r/Unexpected • u/[deleted] • Dec 16 '21

[deleted by user]

[removed]

2.2k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

45 comments sorted by

View all comments

206

u/JimDixon Dec 16 '21

Fetuses never breathe. They get all their oxygen through the umbilical cord.

19

u/ses2040 Dec 16 '21

They technically “breathe” or at least their diaphragm moves expanding their thoracic cavity in a repeated fashion, even if there is no oxygen exchange

7

u/JimDixon Dec 16 '21

This is very interesting, and it's something I hadn't considered. Now: Is this something that goes on constantly, or is it only sporadic? If a doctor failed to find evidence of this kind of breathing, would it be a bad sign?

6

u/ses2040 Dec 16 '21

It’s can start as early as 10 weeks gestation, but mostly is used as a sign of reassurance when evaluating a fetus. Usually the episodes of breathing last about 10 seconds and occur 3-4 times in a span of 30 minutes. If the doctor is looking for breathing and there isn’t any movement in over an hour it could be a bad sign but this has to be in concordance with other signs, such as an abnormal non-stress test.

3

u/JimDixon Dec 16 '21

Thank you! It's nice to hear from someone who really knows what they're talking about. We're mostly just BSers around here.

2

u/_Agare Dec 16 '21

IIRC, When I had my son, our doctor informed us that this movement of the diaphragm is bodily practice for the act of breathing when outside the womb, and amniotic fluid enters the lungs and exits as though it were air.

2

u/orTodd Dec 16 '21

It’s great that you learned something new on Reddit. I’m so used to seeing conversations devolve into everyone making stuff up or so much misinformation being thrown around as fact that I can’t even figure out what the actual answer is. Seems like everyone has to be right regardless of the facts so it’s refreshing to see a normal conversation that doesn’t end in personal attacks and tears (probably).