Calphool
New Member
- Joined
- Sep 9, 2006
- Messages
- 198
- Reaction score
- 0
"The amnion grows and begins to fill, mainly with water, around two weeks after fertilisation. After a further 10 weeks the liquid contains proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and phospholipids, urea and electrolytes, all which aid in the growth of the fetus. Most of the amniotic fluid comes from the baby's urine. By the second trimester the fetus can breathe in the water, allowing normal growth and the development of lungs and the gastrointestinal tract."
Quoted from wikipedia. Amniotic sac - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I guess it depends on your definition of "breathe". Injesting the fluid does help the embryo grow (I said that). However, the embryo is not turning the fluid into oxygen, which is what a fish does when it "breathes" water. A baby's first experience with self-collected oxygen comes when it draws its first breath of air (usually from crying). That's why your pediatrician sometimes spanks your new born baby -- to wake it up and encourage it to draw a full breath. That's also why premies are often on oxygen machines -- their little lungs didn't get enough time to develop into efficient oxygen / CO2 exchangers.