How does a baby live inside its mother's womb?

These mysteries will be explained in an easy-to-understand manner under the supervision of Dr. Yukio Konishi, a pediatrician and authority on baby studies.

This time, we will be looking at the mechanism behind thumb sucking in babies while they are still in the womb and its relationship to the often-wondered issue of "dominant hand."

Baby starts sucking his thumb in the womb around 16 weeks

Of all the sense organs, touch is the earliest to emerge.

The area around the mouth develops the earliest, from around 8 to 12 weeks.

At around 16 weeks, your baby will be able to feel the touch of his or her fingertips.

When these two things come together, thumb sucking begins.



At first, the baby will place the fist in his mouth and make a licking motion, but over time he will be able to move the thumb independently and bring it to his mouth.

Because the baby is inside the amniotic fluid, it does not suck like a thumb does after birth.

Is there a relationship between "dominant hand" and "thumb sucking"?

It is generally believed that handedness is determined after the age of four.

However, there is also the opinion that handedness is determined by thumb sucking while in the womb.

In other words, when we are born, our dominant hand is already determined.

There are many other factors that are thought to influence handedness, such as genetics and the position of the fetus before birth.

Forcing a baby to change their dominant hand is stressful for both the baby and the mother.

There are now products available for left-handed people as well.

Think of it as a part of your personality and take it easy.