Pregnancy At 20 Weeks

2 min read

Written by Editorial Team

Editorial Team

With a rich experience in pregnancy and parenting, our team of experts create insightful, well-curated, and easy-to-read content for our to-be-parents and parents at all stages of parenting.

fetus week 20

Week 20

High five!! You are officially half way through your pregnancy and my! What a journey it has been till now! Although the normal gestation period is 40 weeks delivering 2 weeks before or after is normal. Try not to set your mind on the precise date of delivery. The baby is around 21 cms, and is the length of a banana. That reminds, banana is a great food at this time, keeps you full, is an excellent source of vitamin B and are vital for the baby’s nervous system to develop.

Physical and Emotional You

Since your centre of gravity is changing, you will walk a little differently.
Your womb is around the navel and your waist has gone. The body will have the same width from your arms through the hips.
The heart is pumping 7 liters of blood every minute, due to the pregnancy hormones the blood vessels are relaxed allowing extra blood to flow. This might result in developing varicose veins or even haemorrhoids.
You could feel dizzy this week or even faint. This is normal in the second and third trimester. Avoid standing for a long time and do not stand up quickly. Car pooling is a good option if you are working.
Around 50% to 70% woman develops Chloasma, which is a facial pigmentation. This settles after delivery. Make sure you use hats and sunscreen; the UVA light can further damage your skin and increase pigmentation.
You will feel more attached to the baby. Some of you might be thinking about labor pain and delivery, and whether you will be able to cope up with it. Labor is doable, manageable and is nothing that you cannot handle. Speak with your doctors about your concerns.
If you feel dizzy and think you might fall, your hand will automatically go down to support the belly, this is a natural action to safeguard the baby, beat this!
Take your partner for every test and ultrasound, his experience on pregnancy has been your symptoms. Don’t go hard on him; give him time to build relationship with the little one.

Your Baby at Week 20

The baby has developed external ears; the sound waves travel form your abdominal wall to the inner ear of the baby. She can hear sound, so it is suggested to start talking to the baby. The baby will recognize the voices when she is born.
The baby is surrounded by around 320 ml of amniotic fluid, the temperature of this fluid is maintained few degrees higher than your body temperature to keep the baby warm.
The baby has enough room to move about, and her moving will keep you assured everything is fine under the tummy.

Things to Note

Buy stockings or tights to reduce varicose veins. Do not stand or sit for a long time. Try to elevate your legs while sitting.
You can reduce haemorrhoids by having food rich in fibre and include lot of fluids. Fruits, cereals, beans, legumes are a must.
Back ache and strains are quite common in pregnancy do not lift heavy weights to avoid further injury.

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Editorial Team,

With a rich experience in pregnancy and parenting, our team of experts create insightful, well-curated, and easy-to-read content for our to-be-parents and parents at all stages of parenting.Read more.

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