Here’s What Happens To Your Body When You Are Born

1. It Doesn't Actually Start With Your Very First Breath

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You might think that life officially begins that moment you take your very first breath when out of the womb - but your first breath isn't actually the starting step! This is because there are actually many important preparations that need to take place in the womb, to make sure you can actually take that first breath!

2. The Changes To Help You Survive Begin Before That, In The Womb

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The changes needed for your tiny baby body to be able to begin breathing and come out of the womb healthily actually start while you're still in the womb. These changes continue to happen for a long time after you've been born, too. So it's like you're being prepped for what's going to happen.

3. Your Body Suddenly Has To Decide What To Do Without The Placenta

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One of the biggest considerations the body has to make is how you're going to cope without the placenta. In the womb, this is what enabled you to survive and get all your nutrients. Outside the womb, the placenta isn't going to help anymore. Your tiny little body needs to take over what the placenta was doing - so it's prepping for that.

4. Your Body Has To Adapt From Underwater To Land

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It sounds very weird when it's put like this, but your body literally has to go from being an underwater creature to a land-based one! And you need to adapt to land very, very quickly. When you were in the womb, you were immersed in fluid and you got oxygen from the placenta - so now you need to feel fresh air...

5. And You Need To Start Breathing That Air!

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With the placenta no longer supplying you with a healthy dose of oxygen from your mother, your body is now faced with the reality that it needs to start manually breathing in air from the environment. This is the first important process that needs to happen when you're born.

6. You're Covered In 'Vernix' - Which Protects You Against Fluid

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When you're born, you're covered in fluid and blood, but you're also covered in a substance called vernix. The vernix was what covered your body in the womb to help protect you from all that time submerged in fluid - and now that you're out, you don't need that anymore.

7. Your Skin Might Be Cracked

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As we know from spending far too long in a bubble bath, your skin can start to look cracked, weird and scaly - this can also happen to your body while you're submerged in fluid in the women, even with the vernix protecting you, so when you're born, you might look a tad.. peeled.

8. You Need A Lot More Oxygen Than You Did In The Womb

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Faced with the reality of breathing on your own, you of course need oxygen - but you actually need a whole lot more than you did when you were inside the womb, getting oxygen from the placenta. When you're a fetus, you need a low level of oxygen that's given through the circulatory system.

9. Your Lungs Need To Kick In - Stat!

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So now that you need a heck of a lot more oxygen, and you need to do it through manual breathing, the first thing to happen is that your lungs need to kick in, pronto! When you're born, your central nervous system then tells your lungs that they need to inflate quickly.

10. Your Body Will Then Have Taken Its First Command Of Its Own!

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Your lungs will then (hopefully, of course) obey the command, and you'll begin to inhale and exhale. This will also be the very first command that your body will hear and obey from the central nervous system, or the brain - working on its own steam - which is pretty amazing!

11. That's Also Why A Crying Baby Can Be Fantastic News

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Although the sound of a screaming, crying baby can be one of the most.. shall we say, difficult

sounds on the planet, it's great news if you're crying at the top of your lungs - literally, because it means your lungs have done their job and you have a healthy pair of them starting to kick in!

12. You Might Actually Get Jaundice

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So when you start breathing, this also begins the normal process of your body taking in the good stuff, and expelling waste products. Your liver is key to organizing what's waste, but the liver can take a lot longer to kick in compared to the lungs. This can mean you might get jaundice while the liver sorts itself out.

13. And It's More Likely You'll Get Jaundice If You're Premature

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Jaundice will manifest as a yellowing of the skin and the eyes, and it's more likely that you'll develop jaundice as a newborn baby if you're premature. It's around 60% of full-term babies that are likely to get jaundice, and around 80% of premature babies likely to get it.

14. But Your Body Will Correct This On Its Own

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Although this might sound worrying to get jaundice very quickly as a newborn, it's actually nothing to worry about, because your body will sort this out on its own once the liver starts to function normally. Of course, there might be rare cases it's something more serious, but in most cases it won't need any treatment.

15. Your Digestive System Kicks In - You Need Food In Your Mouth!

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In the womb, you got all your nutrients through the placenta - now that you're out, something needs to change! Not only does your digestive system kick in to consume food a different way, you'll have an overwhelming need to eat food directly through your mouth rather than the way you did in the womb!

16. In The Womb, Your Digestive System Hadn't Been Used Yet

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In the womb, your digestive system - from mouth to butt - would have been developing at its own pace, while you were happily taking in all your nutrients from the placenta. But you never would have used your digestive system at all within the womb - and that all changes the second you're born, of course.

17. And What Happens Next? You Need To Poop Of Course

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And with all the joys of a digestive system of course comes... the waste product. You would never have needed to poop in the womb (thank god) because it wasn't that kind of deal. Now that you're using your digestive system, your body will start to get acquainted with the feeling of needing to poop.

18. And You Actually Need To Get Rid Of Waste You Had When You Were Still In The Womb!

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While you might think needing to poop is a new thing from the food you've consumed outside of the womb, you'll actually be playing catch up from a small amount of waste product that built up towards the end of the last trimester. This waste is called meconium.

19. Meconium Is Different To Regular Poop

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Meconium is the small amount of waste built up in your bowels whilst in the womb, as a result of the placenta nutrients. Meconium looks black, and it doesn't have a smell to it. So, as you can tell, it's very different to the normal poop you'll get accustomed to now that you're born - or rather, the people changing your diapers will!

20. Your Urinary System Will Take Over The Placenta's Job

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In the womb, the placenta was working hard to do everything your body couldn't do yet - which includes the waste products, urinary or otherwise. When you're born, your urinary system has the very important job of taking over what the placenta was doing - which means it's time to prepare for pee!

21. But It'll Take Some Time For Your Kidneys To Start Working Properly

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Your kidneys play an important role in your urinary system, but that doesn't mean they'll be ready to work straight away. It will take a little time for them to function at top speed, and you can expect them to continue to develop even 2 weeks after you've actually been born.

22. You'll Start To Pee - Lots

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Your kidneys will soon be near enough ready to go - or at least be working at a very good capacity. This means it's time to pee. Urine is actually a very important part of the being born situation, because urine is there to replace what the amniotic sac fluid was doing for you in the womb.

23. But This Won't Actually Be The First Time You've Peed

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You actually would have been producing urine from around 9 to 12 weeks of being inside the womb - which means your first pee after being born won't be your first ever pee! Your kidneys will still have developed in the womb, enough to release urine - which is then sent into the amniotic sac.

24. Your Pee Actually Became A Huge Part Of The Amniotic Sac

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Because the urine released by the kidneys inside the womb was then released into the amniotic sac and fluid protecting and cushioning your tiny body, the urine actually became a source of amniotic fluid in itself, built to protect you before you were born.

25. You Might Lose Hair On Your Body

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It doesn't sound fair to lose hair before you've even started, does it? But that's exactly what can happen. Every baby is born with something called lanugo, which is unpigmented hair all over your body. After you've been born, you'll begin to shed this lanugo hair.

26. And You Might Even Have Hair Loss On Your Head!

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Some babies can be born completely bald, while others can come out with a full head of hair. No matter how many tiny strands of hair you have your head, you can also start to lose this, too, after being born - and it's completely normal! It can happen after birth for the first six months.

27. Your Body Temperature Will Plummet

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It makes sense when it was nice and toasty inside the womb and now you're out in an air-conditioned hospital room. When you were still inside the womb, you were warm 24/7. Outside of the womb, your body heat would be twice that of a normal adult if your body didn't decide it needed to cool down a bit.

28. And That's Why Someone Might Put A Little Cap On Your Head!

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We've all seen newborn babies with those adorable caps on their head, but it's more than just for aesthetics - as cute as it looks! The caps are actually there to help with the temperature changes, because as your temperature starts to drop, you need to learn how to generate your own heat - and things like caps and booties can help!

29. Your Immune System Is Underdeveloped

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In the womb you were of course protected from all those nasty outside germs like cold and flu - outside of the womb, you now have to fend for yourself. But your immune system isn't fully developed just yet. This means the second you're out, you can be exposed to a whole lot of germs without being ready to fight them off.

30. Your Digestive 'Flora' Starts To Multiply

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Digestive flora is the name giving to the microorganisms in your gut, like bacteria and enzymes. This flora is key for good health and functioning - so it's no surprise that, after your born, this flora starts to increase and multiply so that you can develop healthily.

31. And Now, Here's What Happens To Your Body From Age 1 To 2! You're Now Officially A Toddler

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It's a true right of passage when you change from a baby into a toddler! You're 'officially' a toddler when you hit 2 years old, which means a lot of changes are about to happen, and some already have from when you were a baby. This is the important stage between infancy and childhood.

32. Your Legs And Arms Are Going To Catch Up With Your Head!

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One thing babies are notable for in appearance is a big head and short and stumpy arms and legs. Well that all changes when you're becoming a toddler. Your head is now going to calm down a bit in terms of growth, and your legs and arms are finally going to catch up and grow longer!

33. Your Muscle Tone Is Getting Better (You'll Have Great Posture)

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Don't get too used to it because you'll probably lose that good posture when you become an adult working a desk job, but for now we don't need to worry about that. Your muscle tone is changing so that it can better support your body and become stronger, which means your posture and will become more erect!

34. You'll Actually Eat Less

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Remember when you were younger going through puberty and you felt like you could eat the world, and your parents told you it was 'because you were growing'? Well you'd think the same would apply when you're growing into a toddler, but actually your eating pattern slows down because you're going through less growth than you did as a baby!

35. You'll Learn To Walk, Run And Jump

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And give your parents a pretty hard time trying to keep up with you! Your muscles are now getting stronger, which means the perfect time to try them out and learn to use them. It's usually around 2 years old that you'll learn to walk. You'll also likely start testing out your new flexibility!

36. You'll Learn To Hold Things

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Something we take for granted as adults I'm sure, but during this lead up to 2 years old, you'll learn to hold and grip things in your own hands instead of everyone else doing it for you! You'll most likely use this new skill to start carrying your toys around, or playing throw and catch with a ball.

37. You'll Be Able To Show Off Your Balance Skills

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At this age, you'll also learn how to better keep your own balance - a much needed skill when you're now running and jumping everywhere. You'll be able to do things like stand on your tiptoes or climb on the furniture (great news for your parents) and - hopefully - not fall down!

38. You'll Develop Your 'Fine Motor Skills'

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These are those more intricate movements that any adult can do without thinking, but for a child is kind of a big deal. At this age, you'll start to be able to move your hands in different ways, like to grasp your pants to pull them up, and to hold your tooth brush (and keep hold of it) while you brush your teeth.

39. You Get More Creative With Playtime

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This is where the fun begins! This is when you start creating those own worlds and characters inside your head, pretending to fly around your toy planes, to feed your teddy bears or to build worlds from you brick toys. Your parents should encourage that growing imagination!

40. You'll Start To Remember Things

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Unfortunately, this can often come through 'learning through your mistakes' - but hey, how are you ever going to learn? As a child at this age, you'll start to remember good and bad things - and why you shouldn't do certain things. For instance, you remember the last time you ran headlong into a table - and the memory of pain reminds you not to do it again!

41. This Means You'll Also Start To Remember Stories, Songs And Rhymes

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If you have a favorite book you like to read at bedtime with your mom or dad, then it's more likely that you're now going to remember what's being said. You'll be able to remember certain words, tunes and phrases more easily, and likely start repeating them!

42. You'll Start To Understand 'Complicated' Instructions

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Telling a baby to 'eat' is quite simple - it's one straightforward instruction. But tell a baby to 'look at me then eat this food and smile' is not going to work. But as a toddler, you can start to understand double-barrelled instructions. You'll be able to do more than one thing your parents tell you to do, because you'll remember. So you'll have no excuse when they say 'stop crying and pick up your socks'.

43. You'll Start To Understand More Of What People Are Saying To You

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Things will stop sounding like random noises and you'll actually start picking up on names and phrases of the people in your life. You should recognize names and relate them to people, and you'll be able to better pick up words and phrases from your parents gossiping in the kitchen!

44. You'll Be Able To Speak More

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And in longer sentences! You probably won't stop talking, actually, because you'll have realised that you can say more now. You'll start to put those verbs and nouns together to make proper sentences in terms of objects and actions like, 'me play' or 'Mommy laughs'.

45. You're Going To Start Asking The Big Questions

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After all, growing up means questioning everything around you and your existence on this planet. You'll start to ask your parents serious existential questions, like 'why are we here?' 'why is the grass green?' 'why are you doing that?'. The neverending fun your parents will have trying to explain things to you!

46. You'll Start Copying Things

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This is that fun moment when a parent accidentally says a curse word and that's the only word you say for the next two weeks - out in public. At this age, you're going to be paying more attention to what people are saying and doing around you, and then mimicking what they do!

47. You'll Start Doing Things Without Needing Any Help

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This is the start to your road to independence! You don't need anybody to help you brush your teeth, brush your hair or get your favorite toy from across the room - you got this. Because you can now understand things better - and hold things better - you'll be off on your own adventures in no time.

48. You're Going To Have Toddler TantrumsTM

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If you thought crying as a baby was bad enough, here come the terrible 2s! The toddler tantrums are here to entertain both you and your parents. You're going to start acting out a lot

. You're not entirely at fault, because at this age, you don't know how to process negative emotions just yet - so you just throw out a tantrum.

49. Your Separation Anxiety Will Go Down

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Once upon a time you cried and cried at the idea of your parents leaving you alone for 0.0001 seconds, but now, at 2 years old, you're building your independence and you can happily go play by yourself or with other kids without panicking that your parents aren't right next to you.

50. You'll Start To Notice Patterns

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This is when you start to realise that there's a certain connection between certain objects, so that you can start to group them together. For example, you'll know that spoons, forks and knives all belong together. You'll notice that certain parts of toys go with others - like wheels with cars.