In the womb 14
The baby’s heartbeats are about twice as fast as her mother’s. Monitoring her heartbeat gives a good indication of her general condition. The mother’s heart rate and blood pressure are directly affected by her emotional state. If she is calm, her heart slows down and her blood pressure drops. If she’s tense and stressed, her heart beats faster and her blood pressure rises.
胎儿的心跳是母亲的两倍。通过监测心跳就能对孩子的总体情况作出一个大致的判断。母亲的心率和血压直接受到情绪的影响。如果她很平静，心跳变慢，血压降低。但是如果她很焦虑紧张，心跳将加快，血压也会升高。
Although the fetus has her own separate blood supply, these increases in heart rate and blood pressure are easily passed through the placenta and have a direct impact on the baby. It takes a while for the effects to filter through. But when the mother is recovering from the impact of stress and her heart rate is returning to normal, her baby’s heart begins to raise, as the psychological effects of stress creep(爬) through the placenta.
虽然孩子有自己的血液循环系统，但是母亲心率血压的变化很容易通过胎盘传递给孩子，对胎儿有直接影响。当然这种影响一段时间后才能表现出来。当母亲从紧张不安中恢复过来后心率回归正常，但这时胎儿的心跳开始加快，因为需要时间通过胎盘传递给胎儿。
In the short term, stress in the mother can lead to low birth weight or premature birth. But it’s also possible that the mother’s prolonged anxiety and stress can be passed on, establishing a tendency for stress in the child, and making her more likely to develop chronic health problems, such as heart disease and diabetes. It can even have a harmful effect on the child’s mental development in the early years of her life.
By now the mother can feel her baby move every day. Usually, it’s the fetus kicking or pushing. But sometimes she may feel the regular twitch(抽动) of her baby’s hiccups. Hiccups are an involuntary(无意的) sudden contraction of the diaphragm(横隔膜). Why fetus has hiccup is a bit of a mystery. One theory is that it’s a reflex that may help the baby latch(闭锁) on to a nipple and feed. The spasm(痉挛) of a fetus’s hiccup is strong enough to feel. But unlike our own hiccups, it makes no sound at all. The sound of an adult hiccup is made by the sudden rush of air that’s stopped by the closure of the vocal cords. But in the fetus’s lungs, there is no air, hence, no hiccup sound.
现在母亲能感觉到孩子每天都在动。通常都是孩子踢腿或者推拉的动作，但有时母亲也能感觉到孩子打嗝时发出的有规律的抽动。打嗝是横膜无意识的突然收缩。胎儿为什么会打嗝一直是个迷。一种学说认为这是一种条件反射，可以帮助孩子紧含奶嘴进食。胎儿打嗝引起的动作很大，所以母亲能够感觉到。但是胎儿的打嗝和我们的不一样，没有一点声音。成年人的打嗝是因为空气突然被声带阻断，但是在胎儿的肺里没有空气，所以打嗝没有声音。
The last of the major organs to form are the lungs. The lungs don’t function during the time in the womb. All the fetus’s oxygen is delivered from the mother’s blood via the placenta. Inside the fetus’s lungs, the branching(分支的) network of tubes is filled with amniotic fluid during the entire time in the womb. And the tiny air sacs(囊) that will extract oxygen from the air remain closed. But the fetus still makes breathing movements with her lungs and diaphragm. This strengthens the chest muscles, so they are ready to expand and fill the lungs with air the moment the baby is born. Most fetuses that reach 26 weeks will make it through to birth with no problem. They simply put on weight and continue to exercise their reflexes and senses.
最后发育的主要器官就是肺。肺在子宫里完全不工作。胎儿需要的所有氧气都通过胎盘从母亲的血液中吸取。在子宫里的整个时期，胎儿肺的那些错综复杂的肺气管里都充满了羊水，能从空气中吸取氧气的肺泡还是关闭着的。不过胎儿仍然用肺和横膜进行呼吸。这能加强肺部肌肉，使孩子一出生就能让肺鼓胀而充满空气。大多数26周的胎儿将很好地走完出生前的路，他们会继续增长体重，并且不断锻炼条件反射和感官功能。
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