Week21 |
Mother |
Baby |
| You
will probably continue to gain weight steadily now,
but the majority of it is your baby, not you. You
may notice tiny dialated blood vessels called spider
naevi, on your face, arms and shoulders. Your body
has started producing the yellowish fluid-colostrum,
which is a first feed of the baby after birth. |
By
the end of week 21, Your baby measures 18.0 cm and
weighs about 300 g. During this time , as the hair
on your baby's head is continuing to grow, so is
the rapid development of baby's brain is taking
place. This amazing constant rapid development of
child's brain goes on till the age of five. |
Week22 |
|
|
| Now
you can not delay buying some comfortable maternity
clothes. At this stage, make sure you are taking
food rich in iron and calcium as both are key requirements
for baby's development. |
Your
baby now measures 19-20cm and weighs 350-360g. Your
fetus now looks like a miniature of the newborn
he will become. It's thin, with wrinkled, translucent
skin that's covered with vernix. Under the skin,
sweat glands are forming. Your baby's hearing is
well established. |
Week23 |
|
|
| You'll
probably have gained 4-7 kg and you should be steadily
gaining about 0.25 each week.Your doctor may palpate
your abdomen. This palpation is the doctor's way
of feeling the position of the baby and will use
a tape to measure your fundal height. Your fundus
(top of your uterus) will be approximately one to
one-and-a-half inches above your navel at this point. |
Your
baby now measures 20 cm and weighs about 420 g.
The umbilical cord has become thick and strong. A gelatin-like substance around the blood vessels in the cord helps prevent kinks and knots that could stop the blood from flowing.
|
Week24 |
|
|
| You
may start feeling a tightening of your uterus or
abdomen from time to time. It can be due to Braxton
Hicks Contractions(rehersal contractions), which
pump blood to the uterus and ptrepare your body
for labor. However any contraction must be brought
to the notice of your doctor. |
Your baby now measures 22 cm and
weighs about 570 g.While your baby's lungs don't
function until he's born, preparations for breathing
begin now. Cells inside the lungs begin to make
surfactant, a fatty substance that helps a newborn
breathe. Surfactant keeps small air sacs in the
lungs slightly inflated, which makes breathing easier
after a baby takes his first crucial breath.
|
