DID YOU KNOW?

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*Your baby's heart will begin beating before your period is one week late.

 

*Your baby has grown 10,000 times larger than the fertilized egg in just 4 weeks!

 

*By 5 weeks your baby displays a whole-body reflex in response to touch.

 

*From week 1 to week 15, the amniotic fluid volume increases at a rate of 25ml (1Tbls + 1tsp) per week.

 

*The cells in your uterus will increase between 17 and 40 times their nonpregnant size due to extra estrogen and stretching.

 

*Every baby shows an distinct individuality in behaviour by the end of the third month.  The facial expressions of the baby are already similar to the facial expressions of the parent.

 

*At week 10 your baby's fingernails are growing.

 

*About 50% of mothers will experience morning sickness.

 

*At week 10 baby teeth have formed in the gums (all 20).

 

*Whether your baby will have an innie or an outie belly button depends on the strength of the baby's abdominal tissues.

 

*After birth your baby's hair will grow approximately 1/2 inch per month.

 

*The average newborn will display more than 70 different reflex behaviours.

 

*An average of 10, 501 babies are born each day in the US.

 

*After a meal your baby receives it's nutrients within an hour or two.

 

*Baby girls are born with all the eggs she will ever have in her ovaries.

 

*Hair begins to grow on baby's head at week 18.  In another month it may be up to 1 inch long!

 

*At week 19 your baby may be sucking it's thumb and fingers.

 

*Taste buds are formed in abundance on your baby's tongue and inside it's cheeks.  In humans, taste buds begin to diminish in number after birth and never increases again.

 

*Your amniotic fluid  is replaced every three hours.  This means the total daily exchange is equivalent to six gallons!

 

*From week 15 to 28 your amniotic fluid  volume increases at a rate of 50 ml (4 cups minus 2 tsps) per week.

 

*A newborns stomach is about the size of it's little fist.

 

*By the time your baby is born, 2-6 cups of amniotic fluid fill the amniotic sac (500-1,500ml).

 

*Only about 10% of women experience varicose veins during pregnancy.

 

*Baby's eyes are generally blue regardless of the final color they will become, because the pigmentation that colors the eyes is not fully developed.  Final formation of pigment generally requires a few weeks' exposure to light.

 

*Mother's increased blood volumes adds 2-4 pounds of weight (4-5 1/2 Liters)

 

*It is not uncommon for women to be dilated 1-2 cms in their last month of pregnancy.

 

*Between weeks 16 and 40, 15-20% more oxygen is captured by your lungs from each volume of air you breathe.

 

*The placenta will weigh 1/6 of what your baby weighs.  (1 1/2 pounds)

 

*85% of babies are born within 2 weeks of their due dates, either before or after.

 

*The total amniotic fluid weight is 2 pounds at term.

 

*The circumference of the baby's head and abdomen are about equal at birth.

 

*Your uterus will weigh 2 1/2 pounds at term.

 

*Your uterus will produce of force of 55 pounds during each contraction.  Amniotic fluid will cushion your baby.

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*Your baby will have no functioning tear ducts for a couple of weeks.  The first cries are always tearless.

 

*The average length of a newborns umbilical cord is 2 feet but can vary from 5 inches to more than 4 feet long.  The cord is capable of carrying about 300 quarts of fluid per day.

 

*Each of your breasts gains 1 1/2 pounds during pregnancy to prepare for nursing.

 

*It has been calculated that the first breath requires five times the effort of an ordinary breath, because the air drawn in must expand the thousands of tiny uninflated air sacs of the lungs.  It can be compared to blowing up a balloon.

 

*At your due date about 15% of the baby's body is fat.

*A newborn baby can mirror your face-- so stick out your tongue, open and close your mouth--your baby may imitate you. 

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*Mom's body temperature can go up or down in response to her newborn's temperature while they have skin to skin contact.

*A baby is born in the world every 3 seconds.

*Approximately 80% of infants are born with some form of birthmark.

*At birth babies have no kneecaps.  Kneecaps do not develop completely until after 6 months.

*If a person who was born 8lbs and 20 inches at birth continued growing as the same rate as he does the first year, by the time he reached 20, he'd be 25 ft tall and weigh nearly 315lbs.

*Babies born in May usually weigh on average 200 grams more than babies in other months.

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