Can babies fart in the womb?

[Mammie81]

I know its so silly, but Im sure I just felt farty bubbles in my tummy! If its not possible then it could be my own wind but Im really interested to know!

How funny if its a little baby fart!

[Chefdad]

Babies begin to develop bacteria in the gut from the mothers digestive system so it is indeed possible for babies to fart and even excrete in the womb. My own sister nearly died at birth because she swallowed faeces inside the womb and was green when she came out. She survived though, after a while in IC

[japhrimel]

Info on Lanugo and digestion, meconium, etc:
www.babycentre.co.uk/pregnancy/fetaldevelopment/37weeks/

www.babycentre.co.uk/baby/breastfeeding/colourbowelexpert/

Meconium shouldn't move through the digestive tract until birth though and baby's have "virgin" guts without bacteria present, so I'm pretty sure they still can't fart.

[Cyclebump]

Ahahahahahahahaha, sorry ladies but have near wet myself reading this thread. Why does no-one tell you how funny being pg is?!

[marriednotdead]

Thanks I think

[ShirleyGunpowderPlot]

marriednotdead for Quote of the week

[droves]

japhrimel , if they do ingest it , to give the digestive system practice ....then they could produce by products ...farts ????

where does the meconium come from ? is that what you shit if you eat hair then ?

[marriednotdead]

My DS can't have digested his lanugo.
He could have join the PG tips chimps from the delivery table.

[goodlifemummy]

Gross but hilarious!!

[anonymousbird]

hiccups for sure, my son had them ALL THE TIME overnight especially.

[japhrimel]

Pretty sure the baby does digest the remnants of the lanugo - it gives their digestive system "practice" just like how they swallow amniotic fluid and then pee it out to get their kidneys in practice and practice swallowing before birth.

[droves]

No they dont eat it , pmsl

I supposed it gets reabsorbed somehow ? , or disintegrates into the fluid ?. (not sure)
Ive never given birth to bits of hair that wasnt actually on the babies ! lol .

would be odd if you did ....have baby, then pass placenta and furball doesnt quite seem right ?

any midwifes about that can clarify ?

What exactly happens to the lanugo ?
where does it go?

[carriedafirework]

oh yuk! then they eat it?

[droves]

lanugo is fine hair that covers babies before they are born. it helps keep them warm.Can be seen on prem babies sometimes , full term babbies shed it a before birth.

Hiccups is a twitch in the diaphram muscle thats under the ribcage...when born people do it it expels air from lungs and we get the noise with the air rushing up the vocal cords. Unborn babies do the muscle twitch , but as they are in fluid not air there is no noise that comes out...its still a hic-up though ;-)

[carriedafirework]

what is lanugo?
hair?

how do they get hicccups then?

[TheEvilDead2]

Charming thread


poor little baby already being blamed for mum's wind!

[japhrimel]

They get hiccups.

All they have in their guts is digested lanugo which makes meconium (baby's first poo). They won't poo in the womb unless they get badly distressed or are overdue - good thing too as it can stop the oxygen getting to them or they can choke at birth.

[droves]

nothing in their guts to digest... they get "food" (ykwim,) direct into bloodstream via placenta.

[Mammie81]

Meh. I think it must have been my wind then. How disappointing.

[thumbwheel]

No I don't think they do. The gas for farting mostly comes from bacterial breakdown of waste products in the gut - the baby has a virgin gut (no bacteria) in the womb so shouldn't really be possible.
Hiccups happen though.

[Mumcentreplus]

Lay off the broccolli and Brussels

[AnyFuleKno]

babies don't poo before birth do they...so I'm thinking it can't be

[Mammie81]

And their digestive systems work, dont they? Im not sure?

[Mammie81]

Methane gas from food makes farts, doesnt it? I secretly hope it is a fart, how cute!

[droves]

i dont see how baby could fart before birth.

i always thought farts are an unfortunate by product of eating /swallowing air/and the digestive process.... since they dont eat or swallow air yet ???

[vintageteacups]

They have hiccups so could be that you're feeling.
Or it's your own wind