What happens in the 20th week of pregnancy? They will also start producing Meconium in their bowel. This is a harmless mixture of amniotic fluid that your baby has swallowed, digestive secretion and dead skin cells that will form your baby’s first bowel movement after birth.
Your baby in the 20th week of pregnancy:
- During this week you can conduct a routine ultrasound to find out the sex of your baby
- If it's a baby girl then by now has a fully formed uterus and seven million primitive eggs on her ovaries
- For the baby boy the testicles haven't inclined from the abdomen, they are waiting for the scrotum to completely develop
- Your little ones height is 10 inches and weighs 10.5 ounces
- A new fat gets deposited under your baby's skin
- Most of the fat is called brown fat which keeps your baby warm till his/her internal temperature regulatory system starts functioning after birth
- The white fat that are responsible for pinchable cheeks are still developing
- Your baby is swallowing more than he or she does in the past weeks which is a good ongoing development of his or her digestive system
- During this week a black and sticky by-product of the baby's digestive system that is Meconium starts producing
Your body in the 20th week of pregnancy:
You might experience some aching in your tummy as your bump continues to grow – this is due to the ligaments each side of your womb stretching as your baby gets bigger and bigger. It is perfectly normal, but as with everything, do mention it to your midwife if you are worried.
Some women develop pains in their pelvis called pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain (PRGP) or symphysis pubis dysfunction (SPD) when pregnant (again, not dangerous, just uncomfortable) which can be treated with physio or support girdles – see our page on SPD for more info about this.
Your bump might mean you are struggling to get comfy in bed at this stage too, and so you could be feeling tired because of interrupted sleep. You can buy specially shaped pregnancy pillows to help support your bump and enable you to get a good night's rest (many of these are also useful post-pregnancy for breastfeeding), or simply to offer you more support when you are sitting or chilling on the sofa.
- 227 views
