Normally, pregnancy in women lasts 40 weeks. This time is enough for a new life to arise and develop from two small particles. This process is very complex, but humanity has studied it well enough. This allows doctors to monitor the course of pregnancy and timely discern pathologies in the development of the child. It is possible to suspect something was wrong only if we very carefully compare the indicators of the future mother and her baby at different periods with their average norms. One of the most important characteristics of an unborn baby is the weight of the fetus. At the 20th week of pregnancy, which is the middle, a kind of equator of the prenatal period, it is already possible to assess whether the baby is developing well and how generally it feels in the mother’s stomach.
20th week of pregnancy and its features
According to the obstetric calendar, at 20 weeks of gestation, the age of the embryo is only 18 weeks. But this is not such a short time. From the moment of fertilization of the egg, the baby has grown, it gradually takes on the natural shape of a newborn baby. The fetal weight at the 20th week of pregnancy is still very small, and the baby is not viable enough. Although there are real cases of the appearance of children for a period of 20.5 weeks.
One of them occurred in the USA in 2006. Amilia Taylor at birth weighed a little less than 300 g! Doctors managed to save her, but the quality of life of this child leaves a better life. At the moment, she is far behind in her physical and psychological development from her peers. According to WHO, the fetal weight at the 20th week of pregnancy is still insufficient to speak of the embryo as a baby. Therefore, if at this time a woman begins labor activity, then it is customary to talk not about premature birth, but about miscarriage. Seriously, a baby is taken seriously only after the 22nd week, and if he was born after the 26th week, the chances of his survival are considered very high. But still, nature took 40 weeks to bear the child.
Mom at this time
So, what happens to the female body in the 20th week of pregnancy? Until now, the baby inside the mother grew up quite slowly. All resources were directed to the development of the organs of the baby, and not to increase its size, therefore, until the middle of pregnancy, many women can successfully hide their interesting position, especially if they try not to advertise it to others. But now everything will be different - with each week the uterus will increase in size, rising higher from its bottom. The weight of a woman by this period should increase by 3-6 kilograms. However, the exact increase must be calculated on the basis of the "pre-pregnant" constitution of the future mother. The chubby girls have nowhere else to recover - their increase should not be more than three kilograms, but thin women have a maximum threshold of 7 kg.
At the same time, the weight of the fetus at 20 weeks of pregnancy is about a tenth of the total increase. All the rest is an increase in the volume of the uterus, water, placenta. At this time, very serious changes begin to occur in the female body. The baby has grown, the uterus is significantly displaced and begins to put pressure on other internal organs. Because of this, a pregnant woman may experience a number of problems: discomfort during sleep, sitting, bending, shortness of breath, heartburn, back pain, vaginal discharge increases. All these are temporary difficulties that every expectant mother goes through.
They need to be mentally prepared so as not to be disappointed in themselves and their abilities. Ahead, the most difficult thing awaits the woman: in the 19-20 weeks of pregnancy, the fetal weight is still too small to cause significant discomfort, but in the future it will actively increase, because during the second half of pregnancy the baby needs to grow from 300 grams to 3 kilograms! This means that the mother’s tummy will also become bigger and heavier, respectively, and the load on her body will increase significantly.
Tests at week 20-21
Usually in this period, pregnant women have a "hospital lull." According to the protocol, a week or two earlier, a serious screening is done to identify pathologies in the fetus. But he is asked to undergo those women who had poor tests in the first trimester.
In other cases, the gynecologist prescribes only two types of planned laboratory tests:
- blood from a finger to determine the level of hemoglobin (in order to timely prevent anemia in a pregnant woman);
- general urine analysis to detect protein in it.
Despite the apparent simplicity of these analyzes, they cannot be ignored and not passed. If a woman has low hemoglobin, she may develop anemia, as a result of which the child will receive less oxygen and nutrients necessary for her development. As a result, the size and weight of the fetus will suffer. The 20th week of pregnancy is also the time for a second visit to the ultrasound room. Using special equipment, the doctor will find out how the baby develops. The specialist will take a photo of the fetus. The 20th week of pregnancy is also the period for which you can find out who in the tummy is a boy or girl.
Baby at 20 weeks
What does the baby look like in the middle of its prenatal period and what can it do at 20 weeks of gestation? The development of the fetus at this period occurs as follows:
- The baby’s muscular system is sufficiently developed and allows him to actively move in the uterus, turn around, tumbling, stretching, touching everything that you can reach with his hands.
- The fetal nervous system is also improving, it is already able to respond to sounds, changing lighting, learning to control its movements.
- The brain is actively growing, namely those departments that are responsible for memory and thinking.
- The height and weight of the fetus at 20 weeks of gestation is on average 14-16 cm and 255 g, respectively. This is an average parameter, but it allows slight deviations.
In addition, the baby is very rapidly developing the skin. Now the skin is already four-layer, but under it there is still no dermis responsible for the network of capillaries and nerve endings located on the surface of the body.
Norms of weight and height
In many ways, the size of the child depends on hereditary factors. That is, if mom and dad are far from giants, they hardly have a hero. Although there are cases when infants inherit the genes of more distant relatives. Also, certain deviations occur for a number of other reasons, for example, mother’s diseases during pregnancy, genetic abnormalities and congenital diseases of the child.
The weight of the fetus at 20 weeks of gestation (normal) is 355 grams. At this stage, all the children develop almost identically, they gain muscle mass, their skeleton grows, their organs form. But adipose tissue that helps them regulate body temperature after birth, accumulate only at the end of the third trimester.
How is the growth of the child determined during pregnancy (20-21 weeks)? The fetus according to the norms should be about 14-16 cm. But this is not the length of the child from the heels to the edge of the head, but KTR - the coccygeal-parietal size, that is, the distance from the coccyx to the crown. The baby at this time is the size of the palm of an adult, and in terms of volume it can be compared with coconut. In full growth, he is about 26 cm. The doctor will be able to find out these data using ultrasound and a photo of ultrasound. The weight of the fetus at 20 weeks of pregnancy, the doctor says only tentatively, the reliability of the data depends on how high-quality equipment is used for diagnosis, as well as on the professionalism of the doctor.
Big belly - big baby?
Many women during pregnancy are overly emotional and susceptible to other people's words. But sometimes one should not even pay attention to other people's prejudices! Especially often outsiders comment on the shape and size of the belly of the future mother, trying to predict who she will be born and what the baby will be. How true are these predictions, and especially if they relate to the 20th week of pregnancy? A photo of the fetus, taken on an ultrasound scan, will more accurately illustrate the real state of things than ordinary speculation!
The physiological characteristics of women are unlikely to be able to "tell" anything interesting, and most importantly, reliable about the future baby. Doctors can really predict the approximate parameters of a newborn by examining the body of his mother. But they do this at the end of pregnancy (in the middle of the third trimester) and take into account four indicators at once: the woman’s weight before pregnancy, her total weight gain, abdominal girth, and uterine height. Gynecologists pay special attention to the girth of the tummy. If it is more than 100 cm, then doctors can recommend a woman to do an additional ultrasound examination, during which it turns out how much the baby has grown.
Problems of this period
Thus, we found out how fetal development occurs in 20 weeks. Pregnancy and the sensations associated with it during this period will probably also interest readers. What to expect and how to alleviate possible unpleasant symptoms?
- Shortness of breath and shortness of breath are the most common complaint in expectant mothers. The fact is that the lungs of women are displaced, in addition, they need to pass an order of magnitude more air through themselves in order to provide oxygen for the child. It is natural that the pregnant woman experiences some discomfort during physical exertion. You can alleviate your condition if you walk more often on the street and ventilate the room where the expectant mother “dwells”. It also helps to inhale the knee-elbow position with full chest. In this position, the lungs have much to open during inspiration, which naturally gives the woman the opportunity to "breathe."
- Heartburn - this symptom torments, although not all pregnant women, but very many. It is associated with the fact that the septum, which prevents the rise of gastric juice through the esophagus, does not fully fulfill its function. The hormonal changes in the body and the displacement of internal organs are to blame for this. You can remove excruciating heartburn only with the help of special medicines ("Rennie", "Galstena", etc.).
- Pain and swelling of the legs are the first signs of varicose veins. This is a very serious problem that arises for a variety of reasons. First of all, this pathology can manifest itself due to a woman's weight gain. Contributes to this and increased blood circulation in the body. Another important factor is the pressure of the enlarged uterus on the organs in the small pelvis. Of course, the fetal weight at 20-21 weeks of gestation is not yet so large as to instantly provoke varicose veins, but it is better to play safe and give your legs a break: do not walk on heels, wear compression socks or stockings, do contrast baths.
One of the most striking sensations at this time will be the obvious movements of the baby inside the tummy. The fetus, which has strengthened and increased in size, is already strong enough to actively rest against the walls of the uterus with booty, head, arms and legs, making on the surface of the abdomen visible to the eye tubercles and mounds.
Pathology Tactics
What should a pregnant woman do if the gynecologist recommends she go to hospital for outpatient treatment? Be sure to obey your doctor! The equator of pregnancy is a very responsible period during the bearing of the baby. In the event of any health problems of a woman or the threat of premature birth, doctors will take appropriate measures and be able to prevent the tragedy.
Some mother's diseases have a very bad effect on the development of the child. Any malfunctions in her body are reflected in the fetus. Having not received certain substances at the right time, his body may not react in the best way - there will be problems with the laying of some organ or the whole system, growth will be delayed.
Also, if a woman has even the slightest suspicion that she begins premature labor, she needs to urgently go to the hospital. It is necessary and possible to slow down these processes - there are special measures for this. The fetal weight at the 20th week of pregnancy is still insufficient for childbirth, so the prenatal period should be prolonged as much as possible.
Presentation of the fetus for a period of 20 weeks
In the ultrasound protocol, a woman can see a line that says what position her child occupies in the uterus. For a period of 20 weeks, this item does not matter, because the child will turn a hundred times in the tummy and take the position necessary for successful childbirth - head down. However, if we are talking about a multiple pregnancy, then the doctor who observes the expectant mother will subsequently conduct a more thorough examination of her patient and manually check how the fruits are located and whether they took the right position. Ultrasound monitoring is usually done on the eve of childbirth - after the 37th week. Until this time, neither gluteal nor transverse presentation of the fetus has caused concern among doctors.
Nutrition and lifestyle
Unfortunately, not many women understand how strongly their lifestyle affects the development of the fetus. 20 weeks of pregnancy - this is the period when the baby is actively developing the brain and nervous system. If something goes wrong during this period, the child may be born disabled. Therefore, it is extremely important not to drink alcohol and drugs during pregnancy, to limit the intake of drugs that cross the placental barrier, and not to self-medicate.
What about food? By and large, proper nutrition is what mom needs, not the fetus. The child will draw everything necessary for her development from the woman’s body, but if the expectant mother drinks, smokes or is addicted to drugs, then along with healthy proteins, microelements and vitamins, he will also use substances that are destructive for him.
The perfect time to take care of yourself
Therefore, the expectant mother, in order to worry about the child and not to deprive herself of herself during the period of gestation, needs to eat variously, spend a lot of time in the fresh air, and not limit her physical activity. However, we want to warn especially zealous mothers - there is no need to eat for two! This will adversely affect the figure of the pregnant woman, and if you overeat in the last month - also on the proportions of the baby. In the period from the 36th to the 40th week, children no longer develop - their body is ready for the birth of the world, they only gain strength, accumulate body fat. But the good should be in moderation, and if mom will enthusiastically eat flour, sweet or drink sweet soda in liters, then it will then be difficult for her to give birth.
For a period of 20 weeks, pregnant women should take care of their skin. From this moment, the tummy grows literally before our eyes, and this is fraught with stretch marks. To avoid such a nuisance, you need to lubricate the skin with nourishing creams or oil to moisturize the body. This will make the skin supple and more supple, preventing it from scarring during stretching. Thanks to this, mom will be able to quickly return to its original form. And this is the key to her good mood and another reason to experience from motherhood only joy, not disappointment!