In the beginning they may be hard to distinguish from your baby's kicks. Many expecting moms start to feel baby hiccups around the same time they feel other fetal movements, typically between 16 and 22 weeks. Some women notice that their baby has hiccups several times a day, while other women notice them only once in a while. And some expecting moms never feel fetal hiccups. It's all normal. Not much is known about why babies hiccup in the womb, but one theory is that it could be a way for babies to regulate the amount of fluid in the amniotic sac.
Your baby starts to swallow amniotic fluid by week 13 of pregnancy. By mid-pregnancy, the amniotic sac contains up to 26 ounces of fluid. The thinking goes that pressure from a buildup of amniotic fluid prompts babies to hiccup and swallow the excess. Other theories to explain hiccups in the womb are that they play a role in lung maturation or are a result of your baby practicing breathing.
Babies "breathe" amniotic fluid! You may have heard that fetal hiccups in late pregnancy could indicate a problem with the umbilical cord like umbilical cord compression or prolapse.
But that theory is based on limited studies in animals, and hasn't been validated in humans. In fact, fetal hiccups are generally thought to be a good sign — and feeling your baby hiccup in the womb daily in late pregnancy is associated with lower risk of stillbirth.
Infants get hiccups too, so you'll probably see your baby hiccup once they're out of the womb. Experts aren't sure why newborns tend to hiccup so much, but one hypothesis is that hiccups may help babies get excess air out of their tummies. The hiccups babies have in the womb are just like the hiccups you sometimes get: sudden, involuntary contractions of the diaphragm the muscle between your lungs and your stomach.
Fetal hiccups actually feel a lot like your own hiccups. Hiccups tend to feel like a jerky or pulsing jump. And since your baby is moving around in there, you might notice a string of kicks in different parts of your belly instead of in the same exact spot over and over. In both cases, your belly might noticeably bump or jump along with a hiccup or kick.
Kinda cool, right? But some suspect the hiccups could be involved in lung maturation. A tiny human making tiny hiccups might be kinda cute or kinda distracting, depending on your mood. But are hiccups something you should be concerned about?
Noticing an occasional hiccup spell is nothing to be concerned about. Still, pregnancy can sometimes be nerve-wracking. In rare cases, very frequent hiccuping every day or multiple times a day could be a sign of an umbilical cord compression or prolapse, a rare complication where the blood or oxygen supply slows down or gets cut off from the fetus.
That goes for hiccups as well as things like kicks or jabs. A tiny case of the hiccups in utero. Fetal hiccups are a quick, repetitive motion that you can tell is definitely coming from baby. In other words, fetal hiccups mean that baby is becoming neurologically developed enough to survive outside the womb, Ring says.
Which is definitely good news! La Porte explains that they can occur randomly and often, sometimes several times in a day. Ring suggests that changing positions, walking around and drinking water might work, since any new stimulus encourages baby to shift gears. But the best way to deal with fetal hiccups? Simply embrace them. Trust your instincts. Never hesitate to contact your ob-gyn with questions or concerns.
Please note: The Bump and the materials and information it contains are not intended to, and do not constitute, medical or other health advice or diagnosis and should not be used as such.
It often starts as little butterfly kicks, or it might feel like popcorn popping in your belly. Do you ever notice other movements like rhythmic twitching? These motions may feel more like muscle spasms or other pulsing.
But they might be fetal hiccups. You may start to notice fetal hiccups in your second or third trimester. But like fetal movement, everyone starts to feel them at a different time. Some babies get the hiccups several times a day. Others may not get them at all. This goes for why they happen in kids and adults, too.
One theory is that fetal hiccups play a role in lung maturation. The good news is, in most cases, this reflex is normal and just another part of pregnancy. You may want to contact your doctor if your baby continues to hiccup daily after this point, with the episodes lasting over 15 minutes, or if your baby has three or more series of hiccups in a day. Moving around is the best way to determine if your baby has hiccups or is kicking.
You may feel these movements in different parts of your belly top and bottom, side to side or they may stop if you reposition yourself. These are likely just kicks. Hiccups are typically a normal reflex.
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