Can Certain Foods Affect The Movement Of The Fetus? – Being Parents
The first food that can be associated with the movements of the fetus is chocolate. Likewise, sweets in general are considered to cause the baby to be more active when it is in the mother’s womb.
The majority of mothers try to interact with the baby when it is in their womb. It is common to move closer to the belly to be able to feel its movements. We also put on music or approach the light to observe a reaction.
However, doctors may recommend eating certain foods to induce more activity.
Despite all these “beliefs”, we know that the baby moves several times a day without receiving stimuli. Movement is a fact, because it is a living being and therefore it is not still. A baby can yawn in utero, bend their extremities, roll over and stretch.
The fetus is moving because it is healthy and developing. His breathing, swallowing and sucking also generate certain movements.
All of this activity may not always be felt outside the uterus, but it is quite identifiable on ultrasound scans.
Relationship between food and fetal movements
As we said before, the fetus is constantly moving. However, for the mother to feel the baby move, there must be contact with the uterine wall.
Thus, most of his movements go unnoticed. On the other hand, from the eighth week of pregnancy, a baby can be observed in motion thanks to the ultrasound.
For the movements to be felt on the outside, however, the baby must be at least 16 weeks old. However, sometimes the baby’s movements are so repeated and abrupt that women can feel pressure in the abdomen.
Usually this sensation is related to the mother’s diet. Doctors claim that glucose plays a role in this phenomenon.
Within 24 hours, the mother should feel the fetus move at least 10 times. Everyone agrees that it is more common to smell it between 30 minutes and 1 hour after a mother has eaten.
All the food we eat can turn into glucose and it works as a stimulant for the fetus. This substance reaches the baby through the umbilical cord.
– Alvaro Cano, perinatalogue –
Thus, we can affirm that food influences the movements of the fetus. Therefore, her smooth, normal movements are a little more intense after the mother has eaten.
In addition, it is possible to assert that sweet foods cause more intense activity of the fetus due to the increase in the level of glucose produced during metabolism.
Experts claim that any food activates the movements of the fetus, as gastric activity resumes.
Other stimuli can induce movements of the fetus
The obstetrician-gynecologist Guillermo Obando assures that the drop in the level of glucose in the blood can induce a decrease in the movements of the fetus.
In general, feeding the mother is associated with the movements of the baby in utero. So when the amount of glucose in the mother’s blood increases, so does the baby.
Likewise, other elements are linked; for example, ingesting cold food can also cause increased movement of the fetus.
In addition, the mother’s own activity prompts the baby to move or not. Therefore, the mother is sometimes advised to wake the baby with food.
Other stimulants can be light, noise and vibration. At the end of the pregnancy, the activity of the baby is not felt more, although it does not have as much room to move.
Doctors advise counting the baby’s strokes to make sure everything is okay. In this sense, if you notice that the movements are insufficient, you can still stimulate your baby with food.
The communication of the fetus with the outside is not so limited. The baby can hear or perceive the mother’s emotions. It can also connect to vibrations or to external changes.
However, the main connection he has is with the substance in the mother’s womb. It is for this reason that food stimulates it, just like tobacco smoke or caffeine.
Thus, it is very important to have under control what we eat or what we generally ingest during pregnancy.
