Additionally, what triggers a baby, once exiting the womb, from taking its first breath?
In: Biology
Nothing, they get their oxygen supply through the umbilical cord attached to the placenta attached to the mother’s uterine wall. The mother and child essentially share a blood exchange.
Babies’ lungs *are* filled with amniotic fluid when they’re born. That’s why they’re often held upside and patted on the back. The first crying jag they experience is them spewing out the fluid. In modern medicine, suction is employed to remove some of it through their mouth so they don’t drown.
Birth is painful for the child as well as the mother.
Babies “breathe” in utero to prepare their muscles for breathing air. They are inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid. The higher viscosity of the fluid causes their muscles to develop more rapidly, just like swimming would make you build muscle tone more than swinging your arms around with no weights or resistance. Their oxygen comes from their mother’s bloodstream. They even get the hiccups.
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