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Can Baby Feel When I Rub My Belly?

It’s a classic pregnancy pose: a mother stroking her belly, with a Mona Lisa smile on her face.

Surprisingly, a mother rubbing her bump in public can bring on controversial reactions.

People wonder if women do it for attention or if the growing baby can even feel it from the inside.

You might rub your belly for many reasons: protectiveness, communication, or just to push that little foot out of your ribs.

The team at BellyBelly think, whatever the reason and wherever you are, you should go ahead and rub your tummy!

Can my baby feel when I touch my belly?

After a certain point in pregnancy, babies can definitely feel and even enjoy the touch from their mothers.

In the first trimester, the baby is deep inside your abdomen and surrounded by a lot of amniotic fluid. Her body is tiny and still developing, so it’s unlikely she has any awareness of the outside yet.

However, big changes happen in the second trimester, which allows your little one to feel touch and respond to it.

Researchers have discovered babies as early as 21 weeks gestation show a response to their mother’s touch from the outside. In this study, researchers used ultrasound and watched fetal movements and heart rate increase when the belly was rubbed.

The study showed when mothers touched their tummy it produced a range of responses from the fetus inside.

This connection between mother and baby is perhaps the secret behind that Mona Lisa smile in pregnancy. A mother knows all along her baby can feel her touch.

It’s exciting of course to have science prove the things parents already believe to be true.

And it’s confirmation that bonding and connection begin in the womb.

Do babies like it when you rub your belly?

Another study suggests this in utero touch and bonding can have lasting effects on the baby’s temperament. Regular gentle touch means a more easygoing baby.

If that’s not another strong reason to rub your belly during pregnancy, I don’t know what is!

For more ideas on ways to connect with your baby before birth, check out Bonding With Your Unborn Baby – 12 Tips

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Can babies in the womb sense their father?

The truth is, an unborn baby can feel a touch from anyone, but babies start to show a preference for touch that’s familiar.

Pregnancy is a time for babies to get to know the people who will be important to them in the outside world.

Your partner might get an exciting reality check just to feel a kick or movement from the outside. The baby suddenly becomes tangible and it’s common to wonder, ‘Does my child know it’s me?’

How can family members bond with baby before birth?

The more your partner touches your tummy during pregnancy, the more familiar that touch becomes. This increases the bond for the whole family.

This is especially true when touch is combined with sound. Your little one can hear the sound by 16 weeks. And by 24 weeks she might respond to your voice.

Dads and siblings can all add their voices and join in. It’s been shown newborns recognize songs, after birth, that were sung to them in the womb.

If you have chosen it already, use your baby’s name when talking to your little one.

Touching while talking or singing to the baby will build a strong sense of familiarity, even before the baby is born.

The baby might even respond with playful pushbacks.

Dads can press a protruding part and see the baby roll to the other side. Older siblings trying to climb on their mother’s disappearing lap may find baby brother or sister kicking back!

Often the opposite happens. When you feel the baby kicking and quickly put your partner’s hand on that spot to feel it, the baby goes quiet.

Why does a baby stop moving when somebody touches your belly?

Only the baby truly knows the answer to this one!

My husband’s hands are always very warm, even in the dead of winter, and my babies seemed to hold very still whenever he touched my belly.

We joked that his body heat made them sleepy. This was useful later when we were dealing with a fussy newborn. I’d hand them to him and he would use his magic warming hands to rock them to sleep.

Can I hurt my baby by pressing on my stomach?

New parents are often concerned about whether pushing or prodding will hurt the baby or damage anything within.

Chances are, rubbing your baby bump is much more likely to create comfort than cause harm. It’s similar to a massage.

Of course, if you’ve experienced a big impact from a fall or an accident, it’s a good idea to consult your healthcare professional to make sure everything is okay.

Your body is designed to protect your child from the normal wear and tear of life. Your muscular uterus and the amniotic fluid surrounding the baby will cushion her from impact or injury.

Why does my baby move when I touch my belly?

But what about you? How does your body feel with a new life developing inside?

There might be feet under your ribs, and little fists punching your bladder.

As a growing baby takes up more space, rubbing might be a necessary way to coax the baby out of a painful spot.

Rubbing those hard spots on your baby bump is also a way to learn more about optimal fetal positioning. With practice, you can learn to discern between elbows and knees, hands and feet.

Your little one might favor one side of your body or constantly kick the same area until it’s sore.

Your response can have a positive effect on you and baby, gently shifting out of the uncomfortable positions and strengthening the bond.

Does rubbing my belly really matter to baby?

As we’ve learned from studies and from natural instincts, there are lots of good reasons for women to touch their tummy in pregnancy.

Rubbing your belly can:

• Create a special bond
• Start a pattern of playfulness
• Introduce baby to other family members
• Help you get familiar with fetal positioning
• Increase the chances of calm newborn temperament.

Although each child and each situation is different, all parents can connect with their children before birth through the power of touch.

The benefits show us that bellies really are for rubbing.

Life before birth – Dixion Medical Center in Orel

The author of the article is
Olga Mikhailovna Khoreva,
psychologist of the clinic "Dixion"

In modern society, we no longer treat pregnant women with such trepidation, but at the same time we still know little about the life of a person in the womb of a mother. We have little idea what it feels like to happen. Perinatal psychology reveals these mysteries.

This kind of psychology appeared not so long ago, about forty years ago. This science studies the mental life of a baby in the womb or a newborn, his connection with his mother, the influence of her psychological state on him. nine0005

Many scientists claim that the fetus has a long-term memory and mental life.

The perinatal period has a great influence on the future of a person. It turns out that what happened to him in the womb, as well as during and after childbirth, is stored in his subconscious. In the future, these events affect how a person will become, how he will behave in certain situations.

The events of the perinatal period can be divided into three stages: pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. nine0005

Stage 1: Pregnancy

At this time, a person's life potential is formed, the ability to adapt to various conditions. Dear mothers, learn to love your baby in the tummy, even if his appearance was not a very pleasant surprise for you!

According to scientists, the basic physical and mental potential of the desired child is much higher. Otherwise, children do not sleep well, are easily upset, and cannot calm down for a long time. Often they are physically weaker than desired children. nine0005

The baby in the mother's belly is very sensitive to her mood. He hears, sees, tastes and touches. The child "sees the world" through the eyes of the mother, perceives it through her emotions. Therefore, pregnant women are asked to avoid stress, not to worry.

The child succeeds in all this with the help of hormones that come to the child through the placenta, and with the help of the mother's electromagnetic field. Scientists believe that mother and child communicate by means of millimeter-wave electromagnetic waves. nine0005

It is possible that some of the information is transmitted to the child through the aquatic environment of the mother's body. But the baby still in the womb can show independence. From about the tenth week, the fetus feels touch, that is, it has a sense of touch. From the eighteenth week - begins to distinguish the taste and drink amniotic fluid. At this time, you need to carefully monitor your menu - you can teach your child to eat "not right."

Hearing develops around the 22nd week, but children do not hear external noise well. They are disturbed by the sound of the work of the internal organs of the mother. But they hear their mother perfectly. So we recommend expectant mothers to sing songs, read aloud and just talk to your baby. nine0005

This is best done when the baby is awake. This time is easy to determine. Usually during this period the child is actively moving. It will be great if every day during this period you communicate with him like this: touch your tummy and say something, for example: “Hello, baby.” Over time, the conversations will become longer, and the child will respond to touches by pushing. It is advisable to involve older children and dad in this game. Just keep in mind that each family member should have a “own” part of the tummy for touching and their own “sound code”. In this way, the baby's sense of touch and hearing are developed, and it also has a positive effect on the emotional development of the child. nine0005

By the twenty-fourth week, the child's pupils are able to react to light. Some scientists believe that complete darkness reigns in the womb, others that the red part of the spectrum enters the uterus. The baby will learn to distinguish smells only when he is born - being in the womb, he will trust the mother's sense of smell.

Stage 2: Birth

Who will be the child in the "big" life - will he be a "winner" or "victim", how will he fight for a place under the sun - this is determined during this perinatal period. nine0005

Scientists believe that natural childbirth has the best effect on the future of the baby. Stimulation of childbirth has a negative impact on the mother and child - it breaks their interaction, speeds up the process against their will, so it is worth resorting to it only for medical reasons. Despite the fact that with a planned caesarean section, everything happens painlessly for the baby, many scientists believe that in this case your child will not become a fighter, and they do not recommend resorting to cesarean section unnecessarily. nine0005

If you want your child to be a fighter, behave properly when pushing, and then the mouse will become more assertive in the performance of the tasks assigned to him, act accordingly and perceive various situations objectively.

Breathing will help to behave properly during contractions and efforts, and it will also help reduce pain. You can learn how to breathe correctly during childbirth on your own or in courses for pregnant women. During childbirth, listen carefully to what the midwife says and try to follow her advice. nine0005

Husband, mother or other close person can provide great support and assistance during childbirth. The so-called joint births have a number of advantages: during contractions, the mother will not be alone with pain, there will be a loved one nearby who can distract her, support and help in this difficult situation; besides this close person is easier to perceive than a stranger, so the words of the midwife, repeated by the husband, will reach your consciousness faster.

Stage 3: Postpartum

According to scientists, at this perinatal stage, a person's attitude to freedom, their capabilities and strengths is formed. Therefore, during natural childbirth, the child is immediately placed on the mother's stomach. He sees his mother, feels her warmth, that is, he feels protected. Immediately after birth, the baby looks at his mother's face - he seems to get to know her again. This process of "gazing" is called bonding.

Psychologists say that during this process a stable emotional bond is formed between mother and child. If the father, whom the baby had only heard before, is next to the newborn and the mother, it will be just great - he will also be involved in the bonding process. It will be great if dad takes the baby in his arms, hugs him, talks to him. The presence of the father is especially important in the case of a caesarean section. While the doctors are "conjuring" over the mother, the baby will be in the hands of the father. nine0005

If it happens that a child cannot be with his mother for a long time after giving birth, then in life independence may become a burden for him. But with good care, breastfeeding for up to a year, tenderness and love, this state of affairs can be corrected.

Breastfeeding is a very important moment that affects both the emotional and physical development of the child.

The composition of breast milk is individual and ideal for just one baby. This composition changes during the day and days of a newborn's life. nine0005

Emotions are the thread that connects mother and child - they still form a single whole, but in the psycho-emotional, and not in the physical plane. The newborn is very sensitive to the mood of the mother. If the mother is upset, then the baby also behaves restlessly.

An important factor influencing the emotional development of a child is the attentive, sensitive attitude of his parents both to him and to each other. You need to spend as much time as possible together, smile, hold the child in your arms more often. nine0005

It has been proven that the baby develops faster if he has a lot of contact with his parents from birth. Of great importance are touches at every change of clothes, bathing, carrying on hands, feeding, massage.

It may be that some of the hypotheses of perinatal psychology seem dubious. But this science makes you think that inside a pregnant woman is not just a fetus, but a developing personality.

A baby inside the womb is not a physiological thing, it is a person who has his own mental life, and his future largely depends on the woman, on how she behaved during pregnancy, childbirth and the first hours after them. nine0005

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Tummy, tummy no pain! - KP.RU

Komsomolskaya Pravda

House. FamilyMom and babyMom and baby: Health

Tatyana KURCHINA

June 11, 2016 1:00

How to save a newborn from abdominal pain. A set of measures from ten points

Of course, we should not forget that everything is individual. The most important thing is to listen to your own child and your mother's heart Photo: Gennady BISENOV

Recalling my first experience of motherhood, I realize how much experience and knowledge I lacked then. Ah, young green. For three months my firstborn cried a lot, suffering from pain in his tummy. Following the recommendations of the doctors, I gave the child medications, laid the baby on his stomach, used a warm diaper, but all to no avail. For the first three months, I could not let him off my hands, I pumped and pumped everything. Until the hour “X” arrived, when, as if by a click, everything suddenly stopped. The child has outgrown the “colic and gaziki” phase! With my second and third child, already being an experienced mother, I was able to avoid tummy problems. Nothing prevented me from enjoying motherhood and enjoying communication with children. No wonder they say that the children of mothers with many children do not have tummies. I would like to share with you a set of measures verified on my own experience. nine0005

1. Calm in the mother's stomach = calm in the baby's stomach

The microflora of the baby is formed from the mother's microflora. Therefore, mom, as usual, should start with herself. Approximately ten days before the expected birth, we begin to drink bacteria that normalize the intestinal microflora. After the birth of a child, if necessary, a nursing mother can re-drink a course of probiotics. Beneficial bacteria will be passed from mother's milk to the baby.

2. Simple porridge is our food

Doctors are arguing about the need for a diet for a breastfeeding mother. But I know for sure that it’s worth eating something “not right” and a sleepless night is guaranteed. Therefore, I advocate a strict diet. Don't let the word "diet" scare you. Serious restrictions should be observed only for the first ten days. Then we will gradually introduce different foods and step by step return to our normal diet, but following the principles of a healthy diet. You can do everything healthy, not fatty, not fried, no hot spices and sweets. It is very important that there is no exotic in the diet. The diet should be simple traditional food. Most importantly, listen to your baby's well-being and choose a basic set of products that the child reacts positively to. nine0005

Here is an example:

- for the first ten days I give him only buckwheat and sometimes boiled pasta;

- after ten days I gradually introduce boiled beef and turkey;

- then stewed zucchini;

- baked green apples;

- kefir;

- thermally processed cottage cheese.

At the same time, it is better to eat simple buckwheat for dinner - this is a guarantee of a good night. Kefir, apples, zucchini - this is food for the first half of the day.

Unfortunately, in some maternity hospitals, nutrition is adapted for nursing women. And you need to restore your strength. Therefore, you can eat a little of everything. But as soon as useful buckwheat is brought from home, it is worth switching to it. nine0005

Later, if the child reacts negatively to some new product: the tummy hurts or red cheeks appear, it is worth a day or two to sit on your basic diet again.

All products should be introduced in the morning and little by little. That is, you should not eat a whole tomato in the morning, but a small slice. If all is well, then eat two slices of tomato every other day. After the child is three months old, new foods can be introduced more actively, so that the food is complete and varied. nine0096