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Week 22 of Pregnancy: Week by Week Pregnancy Calendar

Your baby is now the size of a spaghetti squash, measuring between seven and a half (7.5) and eight (8) inches from crown to rump (or eleven [11] inches from head to heel) and weighing about one (1) pound. You are in your sixth month of pregnancy.

Your Baby

Pancreas
Pancreas

During week 22 of pregnancy, your baby is beginning to look like a miniature newborn. Layers of fat continue to develop beneath the skin, plumping up your baby’s still skinny body. The eyebrows and eyelashes are even more distinct, and your baby may even have some hair on the top of his or her head now. The lips are also more distinct. The irises, which are the colored part of the eyes, have formed but still lack the pigment that will eventually be your baby’s bright blues, browns, or greens. Your baby continues to respond to both sound and light.

Inside your baby’s body, the pancreas, which is the organ that is essential for the production of some important hormones including insulin, continues to develop and mature. Your baby’s muscles are getting stronger every day, which you can attest to as your baby punches, kicks, and twirls inside your abdomen. The brain is growing daily, and nerve endings develop. The senses also continue to develop during week 22 of pregnancy. Your baby can move and wiggle his or her fingers and may even reach for his or her own face or the umbilical cord in exploration with the newly developed sense of touch. Your baby continues to breathe amniotic fluid in and out, which helps the lungs practice breathing.

Your Body

Baby Bump at 22 Weeks
Baby Bump at 22 Weeks

During week 22 of pregnancy, your belly continues to expand in size. You should gain about one to two pounds per week from now until you give birth for a total weight gain of twenty-five to thirty-five pounds. As the pregnancy hormone relaxin begins to relax the ligaments in your body in preparation for the birth, you may also notice that your feet are getting slightly bigger. Relaxin does not discriminate between the ligaments in your pelvis and the ligaments in the rest of your body, so the ligaments in your feet may also stretch a little. In fact, some women go up a half or even a whole shoe size during pregnancy. Other symptoms during week 22 of pregnancy include heartburn, indigestion, constipation, flatulence, increased vaginal discharge (leukorrhea), faintness, dizziness, leg cramps, and slight swelling of the ankles and feet.

Spaghetti Squash
Baby Is the Size of a Spaghetti Squash
During Week 22 of Pregnancy

Learn about your baby during week 21 of pregnancy or week 23 of pregnancy.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is not meant to replace the professional medical advice of your health care provider.

References

22 weeks pregnant: http://www.babyzone.com/pregnancy-week-by-week/22-weeks-pregnant_70804
Curtis, Glade B. & Judith Schuler. 2011. Your pregnancy week by week. 7th edn. Philadelphia: Running Press.
Stone, Joanne & Keith Eddleman, eds. 2003. The pregnancy bible: Your complete guide to pregnancy and early parenthood. Willowdale, Ontario: Firefly Books.
Your pregnancy: 22 weeks: http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-22-weeks_1111.bc
Your pregnancy week by week: Weeks 21-25: http://www.webmd.com/baby/guide/your-pregnancy-week-by-week-weeks-21-25

Image Credits

Pancreas: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pancreas.jpg
Baby Bump at 22 Weeks: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sheila_22_weeks.jpg
Spaghetti Squash: http://www.flickr.com/photos/heathermariekosur/6232573938/

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