Congratulations!! 20 weeks is not just half of your journey with your baby, it is the most difficult and responsible half. Starting this week, your baby’s main task is to grow well. Now he weighs approximately 270 g, and his size is about 15 cm, if measured from the crown to the tailbone and as much as 25 cm - from the heels to the crown. Your baby is approximately the size of a banana. If until half the term we indicated its size without taking into account the length of the legs, now it is already possible to measure the growth of the belly in a standard way, taking into account its entire length.
From 20-22 weeks, the beating of a small heart can already be heard using a regular tube, which the doctor places on your anterior abdominal wall. This week the first stage of the formation of the fetal lungs begins; by the end of the 22nd week the baby will be able to make the first movements with them, which will still be episodic in nature. The intestines and kidneys work well, the gonads function, the spleen functions as a hematopoietic organ. The baby now makes swallowing movements more often, training the digestive system.
By week 20, a black substance called meconium has probably formed in his intestines, which is the result of digestion of amniotic fluid. The baby will continue to produce original feces after birth, so don’t be alarmed if you see a black, sticky substance on the diapers. Occasionally, meconium may pass during labor; its presence in the waste water indicates a not very favorable course of labor.
What's happening
At 20 weeks of pregnancy, the baby’s layer of brown subcutaneous fat increases, a pasty vernix lubrication forms on the body (it sticks to the skin thanks to lanugo), and hair begins to grow on the head. Now the fetus continues to develop the rudiments of molars, the ears and nose are enlarged, the brain has more and more convolutions and grooves, and the heart beats at a frequency of 120 - 160 beats per minute.
At the 20th week of pregnancy, the baby's eyes begin to open slightly. His visual organs are still imperfect, but he perfectly hears the sounds of the environment and moves actively. By this time, the child can roll over, bend and stretch his arms and legs, swallow and spit out amniotic fluid, grimace and purposefully touch the walls of the uterus.
Lifestyle
Celebrate the middle of your pregnancy by going to the theater with your husband! But it’s better to avoid watching plays with heavy psychological plots—neither you nor your child need negative emotions right now, because stress hormones, according to scientists, increase a woman’s heart rate, increase blood viscosity, blood pressure, and worsen uteroplacental circulation.
You should also not attend cinemas or rock concerts - very loud and long-lasting sounds can frighten the baby and even lead to underdevelopment of his hearing aid.
Stretch marks (striae) on the abdomen
During pregnancy, the hormone progesterone acts on the skin, which prepares the body for childbirth. Skin tissue and muscles become softer and more elastic, due to which the abdomen stretches, adapting to the size of the fetus. Moreover, at the 20th week of pregnancy, in some places the connective tissue is stretched so much that it cannot withstand it and breaks. At the site of the rupture, striae form, which are nothing more than internal scars. It is precisely because scars are located under the skin that they are very difficult to deal with. And to avoid the appearance of new stretch marks, prevention is needed: weight control and daily skin care using special cosmetics.
Body changes and new sensations for women
At week 20, some women experience a protruding belly button on their belly.
There is nothing scary or unusual about this. The enlargement of the umbilical ring occurs due to the fact that the uterus rises up and puts pressure on the umbilical cord. After childbirth, the “button” that appears will disappear. Does your belly button hurt during pregnancy? The phenomenon is also quite common - the appearance of painful sensations is associated with stretching of the abdomen during pregnancy. If the pain does not go away for a long time, it makes sense to consult a doctor.
As for the umbilical piercing, doctors recommend that expectant mothers remove it anyway - the hole from the piercing can stretch greatly during the “interesting position”, and the earring itself can cause skin irritation.
Risk factors
At 20 weeks of pregnancy, urine stagnation is a dangerous point. And if an infection enters the body, there is a risk of developing kidney inflammation (pyelonephritis). The disease can be prevented by periodically unloading the kidneys. To do this, from time to time during the day you need to take a knee-elbow position for a few minutes. With this position of the body, the pressure of the uterus on the kidneys is relieved, and urine flows freely into the bladder.
At the 20th week of pregnancy, prolonged uterine tone is very dangerous. To prevent this from happening, you need to avoid heavy lifting, overexertion and nervous shock. If you notice that your stomach often becomes hard, tell your doctor about it: the specialist will prescribe medications to eliminate this condition.
Lifestyle at 20 weeks of pregnancy: tips
The main thing depends on the lifestyle the expectant mother leads: how the birth will go and whether the newborn baby will be healthy.
Restrictions
When you are 20 weeks pregnant, there are many prohibitions that should be followed:
Bad habits
From the moment of conception, or from the time of planning fertilization, you should give up bad habits that have a detrimental effect on the fetus. Smoking and drinking alcohol are dangerous in the embryonic, perinatal and postpartum periods of a baby’s development.
Overheating
Overheating often leads to premature birth. To avoid an accident, you should not visit saunas and steam baths. Prolonged exposure to the sun is also dangerous for the expectant mother. Sunbathing is possible only in a shaded place in the morning.
Body positions when resting
The threat of premature birth may arise due to lying on the stomach, prolonged rest on the back or right side. When sitting cross-legged, blood flow is disrupted, which leads to oxygen starvation, which can result in miscarriage.
Physical exercise
Sudden movements, bending, and heavy lifting are contraindicated at 20 weeks of pregnancy.
These actions can provoke uterine hypertonicity, which can lead to miscarriages. High-heeled shoes cause increased stress on the spine and lower limbs, which will have a negative impact in the future.
Chemical substances
It is not recommended to use household chemicals during cleaning. Substances containing toxins are often used in cosmetics and hygiene products. Preference should be given to natural products.
Extreme sports and travel
At the 20th week of pregnancy, extreme sports are prohibited and are replaced by calm recreational activities. Travel is allowed, because there is a lot of time left before the birth. There is no ban on flying on an airplane. When traveling by road, you must stop at four-hour intervals to eat. After 2 hours, you must get out of the car to stretch your legs. A pregnant woman can drive for no more than an hour.
The following are strictly prohibited:
- Climbing to a height of more than 1 km above sea level.
- Diving.
- Parachuting.
What is good for mother and baby
The 20th week of pregnancy requires continued proper nutrition and a healthy lifestyle. Swimming, water aerobics, and Nordic walking are allowed. Walking at a calm pace in green areas is recommended.
Communication with friends and relatives, going to museums, visiting theaters is beneficial. It is advisable to devote your free time to your favorite activities.
Sex
If there is no doctor's prohibition, continuing intimate life will have a positive effect on the course of pregnancy. In this case, preference should be given to comfortable postures. If discomfort is felt, change position or complete sexual intercourse. Sex should bring pleasure to the pregnant woman, which produces a happiness hormone that has a positive effect on the baby’s emotional development.
Medical observation
If before the 20th week of pregnancy the expectant mother visits the antenatal clinic once a month, then after this period she needs to be examined twice as often. At this stage, the gynecologist may prescribe an ultrasound and blood and urine tests: the first is done to monitor hemoglobin and glucose levels, and the second to determine how the kidneys are working.
Ultrasound examination is carried out from the 18th to 24th week and is multidisciplinary. The doctor determines to what extent the size of all fetal organs corresponds to the norms and how they function. Also, at the 20th week of pregnancy, the length of the cervix, the amount of amniotic fluid are measured, and the location of the placenta is specified. If necessary, in parallel with the ultrasound, a triple blood test is prescribed to determine developmental defects.
Good to know
Baby's first movements: reasons for joy and anxiety
Mental development of the fetus: is it necessary to engage in prenatal education?
Can pregnant women go to the bathhouse?
Fever, cough, runny nose, headache during pregnancy
Exercises in the pool for pregnant women
How to choose a fitball for a pregnant woman
What sports are ideal for pregnant women?
How to choose the right bandage for pregnant women
Should a pregnant woman wear a brace?
All texts for pages about mother and baby were kindly provided by RAMA Publishing - these are chapters from the book by Svetlana Klaas “Your Favorite Little Man from Conception to Birth”, reviewer Irina Nikolaevna Kononova, Candidate of Medical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the Ural State Medical Academy (Ekaterinburg).
Recommendations
At the 20th week of pregnancy, all previous recommendations remain valid. You already know that you need to monitor the quality of your diet and follow a regimen: eat in small portions, do not overuse foods that cause allergies (citrus fruits, etc.). Surely you walk a lot, and maybe you have already started attending special classes for pregnant women.
If you experience dizziness at 19–20 weeks of pregnancy, try not to fast. Feel like you need to sit down or lie down? Don't be shy and do it! Move carefully, without sharp turns or climbs, try not to stay in the same position for a long time.
If your legs swell during the 19th – 20th week of pregnancy, keep them elevated more often. Make a habit of doing a massage with cream in the evenings. Before that, you can pamper your feet with a cool bath with your favorite essential oil.
Nutrition for the expectant mother
You should organize your diet so that you receive all the necessary nutrients without feeling your stomach is full. Meals should be frequent, in small quantities. Snacks including fresh fruits and vegetables and natural juices are welcome.
The diet must include lean meat, milk and fermented milk products, a variety of cereals, sea fish, and bran bread. Dishes for a pregnant woman are prepared by boiling, stewing, or steaming. Smoked and fried foods are excluded from the diet. Chocolate is not advisable; it is better for the body to obtain carbohydrates from fruits and cereals.
How the fetus develops
He has a lot to do now:
- it floats and pushes off the walls of the uterus;
- hiccups;
- flinches if mom is worried;
- thumb sucking;
- swallows amniotic fluid.
The latter contributes to the development of the digestive system. Already now, meconium is forming in the intestines - original feces, which will pass in the first day of the baby’s life.
By the 20th week of pregnancy, the fetus weighs an average of 290 grams, its body length is 16-17 cm from crown to tailbone and 25 cm from head to toe. The active development of the nervous system continues, the senses are improved, and taste buds develop.
The girls have a formed uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries, in which 7 million eggs have already been formed. In the future, there will be 3.5 times less of them, this is a reserve for the rest of life. In boys, the external genitalia grow, the testicles are still in the abdomen and will descend into the scrotum in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy.
Beauty and accessories
Do you continue to go to work, but your favorite business suits have become too small for you? Fortunately, today there is a large selection of clothes for pregnant women. In specialized stores you can buy excellent suits for pregnant women. The best option is a three-piece suit (includes trousers, jacket and skirt). You can combine various shirts and tops with these wardrobe items. And stylists recommend complementing the look with fashionable accessories - glasses, capes, hair decorations, elegant gloves and bags. When choosing the color of a business suit, give preference to black and white. By the way, the black bottom can hide your “interesting position” for quite a long time - as you know, this color has the ability to “shed” several centimeters.
Diagnosis of frozen pregnancy
Fading pregnancy can occur at any stage. The cause of this pathology is hormonal disorders, fetal development defects, conflict of Rh factors in the blood of mother and child. If in the early stages of pregnancy it was difficult to immediately diagnose her freezing, then with the appearance of movements the woman herself can sound the alarm. It is important not to confuse pregnancy fading with a decrease in fetal activity during sleep.
Ultrasound and listening to the fetal heartbeat will help confirm or refute the diagnosis. If a tragedy does occur, the woman undergoes removal of the dead fetus and an examination to determine the cause of the miscarriage. Then antibacterial therapy and psychotherapeutic treatment are prescribed. The recovery period can take from 6 months to a year.
Baby
At the 18th week, the child weighs about 200-250 g, and its length is approximately 20 cm. During this period, the structure of the brain becomes more complex, and its total mass also increases; nerve fibers are covered with myelin, a special fatty sheath that promotes accelerated nerve conduction. nerve impulses. After the birth of the child, this shell will allow the child to respond to stimuli from the outside.
The appearance of the fetus already slightly resembles a newborn baby and is actively approaching this state. Facial features become more and more distinct, the ears, which were previously tightly pressed to the head, are straightened, the middle ear is formed, and its perception is also improved. At this stage of pregnancy, the baby can already perceive stimuli from the outside and respond to various kinds of sounds. The noises that occur in the mother’s body due to the active work of the internal organs are completely normal and familiar to him, and also contribute to the training of auditory perception.
It is impossible not to note the intensive work of the fetal endocrine system. At 18-19 weeks, the release of “baby” hormones is large enough that even the mother’s body can be supplied with them. If a woman’s body lacks its own hormones, they are compensated for by children’s hormones, and the mother’s condition returns to normal.
Baby
The 19th week is characterized for the fetus by intensive growth of the limbs in length, an increase in size, and a slowdown in head growth. Its length is already 25 cm, and its weight is approximately 250-300 g. The child changes greatly in appearance, his body no longer looks disproportionate.
The fat under the skin allows the relief of the body to change slightly and become rounded. This brown fat is formed at 19-20 weeks. After birth, it is he who will perform the function of thermoregulation and protect the child from hypothermia or overheating. With age, this fat disappears and remains only in certain places: in the thickness of a person’s cheeks, kidney area, under the armpits, and shoulder blades.
At this stage, the formation of permanent teeth, which are located in the dental plate under the rudiments of milk teeth, and the maturation of the brain also occur. Special processes allow connections between neurons to be established. Cells intertwine with each other and create a whole system for transmitting impulses, ensuring the synchrony of the brain. The structures responsible for touch, taste, vision, hearing, and smell are actively developing.
Changes also occur in the hematopoietic system. The spleen is connected to the process of formation of blood cells, produces leukocytes, the task of which is to protect the child’s body from external and internal factors. Until 19-20 weeks, the fetal blood consisted only of red blood cells, and at this stage its composition changes sharply and approaches the composition of the blood of a newborn.
