23 weeks pregnant is a good time to test and revise your shoe arsenal. Your baby grows up to 20 cm and weighs about 0.45 kg. Perhaps this week his closed eyes will begin to open, although it will not come to real vision soon.
Which month?
The twenty-third obstetric week is the sixth lunar month. If it is more convenient for you to count from conception, then it turns out that the period is two weeks less. In rare cases, it is impossible to establish the exact duration of pregnancy. How it happens, as well as all the information about the timing - read here.
Your body
A hippo, an elephant and a round legged - what words do some mothers reward themselves with! Some - with humor, others - with a slight longing for the lost chiseled figure. Never regret anything. Every pregnant woman is beautiful in her condition.
Photo of tummies (click to enlarge):
The fundus of the uterus is now located just above the navel, which gradually begins to protrude outward. If you are wearing a piercing in your belly button, it's time to take out the earring. Don't worry: the puncture site can theoretically be overgrown, but in practice this happens very rarely.
Feel
Doctors consider the second trimester to be the most peaceful and prosperous period of pregnancy. Many women agree with this. Early toxicosis has passed for a very long time. The baby's jerks are not too strong yet, they please and give positive emotions. The general state of health is just great. However, unpleasant manifestations are also possible:
- headaches;
- constipation;
- heartburn;
- swelling of the arms, legs, face;
- dizziness and weakness;
- increased fatigue;
- bleeding gums;
- periodic cramps (usually cramping the calves or feet from the inside);
- the initial stage of varicose veins;
- inability to quickly concentrate, switch from one thought to another.
It is quite possible to overcome such troubles. It is enough to be attentive to your diet, to devote enough time to sleep and rest, to keep a work and household diaries. In addition, it is important to visit the dentist and antenatal clinics on time.
Now you want to urinate every now and then. This sensation will build up until the very birth, as the growing uterus presses on the bladder and does not allow a large amount of urine to accumulate.
Age spots may appear on your face. This is unpleasant, but it is impossible to change this situation. A thick layer of makeup can simply tire you out and worsen your skin condition. So just think about how all excess pigmentation will surely disappear after giving birth.
At 23 weeks, you may be surprised to feel nauseous shortly after eating. But early toxicosis ended long ago? Everything is understandable. Sometimes the uterus can compress the bile ducts a little, and this interferes with proper digestion. Talk to your doctor about a solution to this problem.
Pain and complications
Certain conditions during pregnancy should be alarming. For example, any severe pain in the abdomen and / or lower back. Please note - these should not be pulling sensations that rarely arise and pass quickly. When the stomach hurts for real, only a doctor will help. Especially if contractions begin with the pain. If the uterus is now rejection of the fetus and premature birth occurs, even modern medical technology is unlikely to save a child's life.
Gestosis (late toxicosis) is considered a serious and dangerous complication of pregnancy in the second and third trimester. Its main symptoms are persistent edema, excess weight, protein in the urine and blood pressure disorders. If gestosis is recognized and treated in time, in the third trimester you will prevent many complications. Read more about late toxicosis here.
Fetal development
Your child sleeps a lot under his heart and is awake for several hours every day. Throughout the day, he moves his limbs many times, drinks amniotic fluid (up to half a liter per day), and from time to time turns in different directions.
Stirring fetus so far it is difficult to count, no norms have yet been applied for this period. Many tremors are still quite weak. The baby still has enough space in the uterus, and you simply do not feel many of his movements. But if the fetus is large, or you are expecting twins, the movements may be felt more clearly. Some mothers say that even at this time, their baby really kicks.
When moving, the fetus can touch any part of the uterus with a handle or leg. Some women feel tremors in the lower abdomen, others say that the baby often hits somewhere to the side. All these feelings are very individual.
What happens to the baby at the twenty-third week:
- bones and cartilage are still mineralized;
- the activity of the brain is almost comparable to the brain activity of a newborn child;
- under the skin, the formation of a fat layer is in full swing, and the skin itself ceases to be transparent (but remains red due to the large number of blood vessels);
- the heart of the crumbs is listened not only during ultrasound, but also with an ordinary medical stethoscope;
- the eyes begin to open a little, but full-fledged vision will develop only some time after childbirth;
- in the intestine, meconium, the original feces, continues to form (it is formed from all kinds of particles that the fetus is swallowed along with the amniotic fluid).
If you have been diagnosed with diabetes, you need additional medical supervision. The fetus may experience malfunctioning of the pancreas, which is now actively engaged in the production of its own insulin.
What does the baby need
Your emotional state is very important. In any situation, whole cocktails of hormones are formed in your blood. And you have a common blood circulation with the fetus. Hence, experiences too. Please note that the fetus is not only suffering from your fear or stress. Too vivid experiences, some kind of super-great joy will also tire you and the child.
Be sure to talk to your baby, stroke the tummy. If your family is ready to do the same, do not forbid. Build contact with your baby before birth.
Recommendations
- Nutrition remains unchanged: your diet should be balanced and extremely healthy.
- If you get heartburn, cook cereals and jelly more often. There are several ways to quickly get rid of an attack of heartburn. For example, take a sip of warm milk or eat baking soda on the tip of a teaspoon and wash it down with water. Please note: if you have not fought heartburn in these ways before, it is better not to try. Just keep a close eye on your diet.
- If you get swelling after walking or just in the evenings, check your drinking regimen. Any liquid should be drunk little by little. But don't force yourself to be thirsty, especially in hot weather. Completely exclude salty, spicy foods from the diet, limit sweets.
- Check all of your shoes. You may need shoes or boots one size larger. Avoid intricate fasteners, laces, high heels, wedges and platforms. Shoes should not crush, rub, get wet in wet weather, or slip on snow.
- If you decide to buy new shoes, boots or boots, it is best to do so in the afternoon. It is at this time that the legs tend to swell slightly, and you will be able to correctly assess the quality and convenience of the new thing. If the model you choose is tight, ask for a different size. Never listen to the seller's promises that everything will stretch, spread and then be on your leg.
- Watch your chest, abdomen, thighs and buttocks. Avoid dryness in these areas of your body. Use a special remedy for stretch marks (including prevention) or quality olive oil.
- Record your training bout times. They should be infrequent and irregular, without pain or abnormal vaginal discharge.
- You will have to give up sex if you have a multiple pregnancy, there is a threat of miscarriage, the placenta is low, or the amount of amniotic fluid is below normal.
- Watch for vaginal discharge. They should be moderately thick, white or transparent, without any particular odor. For any deviation from the norm, go to the doctor.
- If for some reason you are late with the second trimester screening test (blood tests, urine tests, ultrasound), the antenatal clinic doctor should write out all the necessary referrals.
- Check your weight: the estimated gain from the beginning of pregnancy should not exceed eight kilograms.
- Wear a prenatal brace to support your abdomen and improve weight distribution.
- Go in for sports, but without exhausting physical activity. The best types are yoga or swimming.
- Try to sleep only on your left side. Place small pillows under your belly, back, and between your knees.
- If your city has a cord blood collection and storage service, consider using it. Umbilical cord blood stem cells are a real, natural drug of the widest spectrum of action.
Another danger
Not all pregnant women are happily married. Some are single initially, and the unborn child is the result of a short relationship with no good prospects. It also happens that the relationship with the partner and the father of the child ends during pregnancy. What to do with sexual desires? Especially if a man appears next to him, ready to be near, look after, love and give intimate experiences?
Look at this situation from a moral perspective. The expectant mother is responsible for two. And now you need to think first of all about your baby. And if your personal life does not work out, do not try to solve everything now. A truly worthy man will understand and wait. And lovers of short-term adventures and thrills will just drop out.
The opinions of doctors about such cases are unambiguous. A new sexual intercourse can introduce infection into your body and cause many problems. So all personal life - for later. Think about your baby and all the quick joys of motherhood.
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