbilical cord. The umbilical cord consists of two arteries and a vein, similar to a cord with several ropes that are twisted together and covered with a sheath. This makes the umbilical cord extremely strong. The umbilical cord can bend and twist, and the force of blood flow in the arteries keeps it taut so that your little one cannot get entangled in it. During pregnancy, the length and width of the umbilical cord increases with the growth of the fetus.

During pregnancy, the placenta also changes in accordance with the nutritional needs of the fetus. It controls the transfer of nutrients from the mother to the baby, as well as hormones and other substances. However, if the mother's diet lacks nutrients, the placenta will not be able to reach full development to provide the fetus with an effective supply. Decreased blood nutrient levels in the mother will permanently suppress the normal functioning of the placenta. The placenta becomes unnecessary when the umbilical cord is cut, at which point all of the baby's organs begin to function independently.

Not everyone knows how a child eats before birth, while in the womb. Some are convinced that the baby gets everything it needs from the placenta or from the amniotic fluid, which is not associated with the body of the pregnant woman. Therefore, the mother's nutrition and her bad habits do not in any way affect the health of the fetus. Reasoning in this way, careless women justify their unwillingness to quit smoking and drinking during pregnancy. However, the health and development of the fetus depends entirely on the behavior of the mother. Until the very birth, the pregnant woman and her baby are a single whole.

The earliest stage of development

After the fusion of the egg and sperm, a zygote is formed. It is a totipotent cell containing a complete double set of chromosomes inherited from the father and mother. Totipotent cells are cells from which any organ or whole organism can develop. About a day later, the first cleavage of the zygote occurs, as a result of which it divides into 2 genetically equivalent cells (blastomeres). The first division takes about 30 hours. The stage of two blastomeres is followed by the stage of three blastomeres. After 40 hours, the future embryo already consists of 4 cells, covered with one common membrane. After the third stage of division, on the 4th day after fertilization, the process is accelerated.

When the zygote is cleaved, light and dark blastomeres are formed. Superficial light cells will later turn into trophoblast. The extraembryonic membrane (chorion) will form from the trophoblast. It will grow together with the tissues of the uterus, forming the placenta. Dark internal blastomeres at 2 weeks of gestation are transformed into the body of the embryo and extraembryonic organs - the amnion, yolk sac, and allantois. The inner membrane of the fetal sac, filled with amniotic fluid, will later develop from the amnion.

The yolk sac (umbilical bladder) plays the same role as the yolk in a hen's egg. It is a source of nutrients for the embryo. Blood islands appear in it, from which the first blood cells and blood vessels will form. Blood flows from the embryo to the walls of the yolk sac through the primitive aorta. It circulates through a wide network of capillaries and returns through the yolk vein to the tubular heart of the embryo. Together with the blood, nutrients from the yolk are transferred to the embryo, which it begins to feed on.

The yolk sac will not feed the fruit for long - about a week. It performs the hematopoietic function longer - up to 7-8 weeks of embryo development. Later, it undergoes a reverse development.

Allantois is a derivative of the yolk sac. It plays an important role in providing the fetus with nutrients and oxygen. With its help, the blood vessels of the embryo are connected to the chorion.

The constantly dividing zygote turns into a dense cluster of cells (morula). After the appearance of a cavity (blastula) between the cells, the morula turns into a blastocyst (a bubble of fluid).

After implantation of the ovum

The blastocyst enters the uterine cavity on the 5th day. For about 2 more days, the ovum is in a free state, looking for a suitable place to be introduced into the inner lining of the uterus (endometrium). All this time, the yolk sac is the source of nutrition for the embryo. If the blastocyst hesitates and remains free for too long, the yolk sac nutrients may not be enough for the fetus. Without nutrition, the embryo dies.

On the 6-7th day after fertilization, the implantation process begins. First, the blastocyst adheres to the endometrium (adhesion), then the process of penetration (invasion) begins. The success of the invasion depends on the activity of the blastocyst. Her blastula secretes enzymes that help dissolve the top layer of the endometrium. If enough enzymes are produced, the blastocyst safely sinks into the thickness of the endometrium. The wound on the surface of the endomentrium immediately overgrows.

After the penetration of the ovum into the endometrial layer, the trophoblast is activated. From the chorion formed from it, villi grow - tentacles. They penetrate into the deeper layers of the endometrium, rupturing the blood vessels of the uterus. Gaps appear between the villi and tissues of the uterus. They fill with blood, which is poured out of damaged blood vessels. The blood washes the embryo, supplying it with nutrients and oxygen from the mother's body.

The barrier between the blood of the pregnant woman and the fetus consists only of the tissues of the chorionic villi and the walls of the capillaries of the umbilical vessels. This ensures the maximum possible absorption of nutrients and oxygen.

In this period of development, the embryo is most vulnerable. All toxins contained in maternal blood freely enter the fetus. If a woman drinks alcohol, smokes or takes medications, the embryo may die from poisoning. His own defense system had yet to develop.

Immediately after implantation, the formation of three embryonic layers of the fetus occurs, from which all its tissues and organs are later formed. If at this stage of pregnancy the blood of the expectant mother contains many toxins, a malfunction may occur in the formation of the embryonic layers of the fetus. The consequences of violations are pathologies of various vital organs.

Placenta formation

At 3 weeks after fertilization, the placentation period begins. The placenta is the organ that connects the pregnant woman and the baby. Through it, the exchange of substances between the mother's body and the fetus is carried out. The embryo receives nutrients and oxygen by excreting waste products and carbon dioxide. The placenta also performs a barrier function, regulating the supply of nutrients to the fetus, as well as retaining viruses and toxins that are dangerous to it. The process of formation of the placenta is carried out most intensively until the 6th week of pregnancy.

Placenta formation begins with the ingrowth of blood vessels into the chorionic villi. One stem villi and its numerous branches, containing embryonic blood vessels, form the fetal lobule of the placenta (cotyledon). The embryonic part of the placenta contains many cup-shaped cotyledons, separated by connecting septa (septa).

From the side of the uterus, caruncles are formed, which are opposite the cotyledons. The maternal spiral arteries supply nutrients and oxygen to the intervillous space. They are absorbed by the blood vessels of the embryonic cotyledons. During the transfer of nutrients, the blood of the mother and fetus does not mix.

As the baby grows, the number of cotyledons and blood vessels increases rapidly. By the 140th day of pregnancy, there are 10-12 large, 40-50 small and 150-200 rudimentary cotyledons in the placenta. The thickness of the child's seat reaches 1.5-2 cm.

Subsequently, the mass of the placenta increases due to the development of existing cotyledons. The formation of blood vessels ends by 20 weeks of gestation. At this moment, the blood pressure in the pregnant woman decreases, since there is practically no resistance to blood flow from the maternal arteries.

The mother transfers nutrients to the fetus with the help of hundreds of blood vessels. The constancy of blood flow is maintained through a multi-stage system of regulatory mechanisms. On the mother's side, blood flow is determined by the movement of the mother's blood and uterine contractions. From the side of the fetus, blood circulation is provided by the heartbeat and the muscles of the villi. The development of the child is completely dependent on the uteroplacental and fetal-placental circulation.

What does the fetus receive from the mother's body?

How the baby eats in the womb depends on the diet of the pregnant woman. Many nutrients are needed for the healthy development of the fetus, but some of them are especially important.

Vitamin A is needed for metabolism. With its help, the child's mucous membranes, retina and bone tissue are formed.

Regularly receiving vitamin B1 from the mother, the baby is actively growing. Vitamin improves metabolism in brain tissues, allowing it to develop actively.

Vitamin B2 is essential for building up fetal tissue. It plays an important role in the formation of the organs of vision. Visual acuity and light perception depend on riboflavin. Getting the right amount of vitamin B2, the baby gains weight well, forms a healthy nervous system, mucous membranes and skin.

Riboflavin is needed for the absorption of iron and the synthesis of hemoglobin. The baby will spend hemoglobin accumulated during intrauterine development up to six months of age.

Vitamin B5 is required by the child for the metabolism and the production of hormones.

The supply of glucose to tissues and the release of carbohydrates accumulated in the organs into the blood depends on vitamin B6. Pyridoxine is involved in hematopoiesis.

Vitamin B7 is needed to support the process of cell division in the fetus.

Thanks to the intake of vitamin B9, the baby's immune system develops and functions. Folic acid prevents the appearance of fetal neural tube abnormalities and other malformations.

The synthesis of amino acids and proteins depends on the amount of vitamin B12 in the maternal blood. He is involved in hematopoiesis. Cyanocobalamin accumulates in the liver during intrauterine development. Vitamin reserves are enough for a child for a year.

By receiving vitamin PP, children can shape the digestive system, regulate the functions of the thyroid and adrenal glands.

A child needs calcium to build bone and cartilage tissue. Phosphorus improves the condition of muscles, participates in the transmission of hereditary qualities from parents to the fetus.

If a pregnant woman receives little vitamins and minerals with food, the necessary substances are flushed out of her body to ensure the growing fetus.

Causes of poor nutrition before birth

How the fetus eats in the womb depends not only on nutrition, but also on the health of the pregnant woman. The baby's nutrition may be poor due to placental insufficiency.

Placental insufficiency is a condition when the placenta does not perform its functions in full. Various diseases of a pregnant woman do not allow the organ to form and develop safely. As a result of various pathologies, an insufficient amount of blood enters the placenta or venous outflow worsens. A poorly developed network of blood vessels does not allow the baby to get the right amount of nutrients and oxygen. With placental insufficiency, the composition of the blood and its coagulability may be impaired.

Due to placental insufficiency, the child chronically lacks nutrients and oxygen. Its development slows down or occurs with impairments. Fasting of the fetus is evidenced by its intense movements in the abdomen in late pregnancy. In the first trimester, pathology can be detected during an ultrasound examination.

There are a huge number of myths associated with the nutrition of a woman during pregnancy. Compassionate representatives of the older generation defend the position that it is imperative to eat for two. On the scales at the gynecologist in the antenatal clinic, we understand that in this theory there is clearly a puncture somewhere.

In order for the expectant mother not to harm herself or the baby, it is necessary to understand how and what the fetus eats in the womb.

You cannot think about the taste of a child in the womb. Sounds and touches make it true. Her partner can feel him flinch from the door to the door. You notice how he calms down when you place your hand on your wife's belly. The child gets nothing to eat.

This is not entirely true. During the day, your baby drinks from amniotic fluid, in which he floats up to a pint and flushes it out again. This is not harmful because it is completely replaced every three hours or so. The main taste of amniotic fluid is sweet. This is good because your child loves sweets. It contains many other scents that change from time to time. It depends on what your wife is eating. These changes can affect taste preferences that your child develops soon enough.

The beginning of time

So, once conception has occurred, the fertilized egg already needs nutrients to successfully build a future life. Here she copes on her own, and gets them from the yolk sac - her inner shell.

Further, it is more difficult. Around the third week of pregnancy, the walls of the uterus are enveloped by small outgrowths, the so-called chorionic villi. It is through them that the growing embryo receives the necessary substances and oxygen.

Some of our preferences are innate, written into genes through evolution. We like sweet, salty and fatty ones. Thus, our ancestors preferred to receive important sources of energy, vitamins and minerals. The strong preference for salt arises from the fact that it was not easy to find in nature, but the body urgently needs the sodium it contains for water balance. Therefore, early people took a lot to get salt. And even today, our appetite for salt is so great that most people eat a lot more than they do.

Although the taste of ripe, healthy fruit, our aversion to bitter protects us from poisoning. One of the most important factors is nutrition. You will need to make sure your child is getting all the nutrients. But how are babies fed in the womb?

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As the fetus grows, the villi grow. And now, after 10-12 weeks, a unique organ is formed in the mother's womb, inextricably linking 2 organisms - the mother and the fetus. It is called the placenta.

Invisible thread

From this moment until the baby's first independent inhalation, it is the placenta that becomes for him both a source of nutrition and his lungs. It happens like this: from small blood vessels, oxygenated and all necessary blood enters the child's circulatory system. Gradually, small vessels are compacted into 2 large veins of the umbilical cord. It is through them that the blood runs, nourishes, saturates small life, and at the same time cleans it from waste slags and accumulations of carbon dioxide.

All food that the mother ingests goes to the umbilical cord after passing through the digestive system and is absorbed by the stomach. These nutrients become solutes in the maternal blood, which, together with oxygen and water, the fetus crosses the placenta. In addition, it partially feeds on the nutrients contained in the amniotic fluid.

The placenta works very efficiently and repels bacteria that can harm the fetus. Most importantly, the mother is well nourished and has a balanced diet. You must increase your intake of vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates, and minerals. With regard to diet, among the optimal foods we find: fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, milk and eggs.

Do no harm

Where do these nutrients come from? Naturally, from the food used by the mother. The minerals, vitamins, proteins, fats, and carbohydrates entering her body are digested and enter the bloodstream, and she supplies the fetus with everything it needs for growth. And if suddenly her nutrition turns out to be inadequate, it is likely that the lack of nutrients will be taken from the reserves of her body - bones and soft tissues.

This is an important task for parents, but how many times have you avoided talking to your child because you didn't know how to tell them? Or because you thought it would cause pain or confusion? Often, adults feel disoriented and unsure of how to give a child an answer. Secret?

Finally, if the baby's stomach is full of liquid, this means that the digestive tract is well developed, as well as the nervous system in terms of pharyngeal reflexes. However, if this is not visible, it may be synonymous with serious functional fetal problems.

To avoid such a turn of events, the expectant mother needs to learn how to combine balance and measure in her diet. Here are some tips:

During the first months of pregnancy, it is especially important to eat foods containing B vitamins: meat, fish, cereals, dairy products. During the laying and maturation of the fetal brain and spinal cord, folic acid (vitamin B9) must be taken, it contributes to the proper formation and division of cells.
Eat fractionally. It is best to eat small meals often.
Drink plenty of water.
Don't starve yourself
Eliminate soft cheeses, canned food, pâtés, raw eggs, and milk from your diet.
Eat more seasonal vegetables and fruits.

And now a few words in defense of the eccentric food preferences of pregnant women. If you suddenly wanted something like that, it may be worth listening to your body. Experts say that in this way he declares a shortage of certain substances. For example, a lack of calcium is indicated by an increased interest in dairy products, and, say, pickles, fruits, potatoes are a source of vitamin C.

Networks - Reproduction without pregnancy. Edward Panset and his team have been able to demonstrate that science and entertainment can be combined in such a way that in this third millennium, science finally disintegrates into popular culture. Humans, like most other mammals, develop our children.

Biologist and Distributor Aarati Prasad Discusses Research to Find Alternatives to Pregnancy. But pregnancy is not a unique strategy in the animal kingdom, and while it has many evolutionary advantages, it also entails some inconvenience and difficulties.

The history of these objects is our own history. Possibly future reproduction options. allow us to rethink existing family structures. Arati Prasad. His book is called "Like a Virgin" and is breaking into many markets around the world. "We must first establish how, before we can ask ourselves why."

He quotes him like this: "First we have to establish how, before we can ask ourselves why." Of course you mean life. How can we face the mystery of how a person is born? Could there be an artificial way or another way to be born? Why don't we start thinking a bit about this mystery and why it takes so long?

The earliest stage of development

Even the doctors came too late to know exactly what life is. So why don't we think about it a bit? Aarati Prasad: This is very interesting because one usually thinks that life has always been the way it is now, and many of us are not in a historical context, even in recent history, to see how ideas have changed.

"Sex is something that evolved at a certain time." For example, we take it for granted that sex is the way humans reproduce, and that both men and women have to reproduce. Almost no one asks why this is so, or if it is in all of nature, which, of course, is not. Sex is something that has evolved at a certain time.

It's amazing because the more we know, the less we know. It's fantastic to consider the variety of sex. For example, there are situations when there is a female mouse who is pregnant for twenty days and expecting twelve offspring, and in other situations where an elephant calf has been in the womb for a long time?

For nearly two years of pregnancy. How can you explain such a varied and mysterious question? Aarati Prasad: Well, that's interesting: watch the periods of pregnancy. How long is the baby in the womb? And, once it is born, how can the child take care of itself? Or what is the connection to the care that the parents will put into her upbringing?

Aarati Prasad: In man, something more complex has to do with the size of the brain. Eduard Punet: The point is, it's dangerous. Aarati Prasad: This is what made childbirth so dangerous for women. The fetus stays longer in the uterus, which means it is protected for a longer period.

And when our ancestors stopped walking on all fours and became bipedal, our hips narrowed so we could walk upright. The women's hips were getting narrower, and our head was getting bigger. There are many more women today who die during pregnancy.

The yolk sac will not feed the fruit for long - about a week. It performs the hematopoietic function longer - up to 7-8 weeks of embryo development. Later, it undergoes a reverse development.

Allantois is a derivative of the yolk sac. It plays an important role in providing the fetus with nutrients and oxygen. With its help, the blood vessels of the embryo are connected to the chorion.

Aarati Prasad: So the women's hips were getting narrower and our head got bigger and bigger. Today, many more women die during pregnancy. But on the other hand, having a larger brain has its advantages: being able to walk upright, being able to feed a fetus and nourishing it with the placenta, or being smarter than our ancestors.

It will likely be less obvious over time that gestating the fetus was an advantage. How is this topic being researched? Are we closer than twenty years ago? "So there are very good moral reasons to investigate." Aarati Prasad: Because when they talked about it, they got criticism from the public and it gives them respect.

The constantly dividing zygote turns into a dense cluster of cells (morula). After the appearance of a cavity (blastula) between the cells, the morula turns into a blastocyst (a bubble of fluid).

After implantation of the ovum

But they tried to find a way to create a fetus outside the mother's womb, because there are many women who are born without a uterus or with a defective one, or who may have suffered from a small cancer and had to remove their uterus or may suffer from heart disease and although they fertile, gestation of the fetus can kill them.

So there are very good moral reasons to investigate. It is basically an incubator, but an incubator that can support the fetus for forty weeks or most of the gestation period. "Now in Australia they have created an artificial womb, but for the shark's relatives."

Now in Australia, they have created an artificial womb, but for relatives of sharks. Aarati Prasad: Because the shark is endangered. This is a very interesting shark. For a long time it fell into fishing nets, and therefore the population is declining. But when he gives birth, only two young are born every two years, so the repopulation does not happen very quickly.

In fact, they only lack two fruits. At the beginning of pregnancy, they have two uterus and there are many breeding projects in each of them. However, the man in each womb eats his brothers. So when the shark was born, there were only two left. This is why the scientists thought: What if we choose to and can keep them from the mother's body and make them grow?

Aarati Prasad: Then we could restore the shark population. They used a type of shark with which they could successfully use this artificial uterus. However, the shark's placenta is much less complex than that of humans. Ours are so complex that the placenta twice penetrates the mother's uterus. Due to the size of our brains, and as long as the human fetus remains in the womb, the fetus must be able to capture enough nutrients and dispose of its waste.

If we look at babies born prematurely today, it is still very difficult to understand how you can force the brain to develop healthy, how to make premature babies tend to have no brain development problems. But in any case, yes, he is being investigated.

Ararat Prasad: Reproductive biologists say that if we had gathered all the technology, experience and modern knowledge, we could already support the fetus between fourteen and thirty-seven weeks, which is a good part of the gestation period. Remember, the youngest surviving premature baby was born at twenty-two weeks. Others say that in a hundred years we will be able to see this fact in order to keep the fetus alive.

This is one of the problems being studied. On the other hand, they are also studying how to keep very premature babies alive. Edouard Punet: Let's get back to normal everyday life. What's happening on the street today? There's a girl who goes to the pharmacy to find a pregnancy test, okay?

For normal people, sex is what: a urine test that can detect the pregnancy hormone. What is the name of this hormone? People do not understand what the arc of fertility and sterility means. Human chorionic gonadotropin. Then the girl says, "I am pregnant." So is sex for most people. The point is, if we look at sex education, we get that virtually all sex education revolves around knowing whether a woman has been impregnated or not, if she is expecting a boy or a girl.

Solutions for difficult pregnancies

Will it take this long? One problem is that what children learn in sex education classes is preventing pregnancies. And people do not understand what the arc of fertility and sterility means. Let's put the embryo aside and focus on understanding sperm and eggs. "The research has been done with stem cells from bone marrow, such as the skin, in which, if given the right chemical signals or the right instructions, they become eggs and sperm."

Placenta formation

What does the fetus receive from the mother's body?

How the baby eats in the womb depends on the diet of the pregnant woman. Many nutrients are needed for the healthy development of the fetus, but some of them are especially important.

Vitamin A is needed for metabolism. With its help, the child's mucous membranes, retina and bone tissue are formed.

Regularly receiving vitamin B1 from the mother, the baby is actively growing. Vitamin improves metabolism in brain tissues, allowing it to develop actively.

Riboflavin is needed for the absorption of iron and the synthesis of hemoglobin. The baby will spend hemoglobin accumulated during intrauterine development up to six months of age.

Vitamin B5 is required by the child for the metabolism and the production of hormones.

The supply of glucose to tissues and the release of carbohydrates accumulated in the organs into the blood depends on vitamin B6. Pyridoxine is involved in hematopoiesis.

Vitamin B7 is needed to support the process of cell division in the fetus.

Thanks to the intake of vitamin B9, the baby's immune system develops and functions. Folic acid prevents the appearance of fetal neural tube abnormalities and other malformations.

By receiving vitamin PP, children can shape the digestive system, regulate the functions of the thyroid and adrenal glands.

A child needs calcium to build bone and cartilage tissue. Phosphorus improves the condition of muscles, participates in the transmission of hereditary qualities from parents to the fetus.

If a pregnant woman receives little vitamins and minerals with food, the necessary substances are flushed out of her body to ensure the growing fetus.

Causes of poor nutrition before birth

How the fetus eats in the womb depends not only on nutrition, but also on the health of the pregnant woman. The baby's nutrition may be poor due to placental insufficiency.

Placental insufficiency is a condition when the placenta does not perform its functions in full. a pregnant woman is not allowed to form and develop safely. As a result of various pathologies, an insufficient amount of blood enters the placenta or venous outflow worsens. A poorly developed network of blood vessels does not allow the baby to get the right amount of nutrients and oxygen. With placental insufficiency, the composition of the blood and its coagulability may be impaired.

Poor fetal nutrition can be caused by placental abruption. This condition occurs due to a strong increase in blood pressure or as a result of uterine contractions. When an organ is detached, its connections with the wall of the uterus are partially (or completely) broken. The amount of nutrients supplied to the baby from the mother is reduced. If more than 50% of the placenta area is detached, the baby may die from acute hypoxia.

The baby continues to feed through the placenta until birth. Even after the first breath and cry, the blood continues to pulsate through the umbilical cord. When the umbilical cord is cut or the placenta has been rejected by the contracted uterus, nutrients stop entering the infant's body.

As soon as the egg meets the sperm, an intensive process of its modification begins. First, a zygote is formed, then a blastocyst, at the end of the embryonic stage, the fetal (fetal period) begins. The baby changes every day, and these metamorphoses require a huge amount of energy and nutrients. How and what the baby eats in the mother's womb at different stages of its development, we will tell you in this material.

Nutritional features of the crumbs

Nutritional methods depend on the stage of development of the baby. At any stage, the child needs oxygen, essential minerals, vitamins, glucose, hormones. These substances provide metabolic processes, growth and division of cells in tissues and organs, growth of bone and muscle tissue. But the baby receives these substances in different ways at different stages of pregnancy.

In the first trimester

7-10 days after fertilization, the blastocyst, into which the ovum has turned, reaches the uterine cavity and "penetrates" into the functional layer of the endometrium. At this stage, the embryo has a fairly small amount of calories, which are contained in the cytoplasmic fluid of the male and female germ cells. After implantation, the chorionic villi begin to gradually intertwine with the blood vessels of the endometrium of the uterus. This is how the birth of an important organ - the placenta - begins.

But while there is no "child's place", his duties are performed by the chorion. The embryo has a separate "food store" - the yolk sac, which is formed from the endoblastic vesicle about two weeks after conception. Until the 6th week of pregnancy, this "storehouse" of nutrients is larger than the embryo and all other embryonic structures. By the end of the first trimester, the yolk sac is not necessary, since the placenta takes over the role of breadwinner.

The yolk sac produces proteins important for the growth and development of the baby. If the size of the sac is insufficient or it stops functioning before the placenta comes into play, the fetus may die. At this stage of development, the baby receives oxygen, essential vitamins and microelements from the mother's blood through the chorionic villi.

In the second and third trimester

At 12-14 weeks of gestation, the young placenta begins to function instead of the chorion. It provides the baby with nutrition, protects him, produces a number of hormones that are important for the continuation of pregnancy, and also acts as a "flusher", removing the baby's waste products back into the mother's body.

This process is rather complicated. The vein is responsible for the supply of maternal blood saturated with oxygen, vitamins and minerals to the baby. Through two arteries from the baby through the placenta, urea, carbon dioxide, creatine and creatinine are excreted. Metabolic products are utilized by maternal kidneys and liver.

In our usual understanding, the child does not eat at this time, he receives everything he needs immediately into the blood. But the fetus perfectly "trains" the digestive system - it swallows the amniotic fluid along with the nutrients it contains, as well as the exfoliated epithelial cells, lanugo hairs. These "impurities" are not digested and are deposited in the intestines of the fetus in the form of dark green feces, which is called "meconium".

From the moment the swallowing reflex becomes established, the baby begins to write, his urine enters the amniotic waters back and participates in the process of their renewal. The composition of the waters is purified every 3.5 hours.

What from the mother's diet gets to the child?

The embryo in early pregnancy does not distinguish between tastes and does not have any gastronomic preferences. However, from the second trimester, the baby begins to "understand" what his mother eats. "Echoes" of tastes are present in the amniotic fluid, which the baby swallows so diligently. As the taste buds develop, the baby begins to distinguish sweet from bitter, sour from salty. Naturally, already at this age, children prefer sweets. That is why, after a piece of chocolate eaten by my mother, the movements of the fetus become more active.

If a woman eats too much sweets, the load on the breakdown of glucose will fall not only on her own pancreas, but also on her child's pancreas - it will also be difficult for him to cope with the abundance of sugar. Not only the weight of the pregnant woman herself, but also the lipid metabolism of her baby depends on the abundance of fatty foods.

The placenta, which is a reliable barrier, absorbs salts and some of the toxic substances as much as possible, without letting them through to the baby. But its possibilities are not limitless, a "child's place" with improper nutrition of a woman and her excessive use of drugs, alcohol will quickly age and lose some of the functions, which can lead to the fact that the child will receive from the mother's body substances that are not the most useful for him.

A woman's diet should be balanced, rich in vitamins, "slow carbohydrates", proteins, fats and fructose. Potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron must be present. If something in a woman's diet is not enough, it will affect the child, but not immediately. Nature has arranged it so that the baby for a long time can "compensate" for the missing substances, taking them from the mother's body.

So, if the amount of calcium consumed by the mother with food is insufficient, the child will "take away" this substance from the parent, as a result, her teeth, hair, nails will become fragile, brittle, and her legs will cramp at night caused by impaired phosphorus and calcium metabolism.

With a lack of iron, the expectant mother may develop anemia, as a result, the baby will not receive enough oxygen in the blood and will begin to suffer from hypoxia - a condition that poses a great danger to its development and even life.

The statement that a pregnant woman should eat for two is erroneous, from the point of view of medicine, it is even dangerous. The child receives from the mother's blood as much as he needs, more of the same vitamin C or vitamin E, he simply is not able to assimilate. But large amounts of food contribute to a pathological weight gain in a pregnant woman, in a baby, which is fraught with problems in childbirth, late toxicosis (gestosis) with all the ensuing consequences.

What happens with toxicosis?

What happens to the baby, if the mother has toxicosis and cannot eat at all, worries every pregnant woman who is in such an unpleasant situation. Toxicosis with eating disorders usually occurs in early pregnancy. At this time, the baby is “fed” by the yolk sac, and the lack of normal and adequate nutrition on the part of the parent can do little harm to the child. A little later, the baby, as in the case of a deficiency of certain substances, will get what he needs from the mother's body.

Moderate toxicosis, in which vomiting does not occur every hour, does not pose a particular danger to the mother and fetus. But severe, frequent vomiting, inability to eat and drink, the occurrence of puffiness or very rapid weight loss are alarming symptoms in which a woman is often shown inpatient treatment. In a hospital, she will be injected with the necessary vitamins and minerals intravenously or by drip so that the baby does not need them.

To the best of her ability, a woman should strive to eat healthy and vitamin-rich foods, even with toxicosis, in small portions. Toxicosis is the very case in which quality is better than quantity.

Multivitamin complexes designed specifically for expectant mothers will help provide the baby with the necessary substances for development and growth. They contain the necessary substances in an amount that meets the daily needs of the female body, taking into account the needs of a growing child.

About nutrition during pregnancy, as well as what the health of the unborn child depends on, see the next video.

When discussing the issue of proper nutrition for pregnant and lactating mothers, the question often arises: - “How does the fetus eat in the womb? Didn't you manage to get to know your mother’s usual diet and get used to it during your stay in the stomach? ” Let's deal with this issue.

Stage 1. Implantation of the embryo: nutrition from the reserves of nutrients in the yolk sac of the egg

In the first week after fertilization, during the journey through the fallopian tube and during the period of attachment to the lining of the uterus, an accumulation of cells, which in the near future will become a beloved (or beloved) crumbs, feeds on the reserves of nutrients in the yolk sac of the egg.

Stage 2. Placental nutrition

After the fixation of cells, constantly dividing and forming the body of the future crumbs, the placenta begins to form to the wall of the uterus. This is a special organ that connects the circulatory systems of the mother and child. The placenta is connected to the baby through the umbilical cord - three intertwined blood vessels through which nutrients from the mother's bloodstream to the fetus are transported. Starting from the moment of formation of the placenta, nutrition is of primary importance, carried out due to the transfer of nutrients from the mother's blood to the fetus through the villi of the placenta. Placental nutrition plays a leading role until the baby is born.

Stage 3. The work of your own digestive organs

Starting from 4-5 months of pregnancy, the child's own digestive organs begin to work. The baby begins to swallow amniotic fluid. In the last months of pregnancy, the amount of amniotic fluid swallowed by the baby per day may be more than a liter. With amniotic fluid, nutrients, such as proteins, amino acids, glucose, vitamins, hormones, salts, etc., and enzymes for their assimilation, enter the fetal digestive tract.

Some enzymes enter the amniotic fluid from the fetus (with saliva and urine), another source is the placenta, and the third is the mother's body. Most of the nutrients enter the developing baby's body without being digested from his gastrointestinal tract. Some of the incoming nutrients are digested by enzymes from the amniotic fluid.

The fetus's own digestion can begin in the second half of pregnancy, when the cells of the baby's stomach and pancreas begin to produce their own digestive enzymes - pepsinogen and lipase. This nutrition and digestion plays an important role in preparing the baby's digestive tract for breastfeeding.

It is important to remember that no matter how nutrients enter the baby's body (through the placenta or through the amniotic fluid), he will receive only the substances that the mother's body provided. Therefore, for the correct and timely development of the fetus, a pregnant woman needs a balanced diet. In the first time after childbirth, it is also advisable to monitor your diet. Although the baby began acquaintance with mother's food while still in the tummy, mother's enzymes played a leading role in the digestion and assimilation of these substances. On their own, the baby may not yet be able to cope with the digestion of certain substances.