Pregnant woman feels heartbeat in abdomen

When a woman becomes pregnant, she will be very concerned about any abnormalities in her abdomen, because these abnormalities may be related manifestations caused by problems with the fetus in the womb. Many pregnant women will clearly feel a heartbeat-like beating in their abdomen when they reach the middle stage of pregnancy. So pregnant women feel the presence of heartbeats in their abdomens. What is going on?

The intermittent beating in the abdomen of a pregnant woman is different from fetal movement and is actually the fetus hiccups. The duration of hiccups is irregular, ranging from 1 to 5 times a day. 95% of fetuses hiccup between 3 and 5 minutes, with the slowest being less than 10 times per minute and the fastest being more than 50 times per minute.

Fetal hiccups are caused by spasm of the fetal diaphragm. It is a special form of fetal respiratory movement in the early stages of fetal respiratory function development. Scientists believe that fetal hiccups are likely an early manifestation of feeding movements, just as babies learn to crawl before they learn to walk. The action of a baby sucking milk is very similar to hiccups, and the glottis closes when the muscles move to prevent milk from entering the lungs.

When the fetus hiccups, there will be local fixed beating in the pregnant woman's abdomen. Some pregnant women do not understand this and wonder if the fetus is sick and is constantly convulsing, or if the fetus has a congenital heart disease and is having a strong heartbeat. Some obstetricians do not have sufficient understanding of this, and even blindly let pregnant women use oxygen and medication, which increases the mental burden of pregnant women.

A large number of clinical studies have found that this phenomenon is the fetus hiccuping. The researchers observed through B-ultrasound that when the pregnant woman's abdominal wall experienced paroxysmal beating, at the same time, the fetus's lower chest and upper abdomen also experienced paroxysmal twitching, and the diaphragm also moved up and down, but the fetus's limbs did not move accordingly.

In fact, many fetuses will hiccup in the womb, but some pregnant women find it difficult to distinguish it from the fetus, or they are slow to react and do not feel it. Fetal hiccups are not an abnormality, but a physiological phenomenon. There is no need to be nervous or even take incorrect medical interventions.

Understanding the phenomenon of fetal hiccups is meaningful for monitoring fetal health. Pregnant women can use this phenomenon to self-monitor changes in the fetus. When the fetus is in the head position, the area where the pregnant woman's abdominal wall appears to be beating is roughly in the left and right lower abdomen. However, if you find that the position of the beat has risen significantly, it indicates that the fetus has turned into an abnormal fetal position and should be corrected as soon as possible under the guidance of a doctor. By observing the pulsation of the pregnant woman's abdominal wall, it is also possible to determine whether the abnormal fetal position has turned normal. For example, when the fetus is in a transverse or breech position, the pulsation of the pregnant woman's abdominal wall generally occurs in the middle and upper abdomen. If you find that the beating area has dropped significantly, it is possible that the fetal position has returned to normal and there is no need to continue correcting the fetal position or conducting treatment. It should be pointed out that due to individual differences between the fetus and the pregnant woman, the location of the beating of the pregnant woman's abdominal wall is relatively relative and cannot be described so specifically and fixedly.