Ahknaton
05-10-2006, 12:27 AM
Study: Babies Cry in the Womb
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20050919/fetalcrying.html
By Rossella Lorenzi, Discovery News
Sept. 20, 2005 — Babies start crying in the womb as early as 28 weeks, according to video-recorded ultrasound images.
Jeannine Gingras at the Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C., and colleagues made the discovery after playing tones of about 100 Hz and 95 decibels through a speaker placed on the stomach of a pregnant woman.
The response, recorded with an ultrasound scan, showed the fetus startling and turning the head as the sound stimulation was played.
Then the fetus showed all the characteristics of crying: an open mouth, increasing head tilts, a quivering chin and several irregular breaths before exhaling and settling with a turn of the head, mouthing and swallowing.
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The video documentation "supports the concept that the fetus is capable of the complex motor behaviors that accompany the crying state," Gringas and colleagues wrote in the current issue of the Archives of Disease in Childhood: Fetal and Neonatal Edition.
The discovery came by chance: the ultrasounds and noise stimulation were performed as part of a study into the effects of maternal smoking and cocaine use during pregnancy.
The research involved 54 pregnant women who smoked, 30 who used cocaine, and 60 controls who did neither.
Subsequent ultrasounds and acoustic stimulation, performed on up to three occasions (29-31, 32-35, and 36 or more weeks gestation) showed crying behavior in 10 fetuses.
Fetal crying was seen in all the gestational ages studied, suggesting that it occurs as early as 28 weeks gestation, and possibly earlier, said the researchers.
Four mothers smoked cigarettes during pregnancy, three smoked and used cocaine, and three neither smoked nor used cocaine. This would indicate that "the behavior is not specific to tobacco or cocaine exposure," said the researchers
Crying in the womb was recorded only after noise stimulation, suggesting that it is elicited only when the fetus is disturbed.
According to the researchers, the finding may represent a fifth, previously unknown behavioral state for human fetuses. Four distinct behaviors have already been recognized in the fetus: quiet sleep, active state, quiet awake and active awake.
The discovery may also have developmental implications, according to the researchers.
"The expression of crying implies more than execution of a motor pattern. Crying requires reception of a stimulus and association of that stimulus with a negative connotation," they said.
According to pediatrician Ed Mitchell, from Auckland University, New Zealand, fetal crying does not come as a surprise.
"This behavior had not been seen before, although there was no reason to expect it wouldn't occur at 28 weeks or later. Pre-term babies at 28 weeks display quite mature behavioral and motor skills. And of course, they cry," Mitchell told Discovery News.
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/briefs/20050919/fetalcrying.html
By Rossella Lorenzi, Discovery News
Sept. 20, 2005 — Babies start crying in the womb as early as 28 weeks, according to video-recorded ultrasound images.
Jeannine Gingras at the Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C., and colleagues made the discovery after playing tones of about 100 Hz and 95 decibels through a speaker placed on the stomach of a pregnant woman.
The response, recorded with an ultrasound scan, showed the fetus startling and turning the head as the sound stimulation was played.
Then the fetus showed all the characteristics of crying: an open mouth, increasing head tilts, a quivering chin and several irregular breaths before exhaling and settling with a turn of the head, mouthing and swallowing.
advertisement
The video documentation "supports the concept that the fetus is capable of the complex motor behaviors that accompany the crying state," Gringas and colleagues wrote in the current issue of the Archives of Disease in Childhood: Fetal and Neonatal Edition.
The discovery came by chance: the ultrasounds and noise stimulation were performed as part of a study into the effects of maternal smoking and cocaine use during pregnancy.
The research involved 54 pregnant women who smoked, 30 who used cocaine, and 60 controls who did neither.
Subsequent ultrasounds and acoustic stimulation, performed on up to three occasions (29-31, 32-35, and 36 or more weeks gestation) showed crying behavior in 10 fetuses.
Fetal crying was seen in all the gestational ages studied, suggesting that it occurs as early as 28 weeks gestation, and possibly earlier, said the researchers.
Four mothers smoked cigarettes during pregnancy, three smoked and used cocaine, and three neither smoked nor used cocaine. This would indicate that "the behavior is not specific to tobacco or cocaine exposure," said the researchers
Crying in the womb was recorded only after noise stimulation, suggesting that it is elicited only when the fetus is disturbed.
According to the researchers, the finding may represent a fifth, previously unknown behavioral state for human fetuses. Four distinct behaviors have already been recognized in the fetus: quiet sleep, active state, quiet awake and active awake.
The discovery may also have developmental implications, according to the researchers.
"The expression of crying implies more than execution of a motor pattern. Crying requires reception of a stimulus and association of that stimulus with a negative connotation," they said.
According to pediatrician Ed Mitchell, from Auckland University, New Zealand, fetal crying does not come as a surprise.
"This behavior had not been seen before, although there was no reason to expect it wouldn't occur at 28 weeks or later. Pre-term babies at 28 weeks display quite mature behavioral and motor skills. And of course, they cry," Mitchell told Discovery News.