✓ Twentieth week of pregnancy

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Twentieth week of pregnancy

The mother begins to feel the baby move in the belly and the fetus is heavier and heavier. With the scientific advice of the gynecologist Elisabetta Canitano, president of the non-profit association Vita di donna, let's see what happens to the woman's body and that of the child during the twentieth week of pregnancy.

Symptoms of the twentieth week of pregnancy

While many mothers may appear radiant and in great shape during this time, it is not uncommon to suffer from some unpleasant symptoms such as headache, episodes of dyspnea o fatigue chronic. One of the most common in this stage of pregnancy is also a frequent one pruritus, caused by dry and dehydrated skin. This is why it is very important to try to drink about two liters of water every day.

Other frequent symptoms can be:

stomach ache
constipation
dizziness
cramps in the lower limbs
epistaxis (nosebleeds)

Also read: Itching in pregnancy, a common symptom

Health advice in the twentieth week of pregnancy

Want a coffee

Pregnant, coffee can be drunk, but as long as you don't overdo it, because caffeine crosses the barrier represented by the placenta, reaching the fetus on which it can have harmful effects, especially on cardiovascular activity, due to its exciting properties. By the way, limiting coffee and exciting drinks can promote the ability to fall asleep and the quality of night's rest.

Advice: experts recommend avoiding it if possible. If, on the other hand, you do not want to deprive yourself of this ritual, it is advisable not to exceed 300 milligrams a day of caffeine. In an espresso coffee the caffeine content is about 100 milligrams, but caffeine is also present in chocolate (about 10 mg every 25-50 grams), in cola-based drinks (about 40-46 mg per glass); in tea (20 to 90 mg per cup).

Read also: Feeding during pregnancy, allowed and forbidden foods

What to do in the twentieth week of pregnancy

Periodic checks

The period from the 19th to the 28th week includes new checks and in particular:

la second gynecological visit.
l'complete urinalysis (to be performed twice in the indicated period).
blood test for the blood glucose dosage (2 times).
Maternal Doppler flowmetry, not mandatory but useful for controlling the blood flow that goes from the uterine artery to the placenta.

Second ultrasound

Between 19 and 21 weeks is also scheduled second trimester (or morphological) ultrasound thanks to which it will be possible to monitor the size of the fetus and the presence of any anomalies in its anatomy, both internal (organs) and external. If the outcome of this examination is positive, then the expectant mother will wait for the third ultrasound, while if not, it may be necessary to undergo other examinations.

Read also: Ultrasound in pregnancy: obstetric, morphological, biometric

The belly: shape and size

Small or large belly? It does not matter: the size of the baby bump is irrelevant in relation to the good progress of the pregnancy, while what matters is that the baby grows at a regular rate and that its size is adequate with respect to the time of pregnancy, an eventuality that is ascertained with ultrasound.

It is therefore not true that a small belly indicates that the baby is not developing harmoniously nor that a clearly visible belly already around the twentieth week is a sign that the fetus is much larger than normal.

Does the shape of the baby bump predict sex?

It is also not true that the shape of the belly is predictive of the sex of the baby, as we sometimes hear. A rounded belly can conceal a boy, just as there can be a girl in a tummy that points forward without spreading out at the hips.

Read also: What does the fetus feel in the belly

The fetus in the twentieth week of pregnancy

With the beginning of the twentieth week of pregnancy we are now in half of the gestation process. At this moment the fetus continues to dart like a fish in the amniotic fluid and is now large enough for the mother to feel her movements. Can also put a finger in your mouth and suck it, an ability that will lose at birth and will only find again around the fifth-sixth month of life.

Now the baby weighs approx 260 grams and it is long beyond 15 cm(like a big banana). The skeleton is almost formed and counts 300 bones, which in the following months will join together to become 206.

Gestational age: five months (DPP CALCULATION - Expected date of delivery)

FONTI: NHS; BabyCenter

Questions and answers

When do you feel the fetus move?

From the twentieth week, the mother begins to feel the baby's movements in the belly.

What month of pregnancy are we?

By the twentieth week we were in the fifth month of pregnancy.

12 PHOTOS

Pictures with the development of the fetus from 10 to 40 weeks

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The images with the development of the fetus from the tenth week of gestation to the fortieth week. The development in 12 images recreated on the computer.

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Twentieth week of pregnancy

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