How do babies breathe under water?

Jeff and I decided to try a new restaurant in Clarksburg this evening. While the food was good (not great but not much special), the conversation at the next table drove us out of the restaurant as soon as we paid the check.

At the next table, with a quick observation, you can tell it is two couples - one most likely in their late forties and one in their late fifties. These four people were discussing lots of stuff, including politics, which is a totally different blog, but just about everything they discussed made me think, how in the world can these people be as rich as they appear given the fact that they seem like idiots???

I caught the tail end of one topic of conversation, of which I can safely say I was not eavesdropping. It took concentration to not listen to these loud mouths. Anyway, the group was discussing a water birth. For those of you who are a little confused, there are women who choose to give birth in a pool of water as opposed to the mainstream ways. I have to say, I have given that thought in the past. It might be something to look into should I become pregnant, but I would say that for me, it will not be a choice. To have a child, Jeff and I are going to have to have a retina specialist, a plastic surgeon, a psychiatrist, and, oh yeah, and OBGYN...

Anyway, back to my rant. The older man of the couple asks, "How can you give birth in water? How does the baby breathe? I mean when it comes out and takes that first *insert heavy wooshing breathing noise* in, won't it get a mouth full of water? Don't babies breathe while they are in the womb?"

OKAY - just how STUPID does this guy seem? Babies breathing in the womb. In F-L-U-I-D!? Anyway, needless to say I started laughing and laughing just a little too loud. I immediately got myself in check to make sure they didn't know I was laughing at them. At the rate of "stupid" at that table, though, I sincerely doubt that they would have known that I wasn't just laughing at a joke that Jeff just told...

So, here are a couple things I looked up to back up the fact that babies DO NOT breathe in the womb and when they are birthed into water, they still do not breathe in!

Factoid 1:

Babies cannot drown because they are supplied with oxygen via their umbilical cord, which plugs into the placenta and collects oxygen from the mother's bloodstream.

Babies do, however, make small breathing movements, although their lungs are not expanded. The birth process helps to ensure that any fluid that has been inhaled in utero is expelled by squeezing the baby hard on its way out!

Factoid 2:

The amniotic fluid is the clear, slightly yellowish fluid within the amniotic sac that surrounds the baby in the uterus. The baby grows in this amniotic sac, surrounded by the amniotic fluid, as he learns to move his limbs, open his eyes and breathe. Amniotic fluid levels generally sit at approximately 800ml through most of the pregnancy, dropping slightly in most cases to about 600ml by the time a woman reaches the 40 week mark.
Amniotic fluid also helps your baby develop his lungs. While in the womb your baby practices breathing by breathing in and out the water in the amniotic sac. The baby swallows and inhales the amniotic fluid and replaces the volume in the amniotic sac by urinating and exhaling the liquid.
http://www.babiesonline.com/articles/pre...


Factoid 3:

A baby is born under water the baby water will experience a gentle introduction to the world, with the softness and warmth of the water on its skin, and with muffled sounds and lights - quite similar to being in the womb.

At delivery, the baby must accustom itself to several huge changes - the experience of being born, the sensation of gravity and feeling its own body weight, new sense impressions, and breathing in the air. With an underwater birth, these experiences are introduced more gradually. Buoyancy counteracts the force of gravity, senses are muffled and the baby doesn't take a breath straight away - breathing does not commence until the baby's face meets the cool air.