Development of the Baby
At 22 weeks of pregnancy, their lungs are still developing and will start to produce a protein (surfactant) that will help them breathe after they are born.
In the 22nd week of pregnancy, your baby’s thin and pink skin is now covered with a layer of vernix. The amount of fat under their skin continues to increase. Two distinct skin layers are formed, the superficial layer (epidermis) and the deep layer (dermis). Epidermal skin continues to develop, forming scars on the fingers and toes, palms and soles of the feet. There are capillaries in the lower layer of the skin. At the top, there are thin hairs called lanugo. The vernix layer, which covers the surface of the skin and is as thick as paste, decreases until birth. In premature babies, this layer is still thick, while in late-born babies it may decrease even more.
During the 22nd gestational week, sensory development continues as brain cells develop and signals are sent by the brain to the nerve endings that surround the entire body. This week, the sense of touch is improving even more. Reflex movements are replaced by conscious actions with awareness. Now they are more conscious when touching her face and holding the umbilical cord! These new experiences should make them feel happy.
Although they currently only taste amniotic fluid, their taste buds are fully developed enough to feel bitter, sweet and sour flavors. For this reason, it may be affected by your eating habits and the taste of what you eat. For example, if you eat something sweet, their movements increase. Everything you eat goes through the placenta. The more you eat vegetables, salads and fruits during your pregnancy, the more likely your baby is to like and eat these foods during the growth process after birth.
Reactions aren’t just against flavors. They can now also make leaping movements to loud, upbeat music. It is best if you make them listen to relaxing music in the classical music style. This type of slow music will contribute to making your baby calmer. At 22 weeks, the baby can hear the voices of his parents. If you talk to them a lot, they are very likely to recognize your voice after birth.
22 weeks of pregnancy continues to form eyebrows, hair and nails in the development of the baby.
Last week, your baby’s bones began to produce red blood cells.
While red blood cells are produced, a substance called bilirubin is also produced. This substance is filtered from the liver and excreted through the urine. If this substance is still not excreted in the baby on the day of birth, it may take a few days for it to be excreted from the body. Bilirubin accumulation leads to jaundice after birth. This situation usually improves by taking the baby out in the sun and feeding him/her a lot.
Baby Movements at 22 Weeks Pregnancy
Mothers who have not yet felt the baby movements are likely to feel the baby movements at 22 weeks.
If your baby, who is standing in your stomach, wants to stretch and stand up a little, you will probably feel it.
As the 22-week-old baby moves their arms and legs, you may feel a butterfly-like fluttering sensation in your abdomen. Mothers who feel the movements earlier may feel a little stronger from this week on.
Ultrasound Images
In 22-week pregnancy ultrasound images, you can sometimes see your baby sleeping and sometimes moving. They continue their mimics. The ultrasound may make you grimace, smile, or give you an angry look. They can greet you in a thinking position by placing their hand on their chin. They can stretch and stick out their tongue.
The 22-week-old baby can open and close his/her mouth in the ultrasound image. They also strengthen the jaw muscles with the mouth opening and closing movements they perform for swallowing the amniotic fluid. Thus, after birth, these muscles will be strengthened and ready to suck their mother’s milk.
During your examination, you can hear your baby’s strong heartbeat.
Changes in the Mother's Body
Your uterus continues to grow and rise to the level of your belly button. The height of the fundus (peak of the uterus) was about 22 inches at 22 weeks.
Your hair and nails are now growing fast due to pregnancy hormones and the acceleration of blood circulation. Since most of the expectant mothers will not have hair loss, thundering occurs in the hair. Hair that does not fall out will probably start to fall out after birth. If there is too much hair loss after birth, do not worry. Within a few years, the texture and lushness of your hair will return to its former state.
Hair growth may also be seen in some expectant mothers during pregnancy. Do not use chemical products for hair growth, as they can be absorbed from your skin and passed on to your baby through blood. Using tweezers and razor blades is ideal. Since you have some problems with color changes on your skin during pregnancy; It is not recommended to have it waxed or waxed in normal waxing during hair removal. Especially since it is applied hot in wax, it may cause permanent spots on the skin surface that has already become sensitive due to pregnancy. It is especially recommended that people with sensitive skin should never have their face waxed, including during normal periods.
Points need to be considered
As the pregnancy progresses, cracks and dryness may occur with the feeling of stretching in your abdomen. You can moisturize your abdomen every day with natural oils such as almond oil, cocoa butter or coconut oil, or with the blended oil you get from them.
Try not to be as stressful as possible during pregnancy. Stress, unfortunately, can lead to premature birth and negative situations in the baby that lead to low birth weight. One of the best ways to reduce stress is to exercise regularly so that you can relax.
When exercising during pregnancy, you should pay attention to:
– Start the exercise with warm-up movements and slowly,
– Do not accelerate too much during the exercise. End the exercise slowly. Expectant mothers who do not do sports before pregnancy should limit their exercise time to 20-30 minutes. Those who do sports before pregnancy can exercise a little longer with the approval of a doctor,
– Do the exercises at a certain time and regularly,
– Wear comfortable, flexible and thin clothes while exercising,
– Drink plenty of water after exercise,
– Do not make movements that will force yourself too much. Take a break when you feel like you’re struggling,
– Do not start exercising on an empty stomach. Otherwise, your blood sugar will drop and you may feel faint,
– Keep the environment where you exercise cool.
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