Twenty-third week of pregnancy

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In this article

• Twenty-third week of pregnancy
• Symptoms in the XNUMXrd week of pregnancy
• Health advice in the XNUMXrd week of pregnancy
• The amniotic fluid
• The fetus in the XNUMXrd week of pregnancy

Twenty-third week of pregnancy

The mother is tired and may begin to feel sore breasts, while the baby continues to grow and move as hard as possible. 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 body of the woman and that of the child during the twenty-third week of pregnancy.

Read also: Twenty-second week of pregnancy

Symptoms in the twenty-third week of pregnancy

Tiredness and shortness of breath could by now have become daily companions of the future mother, who in this period can also be subject to episodes ofinsomniac and anxiety. This is perfectly normal - even for those who have never suffered from it before - as hormonal changes have a significant impact on mood and quality of rest. Nutrition (no heavy foods, no caffeine) and moderate exercise can help improve the situation.

Naturally if the episodes become chronic and the anxiety attacks increase in intensity it is advisable to immediately contact the referral midwife or the attending physician.

Finally, from the sixth month it is already possible to try a light one take doloreor, who is preparing for breastfeeding.

Other frequent symptoms can be:

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

Read also: Insomnia in pregnancy, 9 tips to fight it

Health advice in the XNUMXrd week of pregnancy

Backache

Between the fifth and seventh month of pregnancy, the 60% of pregnant women begins to suffer from back pain, due to the altered posture which is taken to compensate for the weight gain in the pelvis. Once the pain has appeared, it can be controlled with exercises in the water, massages, use while sleeping a wedge cushion to keep the column in an "unloaded" condition: all these methods have shown some effectiveness.

Advice: the ideal is to take care of your back even before the pain appears. Not always observing the back-safe rules is enough to avoid being affected by them, but certainly following them is a great idea (and not only during pregnancy). Here are the main ones:

• Do not use shoes that are completely flat or with heels that are more than 5 centimeters high.
• When you are standing still you have to distribute the weight between the two legs, keeping the head in line with the torso and the buttocks slightly contracted.
• Stare straight seats, with your back resting against the backrest.
• Sleeping lying on your side.
• Use a wedge-shaped pillow to put between the legs.
• Walk and go down the stairs keeping the head in line with the neck.
• Wash the floors on the ground in the position on all fours, on all fours (better still have it done by others).
• Stretch keeping your back straight and placing one foot on a 20-30cm stool. Position the axis at side height.
• Put on your make-up and comb your hair while sitting, with your elbows resting on a surface.
• Do exercises of water gymnastics.

Read also: Back pain in pregnancy

The amniotic fluid

The amniotic fluid is made up partly of the fluids that ooze from the walls of the uterine cavity and the placenta and partly of the fetus's pee which, during its prenatal life, drinks it and then expels it over and over again during the individual days. The most important task of the of this liquid is to protect the child from any accidental impact.

Amniotic fluid is evaluated during follow-up ultrasound scans. In particular, it is measured considering the distance between the baby's body and the wall of the uterus.

La amount of amniotic fluid is defined with the acronym AFI (Amniotic Fluid Index): an AFI value higher than the normal range reported in specific tables can signal that the woman's body is not using sugars correctly and, therefore, could be the signal of gestational diabetes. A lower than normal AFI could instead indicate that the placenta is not doing its job of nourishing and oxygenating the baby satisfactorily. It could also be a consequence of one small tear of the amniotic sac: in this eventuality it could be expelled from the vagina in such small quantities (drop by drop) as to be mistaken for normal secretions.

Read also: Placenta (dictionary of pregnancy)

The fetus in the XNUMXrd week of pregnancy

In the twenty-third week of pregnancy the fetus moves more and more and its body is covered with a soft, fine fluff and a special substance, the vernix, which prevents the skin from macerating due to continuous contact with amniotic fluid. At this stage the skin also begins to produce melanin, which protects the baby from UVA rays.

The taste buds and, in boys, the pancreas insulin production begins, the testicles begin to descend from the abdomen. The baby is now about 20-25 centimeters is its weight is around 450 grams.

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

FONTI: NHS; BabyCenter

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.

Questions and answers

What month are we in the XNUMXrd week of pregnancy?

With the twenty-third week of pregnancy we are in the sixth month of pregnancy.

When does the sixth month of pregnancy end?

The sixth month of pregnancy ends two days after the twenty-sixth week.

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• 23 weeks pregnancy
• twenty three weeks of pregnancy
• XNUMXrd week of pregnancy
• Amniotic fluid
• weeks 14 28