Are Your Babies Sleeping in the Womb?

Even in the womb, your baby sleeps, in fact, it is what they spend most of their time doing. Nearly 90 to 95 percent of the time, your baby is sleeping in the womb even at 32 weeks. Their hours of sleep are divided up between deep sleep or REM sleep and indeterminate states of sleep due to the immaturity of your baby's brain. Just as an adult, when your baby is in REM sleep, the eyes will move back and forth and it is even believed that some babies will even dream while in this sleep state. These dreams tend to be about what your baby will know so they typically revolve around the sensation they feel. As your due date approaches, your baby may sleep closer to 85 to 90 percent of the time, which tends to be the same amount of sleep a newborn will get.

Taste

While your baby may not have a full range of taste buds in the womb, they will be able to detect some flavors in the amniotic fluid. While in the womb, foods like garlic, ginger, anise and sweet flavors can change the flavor of the amniotic fluid. This is often noticed more around 15 weeks and on as your baby may have a preference for the sweeter foods you consume by swallowing more of the amniotic fluid.

Keep their eyes open

If you wondered “do babies sleep in the womb”, you might also wonder if they keep their eyes open when they are in there. While they won't be able to see much, around the 28th week in your pregnancy, your baby will begin to open his or her eyes. In the second trimester, your baby will be able to react to light, and often times try to move away from it. Starting as early as 15 weeks, babies will turn away from the light that can filter through and reach the womb.

Practices breathing

Babies get the oxygen they need through the umbilical cord, but they still need to start learning how to breathe on their own for when they born. When your baby is born, their first breath is triggered by the temperature change as they enter the world. Starting around nine weeks, they begin to practice the motions of breathing to prepare them for this breathe. Women who are choosing to do a water birth should not worry about the baby's first breath since the water temperature should be the same as your body temperature. This delays the baby from taking their first breath until after they are lifted out of the water and experience the temperature change.

Smile

It might be hard for new moms to believe that their baby is smiling in the womb, especially since for weeks after the birth, they try everything they can to get their baby to smile. Starting at around 26 weeks, most babies will begin to smile in the womb. Rest assured that your baby has been practicing their heart melting smile for weeks! Do babies sleep in the womb and smile while they sleep? Yes, there is a pretty good chance that they do.

Cry

Just as your baby will smile, there is also a chance that your baby will cry while in the womb. Some images of babies in the womb have even shown their bottom lip trembling as they cry. Don't fret. Crying is the only way your baby will be able to communicate with you once they are born, so it is a good communication skill for them to practice while in the womb.

Hiccup

A hiccuping baby is very common, even in the womb. Many women report being able to feel their baby hiccup before they are born and some mothers never experience this daily occurrence. While your baby may begin to hiccup in the first trimester, most moms may not notice the hiccups until much later in the pregnancy or not at all.

Learn

Your baby doesn't start to learn things the moment they are born, they are busy learning plenty while they are still developing in the womb. In the womb a baby will learn the sound of their mother's voice, what music she prefers to listen to the language she speaks, and much more. They begin to interact with the things they hear and know by moving, blinking, giving hand gestures and even clapping.

Remember

All those things they are learning in the womb they will remember once they are born. A newborn baby is able to distinguish their mother's voice from another female's easily, because they remember the sound of it from when they are in the womb. When it comes to “do babies sleep in the womb”, the answer is a yes since it helps them rest from all the learning and remembering they are doing.

Make hand gestures

As mentioned, babies in the womb will often use their hands when they react to a noise or sound. They can clap, give a thumbs up, and even move their hands to the beat of some songs they hear.

Bond

This should come to no surprise, but babies will begin bonding with their mothers while in the womb. While in the womb they can't understand what you say, they will be able to listen to your voice closely. This active listening is just one of the ways your baby is beginning to bond with you. Lovely, right?