It is sometimes difficult to understand how a baby can find enough space to grow in a place as small as a woman’s uterus. However, in this pregnancy you should know that not everything is a matter of space, but of elasticity. The womb is a wonderful and complex life support system designed to accommodate, in most cases, a fetus, two and sometimes three or more. But you know how it changes the home of your baby throughout the pregnancy?
The uterus of a woman and is suitable to accommodate a baby from the beginning of menstruation.After three or four days after fertilization of the egg, which occurred in the fallopian tube, the fertilized cell or zygote reaches the uterus and implants in the endometrium, the layer specially prepared that covers the inside of the uterus. The zygote, which has begun its division into millions of cells at the beginning of your trip, is now called a blastocyst and sinks in the endometrium, we then begin to develop a primitive placenta. The blastocyst, as well attached, begins to grow.
How does transforms the uterus during pregnancy?
During pregnancy
An embryo’s life begins at conception. This, once it has adhered to the uterus secretes a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), which reports to the ovaries that pregnancy has occurred and requires no more eggs, or continue menstruation, and prevents rejection the embryo by the body.This is the hormone that pregnancy tests detect.
One of the main functions is to administer HCG nutritional factors and stimulate the necessary amounts of other hormones to keep in good condition the endometrium and uterine cavity. Thus, in case of no or insufficient understanding of this hormone would be lost in the form of menstrual flow.
Consequently, once the uterus has received the embryo grows each day to adapt to the size of the new being that is developing. The uterine cavity will increase its capacity from 500 to 1,000 times, and weigh 900 to 1,000 grams at term.
At 4 or 5 weeks chorionic villi, blood vessels in the placenta, enter the endometrium, beginning the exchange of nutrients and oxygen between the maternal blood and embryo.
The muscles are redistributed to focus on the top. Only then, at the time of delivery, the uterine muscle is capable of directing the contractile force, pushing the fetus into the internal os of the cervix.
As for the cervix or neck of the uterus, it must be able to withstand the increased intrauterine pressure during gestation, maintaining a barrier to the passage of bacteria or other foreign substances into the uterus, so she produces a thick, sticky mucus, the mucus plug that seals the endocervical canal.
At week 38 the neck begins the process of shortening and lengthening of the canal that runs: the expansion. At which point the mucus plug is expelled. The uterus enters the active phase of labor contracting and strongly cyclical, pushing the fetus from top to bottom: labor is beginning.
After the birth
After the birth of the newborn, still maintains the uterus to contract to keep blood vessels open, after the expulsion of the placenta, causing bleeding, dangerous to the mother.
After delivery the uterus is a rounded shape and consistency, because it is starting to shrink. It measures about 20 cm and weighs between 900 g and 1 kg. During the following days, the uterus will be reduced until it reaches its normal size and weight.
What are the wrongs?
The wrongs are spasms or contractions intense-sometimes painful-that arise after birth and usually last no more than 5 days. They are a normal physiological response to reduce genital bleeding by uterine contraction. This will get nourished veins close to the placenta when it was within the uterine cavity during pregnancy and after delivery, have been left open. Likewise, the wrongs are intended to reduce the matrix to regain its normal size. These disturbances are more powerful during breastfeeding because the baby’s sucking releases a hormone called oxytocin, which in addition to controlling the rise in breast milk, stimulates uterine contractions.
From fertilization to birth
Formed by an elastic muscle tissue, the uterus gets dilated to accommodate a baby (or more) and return to their original size in a short time. But how is the process of evolution and involution of the uterus before and after childbirth?
From the moment of conception, the uterus, with barely a foot long, begin to grow adapted to the size of the embryo.
1. At 8 weeks of gestation, the uterus has already increased its size and comes with the size of a medium orange.
2. In the twelfth week exceeds the matrix reaches the pelvis and abdomen. Usually already be felt on the bottom.
3. In the 20 th week and is visible from the outside. The belly is prominent and reaches the navel. It can be said to be divided into two parts by an imaginary line from the navel to the pubis.
4. After 37 weeks within the uterus begins to decline, more or less below the area of the appendix.
Once delivery has occurred almost automatically the uterus begins its reduction, restoring its natural size. Process will take about a month until their full recovery.
5. After delivery the parent still has the size gained during pregnancy, but is now an empty space.
6. A week from the day of birth, the size of the uterus will be smaller, because the contractions or wrongs.
7. When the baby hold its first month of life, the womb and will have its original size and the vaginal walls will have fully recovered from the expansion of pregnancy.
How the baby develops within the mother?
The ultrasound diagnosis, better known as ultrasound, has allowed to know how it grows and develops new baby in the womb, thanks to imaging in two dimensions. However, they do not provide much information on fetal behavior. However, thanks to the 4D ultrasound can be easily observed fetal movements in real time. The most revolutionary contribution of this technique is certainly the possibility of seeing the fetus in its natural environment. In this way you can see simultaneously the movements of the head, limbs and body in three dimensions.
The majority of fetal movement patterns occur between weeks 7 th and 15 th, although the mother does not begin to feel up to the 20 th or 24 th week of gestation.
Between the 11 th and 12 th week the baby is hit and move the little legs in a kind of reflex.
From the 13 th or 15 th week can be seen almost all the patterns, jumps, kicks, stretching, smiling, sucking, yawning, rotates on itself, and so on. These movements will become more complex as pregnancy progresses.
At week 18, against the belief that remained sealed until the end of pregnancy, the fetus is able to open his eyes.
At 24 weeks in addition to open and close your eyes, is able to take the language and can be glimpsed and her first facial expressions.
At week 26 behaves almost like a baby: laugh, cry, scratch, suck, kick …
Towards the end of pregnancy the movements become less frequent but more defined and perceived by the mother. The baby is barely room to move and needs a new home. You are now ready to be born.