20th week of pregnancy

Congratulations on reaching the 20th week of your pregnancy. This week marks the midpoint of the pregnancy, as 40 weeks is counted as the complete term. Let’s discuss the week in detail.

Baby’s growth and development:

By now, the baby has grown so much that the healthcare provider can measure his/her size in numerous ways. We can now know the size by measuring the circumference of the baby’s head, belly, and computing the length of upper leg bone. The baby weighs around 310 grams and is about 10 inches in length from head to heel.
Breathing and swallowing continues as in the past. He/she can hear outside noises and may possibly react to loud noises.
The baby continues to grow at this stage,and the head continues to become more proportional to the rest of the body.
The baby’s skin is covered by fine hair called lanugo. As the baby does not have much body fat, the lanugo provides warmth apart from safety. By the time of delivery, these fine hairs are shed in most cases.
The skin structure becomes more complex now. Layers start developing in the epidermis.
This week is also characterised by development of baby’s teeth. The tooth buds are now completely formed and are placed underneath the gums.
The baby starts producing meconium, a dark green or black sticky substance. It is the baby’s first excretion when it is born and is basically the amniotic fluid that baby has swallowed, and cell loss.
The baby starts moving by now in the mother’s womb.
The heartbeat stabilizes and has become so strong that it can be heard with a stethoscope now.
The nerve cells which are responsible for all the senses- smell, taste, hearing, touch and sight are developing into their own specialised area of the brain.

Changes in the mother’s body:

By now, the baby bump is pretty obvious to everyone and it is quite difficult to hide the pregnancy. The mother starts feeling quite bulky by now.
The mother has gained around 10 pounds by the 20th week. She can now expect to gain ½ pound each week for the remaining term.
As a result of the growing belly which puts a lot of pressure on the muscles, mothers may have constant backache.
The top of the uterus grows to the level of the belly button.
As a result of hormonal changes, darkening of skin due to increased melanin is seen in different areas of the body, including the areolas, and existing moles.
Many women experience false labor contractions (Braxton Hicks contractions) from now on. These are weak, painless and of short duration. These contractions continue till the end of pregnancy and are considered normal. However, if they become regular or have high frequency, one must contact the doctor immediately.
Dizziness is a common pregnancy symptom. Many women feel light- headed if they keep standing for quite some time. The mother must take adequate rest from now on to avoid this.
As a result of skin stretching, abdominal itching is common problem faced by many women during pregnancy. This can also cause rashes due to constant itching. Moisturisers can help in reducing the nuisance, the mother experiences.

Complications:

One must contact the doctor immediately if the contractions are painful and exceptionally greater in number (3 or more in an hour). This may be a sign of preterm labor.

Ensure you have your regular checkups. Also by the 20th week, the Amniocentesis examination must be done. In this test a sample of amniotic fluid is taken to ascertain whether the baby has any abnormalities such as Down’s syndrome.

Attachment with the baby:

By now, most mothers have experienced their baby moving around in their tummy. It is a wonderful feeling and the mother is really excited. As the baby can also hear outside sounds now, the mother spends the day talking to her bundle of joy. She can now sense baby’s heartbeat, too.

Tips for the father:

The partner must support the mother at all times. Apart from this, he must book for the childbirth classes and help his partner in preparing the birth plan for the baby.

Diet:

The mother’s diet must be iron and calcium rich. Yoghurt, cheese and soy milk can serve as good options for providing calcium. Iron is needed because it assists in production of haemoglobin so that the baby does not suffer from amnesia or has low birth weight. Sources of iron include spinach, beans, oatmeal and red meat.