Jarring motion: Can it hurt my baby-to-be?
After two miscarriages last year, I am now 13-weeks-pregnant. I'm concerned that everything is going to cause a miscarriage. While driving with my sister, she went over a speed bump and I've been worried ever since that the jolting may have caused problems. Is my obsessive worrying totally unfounded?
Question:Peg Plumbo CNM
Peg Plumbo has been a certified nurse-midwife (CNM) since 1976. She has assisted at over 1,000 births and currently teaches in the... Read more
Your baby is extremely well protected from the typical bumps of everyday living. Consider the bumps that runners endure while pregnant. Or even those that another baby -- a twin or triplet -- would cause to her siblings.
It is very normal to be protective of a pregnancy once you have experienced a loss. The implantation seems so fragile but in actuality it is not. Your baby is completely surrounded by amniotic fluid which serves as a shock absorber and insulator for common everyday jolts.
A baby would not be protected against sharp blows to the abdomen, which might put the placenta at risk of separating from the uterine wall. Such blows might be experienced in a domestic violence situation or an automobile accident.
Try not to worry. At 13-weeks-pregnant, you have probably heard the baby's heartbeat and the greatest danger of miscarriage has passed. I wish you a very happy pregnancy.
Answer:
