courtesy of http://www.welcomebabyhome.com/
During labor the maternal temperature is about 99.0°F. The temperature rises to about 99.3°F with an epidural or spinal anesthetic.
Baby’s condition at birth mirrors the mother’s. If she has a hard time with labor so will he. If she is wide awake the baby will be too.
The first breaths of air are the hardest in life. The effort put in is comparable to blowing up a rubber balloon.
Maternal genetic influence accounts for almost entirely the baby’s birth weight; fathers have very little to do with it. The heavier and taller the mother the bigger will be the baby’s birth weight.
Dreaming encourages fetal brain development and that is why babies spend the majority of their time sleeping.
Between weeks 28 and 32 your baby is capable of feeling and remembering.
Scientists find that depressed mothers had babies who cried excessively and were difficult to manage. Elevated level of the stress hormones from the mother reaches the bloodstream of the unborn child. The greater the depression, the more irritable the baby.
Recent studies show brain cells develop in utero grow in response to external sounds, especially when brain maturation is rapid from week 24 onwards.
Unborn babies feel pain as powerfully as those outside the womb
Each egg chooses the sperm it mates i.e. the egg opens its shell and welcomes the sperm it is attracted to.