Possibly a stupid question...

[OzGirlNat]

... but I'm going to ask anyway.

I was reading today that the baby starts making urine at around 14 weeks. Does that mean that it wees in you? And if so, is it somehow cleaned by your body or does the baby just have to float around in it's little bubble of wee and amniotic fuid?

 

[DW1978]

Yes, please someone correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure that after a certain genstation, the baby starts to swallow and wee so the amniotic fluid is made up partly of babies wee!

 

[KellyHook]

Yep they swallow it.... YUK!!

 

[Chookette]

I read the other day that it goes into the umbilical cord... Not sure happens with it then...

 

[OzGirlNat]

So, when your waters break, it's basically 6 months worth of baby wee? I'm fascinated but grossed out by that at the same time.

 

[DW1978]

Just found this on Wikipedia:

Amniotic fluid is produced by exudation of fluid through the skin of the fetus up until the 14th week of pregnancy at which point keratinization of skin occurs. During weeks 8–11, the fetus begins to swallow and urinate, which is why the amniotic fluid contains fetal urine in the later stages of gestation.

 

[PrincessPeanut]

Oooo lovely, my baby is peeing in my tummy!!
haha! xxx

 

[Bunnykins]

I think I read somewhere some of the wee is taken away by the umbilical cord or something like that, but I'm guessing as the baby has only been able to drink amniotic fluid that its wee will pretty much just be amniotic fluid thats had some of the nutrients used up???? still grossed me out when i found out mine was weeing in me, little tinker!!!

 

[kellhod]

Oooo I lovely thought - my bump is made up of baby and all their pee ha! The things you learn x

 

[Sarah13]

My daughter finds this highly amusing when I told her this a couple weeks ago! Least wee is sterile I guess!

 

[EmmBee123]

it's sterile, and pretty much just amniotic fluid passing through baby, any waste products are diffused (think of tea coming out of a teabag in hot water) through the blood vessels in the placenta and into the mother's blood stream. Then it's down to our bodies to process it in the same way we process our own waste products.

Baby takes the good stuff like oxygen and food and uses it for him/herself then gives back any waste products, carbon dioxide and other waste to us to deal with.