Monday, September 26, 2011

The fragility of the human neck

I've been thinking about our necks recently. Our necks contain some really important stuff to keep us alive, including the trachea, which allows air to get to our lungs, and our spinal cord, which carries information between our brains and the rest of our bodies.  I would think that, with all this vital stuff inside it, the neck would have better protection than just skin - like a plate or armor or something.

I've been thinking about this since, now at 25 weeks pregnant, this baby doesn't move all that much (well, at least compared to what I remember with Joshua who was only still while I was moving around or riding in the car).

Often, doctors recommend doing "kick counts" starting at around 28 weeks when the baby's movement is limited due to its size. Ten movements should be felt within 2 hours.  I've started doing kick counts with this baby. And I feel relieved when I feel those 10 movements within about 20 minutes.

Perhaps that means this baby will be calmer and will sleep.  But between that umbilical cord floating around in there and only some skin protecting the trachea and spinal cord, I worry when I don't feel him even for a few minutes.

1 comment:

  1. I hadn't realized they move so much. They never go for a two hour period without you feeling them? Crazy!

    I'm glad this guy's wiggly enough to count those ten kicks within 20 minutes!

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