Approximately at the 22nd week of the future mother will have to undergo ultrasound screening for the second trimester. This study is extremely important, because in the course of it the doctor, first of all, determines the presence or absence of intrauterine malformations of your baby. In addition, the doctor will measure the weight and height of the baby, and, most likely, will be able to determine who has settled in your belly - son or daughter.
Fetal development at week 22 of pregnancy
At 22 weeks of pregnancy, your baby is already a full-fledged little man, although still very small. The weight of the fruit during this period is already 350-400 grams, and its height is about 27.5 cm. His brain is so developed that he consciously moves his fingers on his hands and touches his body and placenta. Besides, now the kid already knows how to bend over and move forward.
The crumb begins to study the surrounding space with the help of touches, more and more touching you with his pens. Starting from this period of pregnancy, you will feel the thrusts of your unborn child more and more clearly and always understand whether the baby is sleeping or awake. In addition, often enough you will feel the hiccup of your baby. This occurs when the baby swallows a large amount of amniotic fluid.
Development of the internal organs of the child at the gestation period of 22 weeks is very rapid - most systems are already beginning to perform their functions, provided for them by nature. The heart of the future baby considerably increases in size, because he has to work with more force than before. Actively develop and endocrine glands are crumbs, the pancreas is being improved, the backbone is finally formed. It is from this week of pregnancy in the intestine of the future child begins to stand out the original feces, or meconium.
Appearance of the child at the age of 22 weeks
His appearance is becoming more attractive. The skin remains strongly wrinkled, but under it the fat is gradually deposited. The head of the fetus, in comparison with the trunk, is still quite large, but the face is already completely decorated. The kid moves his eyelids, opening and closing his eyes, he has eyelashes and eyebrows. The ears have already taken the final shape, now they will only increase in size.
The whole body of your son or daughter is still covered with gun volosikami, which retain a damp grease. A generic lubricant protects the fetus from the external environment in the tummy of a future mother, and in the process of delivery it will help it to appear quickly. Pushkin hairs, or lanugo, will now darken with each week of pregnancy, and before birth they will disappear from the body of the baby.
At a period of 22-23 weeks, the weight of the fetus can reach 500 grams, and the development of its internal organs and systems already allows it to survive if early premature birth begins.
Unfortunately, this can not be said about health - in the vast majority of cases, babies born on such a short period have serious enough problems. This is due, first of all, to the immaturity of the brain and nervous system of premature babies, as well as of the organs of the upper respiratory tract - the lungs in this situation can not yet fully unfold, and the child can not breathe for a very long time independently.