Baby I'm yours

[paigetheoracle]

Could the position of the baby in the womb be the optimum state for it? I was just thinking that it's most probably no coincidence that the head is up against the rib cage as it is better protected and arguably the most important part of the infant to save if attacked by a predator.

Likewise the back is usually up against the mothers spine most of the time (correct me if I'm wrong as I'm only a lay person) which is the warmest and best protection for the exposed back too (up against the vitals for heat).

Surely this is the reason a baby only turns round for birth at the last moment (Easiest exit is head first as breach birth shows: You may jump into a pool feet first but dive head first as the latter produces least resistence and the former most (streamlined entry versus big splash).

[CraigD]

Originally Posted by paigetheoracle

Could the position of the baby in the womb be the optimum state for it? I was just thinking that it's most probably no coincidence that the head is up against the rib cage as it is better protected and arguably the most important part of the infant to save if attacked by a predator.

An interesting thought, but one that assumes that unborn babies spend most of their time in the same position, which diagnostic imaging (eg: ultrasound) shows not to be true.

Surely this is the reason a baby only turns round for birth at the last moment

A baby usually “locks in” to either the desired “vertex” (head down) or problematic “breech” (head up) position about 4 weeks prior to delivery, not at the last minute. Prior to that, they may flip between the two positions several times a day (often “kicking like a little mule” as they do, as many a mother will tell you). At about the 32nd week of a normal gestation, a baby has reached a size where they’re too big to easily turn around, so this flipping stops.

It’s worth noting that, despite much popular opinion to the contrary, a baby even at the moment of delivery doesn’t appear to truly “know where they are”, “what’s happening”, or even how to control their body enough that they can purposefully maneuver themselves to help in their delivery. With the exception of intentional maneuvering by the mother, midwife, or obstetrician, gestation and delivery appears to be guided mostly by the physical structure of the mother and baby’s bodies, especially the involuntary but coordinated contraction of the uterus during labor.

A bit of web searching will provide lots of information about pregnancy and childbirth, nearly all of it high-quality. I recommend keeping to the sites where any information comes directly from an obstetrics nurse or MD who’s name and credentials appear beside the information.

[HydrogenBond]

The birth of a baby head first is sort of like the best stategy for boiling a live Maine lobster. One has to go head first. If one goes tail first, the heat will cause the lobster to extend its arms/claws making it hard to put the lobster into the pot, i.e., unless the pot is huge. It will also splash hot water on you. In the case of a baby, head to toe is the direction of the grain (relaxed joints, arm by the side), allowing the extremities to flatten easier than going from toe to head (extended joints, arms above the head).

As far as the baby in the womb, the head on top is nessaary for the correct blood pressure to the brain. If it was upside down, the brain's blood pressure would be higher. Who knows what that would do. Maybe the head would get too big to easily fit out the exit.

[CraigD]

Originally Posted by HydrogenBond

As far as the baby in the womb, the head on top is nessaary for the correct blood pressure to the brain. If it was upside down, the brain's blood pressure would be higher. Who knows what that would do. Maybe the head would get too big to easily fit out the exit.

Possibly, but unmistakable evidence indicates that spending the last 4 weeks of gestation upside down in the uterus doesn’t cause abnormality, as that is how the majority of babies spend it.

It’s worth noting that, typically, a pregnant woman doesn’t spend her last month or pregnancy standing upright, but reclines in the usual way at least several times in a 24 hour period. I’m unaware of any evidence suggesting that babies of women who spend more or less time than usual standing upright are more or less likely to have any abnormalities.

[ronthepon]

In any case, I'd not expect the babies to be tall enough to have a sufficiently high pressure difference between head and toe.

[HydrogenBond]

I was not suggesting a bigger head is bad or abnormal. It may mean a larger brain. But a larger head and brain may be more prone to problems during delivery. Spending the last four weeks upside down, may not be as critical since the skull provides a barrier against further expansion.

The reversal of the baby's position, near the end of pregnancy, loosely correlates to sort of a magnetic reversal, where the north pole of the baby, i.e., head, is experiencing a reversal in the womb's field direction. More neural current is now going deep south to the exit hole to ready the mother for birth. The head sort of follows the direction of the enhanced nervous current. It is probably not magnetic but may be transmitted via the hydrogen protons.

[CraigD]

Originally Posted by HydrogenBond

The reversal of the baby's position, near the end of pregnancy, loosely correlates to sort of a magnetic reversal, where the north pole of the baby, i.e., head, is experiencing a reversal in the womb's field direction. More neural current is now going deep south to the exit hole to ready the mother for birth. The head sort of follows the direction of the enhanced nervous current. It is probably not magnetic but may be transmitted via the hydrogen protons.

HBond, can you present any evidence of the existence of the existence of a “womb’s field”, or “neural current” or “enhanced nervous current” that can exist in a cavity such as the uterus, rather than near a nerve cell membrane (eg: sequential neuron depolarization)?

It seems to me unlikely that any sort of magnetic or electrical effect is of much significance to the positioning of the muscularly active baby within the powerfully muscular uterus, or that the last month of gestation and labor is due to something other than well-known musculoskeletal effects.