Below are 25 fascinating and surprising facts about pregnancy, delivery, and the unborn baby.
1. The longest recorded pregnancy was of 375 days. According to a 1945 entry in the Time Magazine, a woman gave birth in Los Angeles nearly 100 days after the average 280-day pregnancy.
2. The oldest recorded woman to have a baby was 66 years old.
3. The blood volume in the body increases about 40-50 percent. This increase helps with the extra oxygen needed to support a healthy pregnancy.
4. All of baby's major organs including heart, lungs, kidneys, brain and intestines are formed and fully functional by 10 weeks of pregnancy.
5. In 1879, the heaviest baby was born were about 22 pounds. Sadly he passed away 11 hours after the delivery.
6. The Unites States ranks among the worst countries in the western world for the maternal death rate. There were an estimated 14 deaths per every 1000,000 live births in 2015. Greece, Poland, Iceland and Finland tied for the lowest rate at just 3 deaths per every 1000,000 live births in 2015.
7. As of 2015, 17.8 percent of pregnant women in France smoked into their third trimester. As a result hospitals are offering payment vouchers in exchange for participating in a smoking cessation program during pregnancy.
8. Many pregnant woman in China avoid cold foods like ice-cream and watermelon. They prefer hot drinks like tea and soups believing that pregnancy is of a'cold' nature and that hot liquids will balance yin and yang. There's no evidence to support this claim, but it is still a common cultural practice.
9. About 1 in every 2,000 babies are born with teeth. They are loose natal teeth and sometimes need to be removed by a doctor. They can be painful for the mother during breastfeeding.
10. Mom-to-be can start producing breast milk just 14 weeks into their pregnancy.
11. By the third trimester, a developing baby can recognise their mother's voice from inside the womb.
12. In 2012, over 61,000 babies were concieved in the United States with the help of in vitro fertilisation.
13. Babies can cry inside the womb. Researchers found expressions of displeasure in ultrasound at just 28 weeks.
14. At just six weeks pregnant, your baby has a heartbeat but is still only a size of a lentil.
15. Eight- That's there highest number of baby born alive to a single mother. In 2009, Nadia Suleman delivered her six boys and two girls in a California hospital.
16. Opposite sex twins (one boy and one girl) makes up approximately one- third of twins birth.
17. At age 30, a couple's monthly chance of conception is around 20 percent, By around the age of 40, the chance is around 5 percent each month.
18. The uterus can expand greatly during pregnancy. During the first trimester it appears in the size of an orange. By the third trimester it expands to the size of a watermelon.
19. Turkey has the highest percentage rates of babies born via cesarean section.
20. There are more twins born in Berlin than any other country, with 27.9 twins born per 1,000 births.
21. Your baby has her own unique fingerprints at just 13 weeks.
22. An unborn baby drinks (and then pees) the amniotic fluid. The whole amount is recirculated and replenished every 3 hours, so make sure you drink a lot of water to keep it topped up.
23. A 21-week old baby is the weight and length of a banana.
24. At 40- weeks placenta will be the size of a large dinner plate, 2-3 cm thick weighs around 650 grams and counts as a whole organ.
25. Only 5 percent of babies born around their given due date.
really interesting facts..thank you for such a valuable information
Your welcome
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