The fetuses yawn in the womb

Thanks to the latest technologies we know that babies make the gesture of yawning in the womb, and a scientific study wanted to approach this behavior to relate it to the maturation of the central nervous system of the fetus.

A team of researchers from the universities of Durham and Lancaster (United Kingdom) suggests that yawning within the uterus could be another index of health, of gestation maturity. They have also differentiated the yawn from other gestures such as the simple opening of the mouth.

And there are scientists who pointed out that the alleged yawns were simply opening movements of the mouth, but in this investigation we wanted to differentiate true yawns, whose function is still unknown.

The study, which analyzes the 4D video sequences of 15 healthy fetuses (eight female and seven male) between 24 and 36 weeks of gestation, clearly distinguishes yawning, no yawning or open mouth, focusing on the duration of the opening from the mouth

The researchers found that more than half of the mouth openings observed were yawns, according to the magazine 'Plos One' in its latest issue. Other data is that yawning reduced after 28 weeks and that there were no significant differences between boys and girls in the frequency of yawning.

Since yawning decreases according to fetal age, it is another indicator of the baby's development. And as unlike us, fetuses do not yawn by contagion or sleep, the frequency of yawning in the womb may be related to early maturation of the brain during pregnancy.

In short, it is about a curious study confirming that fetuses yawn inside the uterus, although obviously there are many other indicators to know the development of the baby. On the other hand, it is not uncommon for a reflex act such as sucking or yawning to occur before the baby is born.

Video: Unborn Babies 'Yawn Repeatedly Inside Womb' (March 2024).