Experience in the birth of a child
Childbirth is not only a lengthy and physically demanding process, it also involves significant changes for the child, as it adapts to life outside the womb.
The baby is well suited to traveling to the outside world. So, since the bones of his skull are not fixed yet, he is able to "crumple", taking the shape of the birth canal when passing through them. After 24-48 hours after delivery, the child's skull assumes its normal shape. It is also believed that the nerve endings that transmit the child's sensations as "pain" during labor do not yet work.
ADAPTATION TO LIFE
The pressure on the baby's body when it squeezes through narrow birth canals is in fact useful for preparing it for life outside the womb. Pressure on the head contributes to the production of thyroid hormones and adrenals, helping to regulate body temperature after birth. Compression of the chest during movement through the birth can help squeeze out liquid and mucus from the lungs. This pressure does not allow the child to breathe and inhale fluid and blood from the birth canal, helping to prepare it for the first inhalation after birth.
When moving through the birth canal, the child develops hypoxemia( lack of oxygen), as the umbilical cord contracts. As soon as the child is outside the mother's body, his chest can expand, and pressure on the head stops, which will cause an instinctive reaction to hypoxemia - the inspiration, the driving force of breathing.
The first inhalation of a child
For self-supply of oxygen after clamping and cutting the umbilical cord in the heart and lungs of the child, there should be significant changes. While the baby was in the uterus, oxygen came through the mother's blood vessels to the placenta, and not through the breath. Since the heart of the baby was pumping blood through the umbilical cord and to the body, the blood was cast from the lungs.
The baby's first breath leads to significant changes in his body. Once the lungs are filled with air, the tiny alveolar sacs begin to expand. Oxygen reduces stress in the blood vessels of the lungs, and this contributes to the flow of blood. Cardiac holes that ensure the flow of blood from the fetal lungs, close immediately after birth. The cord is stretched, after which the arteries are closed, otherwise the child would lose a lot of blood during the separation of the placenta.
The first cry of a child
Although not all children cry after birth, a shock from birth usually causes a certain reaction of the newborn. The child can scream for several minutes in a row after birth, but can make a sharp cry and then subside. However, if it is in a retarded state after painkillers that have stained the mother, the infant may remain silent for some time after birth.
A child instinctively searches for a mother's nipple
The ability of a child to find a mother's nipple immediately after birth is amazing. Studies have shown that he compares the smell of liquid on his pens with the smell of the mother's nipples. If the child is put on the mother's stomach, he will crawl to his chest. He can also feel his mother's breast. That is why the first hour after birth can become the determining factor for breastfeeding.