23 Weeks Pregnant

By (embryologist) and (fertility counselor).
Last Update: 11/13/2014

You’ve gone through the first trimester of pregnancy and on week 23 you’ll feel particularly good. It’s one of the best stages of pregnancy, enjoy it. You won’t feel the annoyances of the first trimester, you’ll have energy and your belly won’t have acquired a big size, so you can move freely and rest well.

Provided below is an index with the 3 points we are going to expand on in this article.

Symptoms to expect

You might have gone through a period of time when you had headaches, due to the hormonal changes, but you’ll feel better now. Blood pressure rises and the uterus increases in size.

This increase presses the veins that carry blood from the legs to the heart, provoking that ankles and knees get swollen. These areas also tend to suffer from fluid retention. In order for blood to flow better you must rest on you left side, never face up.

Another common symptom during this week is to feel stinging or annoyances in the abdomen, due to the stretching that the skin in this area suffers. Use oils and creams to moisturise and protect the zone.

It will relief the annoyances and prevent the apparition of stretch marks. The foetus will be very active and move, you’ll be able to feel him daily. However, other people won’t feel him if they touch your belly.

Changes in the fetus

During week 23 the lanugo (thin hair) covers all the body of the future baby. Furthermore, he has hair on the head and the eyebrows and eyelashes have formed. You may notice that your child responds to loud noises.

If you play music to him, you’ll notice that he responds especially to the metallic instruments. You’ll be able to feel the different parts of your baby’s body through the abdominal wall.

At the end of this week he will be 27 – 29 cm long and will weigh 500 grams.

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Author

 Neus Ferrando Gilabert
Neus Ferrando Gilabert
B.Sc., M.Sc.
Embryologist
Bachelor's Degree in Biology from the University of Valencia (UV). Postgraduate Course in Biotechnology of Human Assisted Reproduction from the Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH). Experience managing Embryology and Andrology Labs at Centro Médico Manzanera (Logroño, Spain). More information about Neus Ferrando Gilabert
Adapted into english by:
 Sandra Fernández
Sandra Fernández
B.A., M.A.
Fertility Counselor
Bachelor of Arts in Translation and Interpreting (English, Spanish, Catalan, German) from the University of Valencia (UV) and Heriot-Watt University, Riccarton Campus (Edinburgh, UK). Postgraduate Course in Legal Translation from the University of Valencia. Specialist in Medical Translation, with several years of experience in the field of Assisted Reproduction. More information about Sandra Fernández

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