You are 22 Weeks and 3 Days 123 days to go…
During your pregnancy you’ll probably make some new friends, but you may find that some old friendships are affected.
Your baby today
The baby’s mouth and nose are well developed. The nervous and
muscular systems are now mature enough for the baby to suck in amniotic
fluid, which the kidneys slowly process. Waste is eliminated via the
placenta.
One thing you may not have anticipated
before you were pregnant is how your friendships might change. It’s
normal to be drawn to other women who are pregnant or who have recently
had a baby, and common to make friends at prenatal classes .
It’s natural to want to surround yourself with people who are going
through or who have been through the same experience as you, not least
because you will have so many questions they can answer. You might also
feel closer to female relatives, especially your mother .
You may find that
friends who are not pregnant or who don’t have children may not be as
interested in all the details of your pregnancy. It may be difficult for
them to comprehend how all-encompassing pregnancy and then having a
child is; it may be literally all you can think about. If these are
friendships you value, make an effort to have some “nonpregnancy” chats.
It will be good for you not to be 100 percent focused on the pregnancy.
If you find you drift
apart from these friends for a while, don’t worry. Good friends will
always remain just that, whether or not your lives temporarily go in
different directions.
By spending time with women
who are also expecting a baby, you can share the ups and downs of your
pregnancy experiences. It can also be fun to do activities together,
such as going swimming or to water aerobics classes.
… Doctor
| Q: |
My fingers are tingling and I’ve been told I have carpal tunnel syndrome. What is it?
|
| A: |
This condition occurs when swollen tissues in the wrist
compress the nerves and cause pins and needles and numbness in your
fingers. There may also be difficulty grasping and a weakness in the
hands. In pregnancy, it’s caused by an increase in blood volume and
fluid, especially in the second and third trimesters. There are ways to
reduce the symptoms, such as circling and stretching exercises to
improve circulation and increase wrist mobility. Your doctor will be
able to demonstrate these exercises. Wearing wrist splints and elevating
your hands on a pillow at night can also help.
Carpal tunnel syndrome disappears after the birth, once there is no longer excess fluid.
|
The number of women over 40 becoming pregnant is at its highest level ever.
According to the
National Center for Health Statistics, the birth rate for women 40–44
more than doubled since 1981 and rose 65 percent since 1990. Birth rates
for women 45–49 and 50 and over have also risen. The mean age for
first-time moms giving birth is 25.2.
You are 22 Weeks and 4 Days 122 days to go…
Now that he can hear, your amazing baby is starting to develop the ability to remember things, too.
Your baby today
Seeing your baby on a 3D or 4D scan gives you a better view, but
most of the information that enables doctors to plan your care comes
from looking inside your baby using 2D ultrasound, which provides the
clearest images of internal structures.
As your baby’s nervous system develops,
and especially once his sense of hearing evolves, he has the
opportunity to learn and remember from experience. How this process
develops is not fully understood, but experts believe that the first
signs of learning coincide with the unborn baby’s ability to hear, at
around this mid-stage of pregnancy.
In later months, more
sound will reach your baby as the walls of the uterus become thinner.
Although babies have been seen to be startled by a noise at this stage,
they seem to learn not to react to the sound if it is repeated again and
again, gradually adapting to it as it’s repeated over time, and
eventually ignoring it.
This simple test
demonstrates that a fetus can adapt to a repeated stimulus. If, however,
the sound pattern is not repeated for some time, your baby will have
forgotten it and become startled by it if it occurs again.
Retaining a memory for
events is a much more complex function and relies on pathways in the
gray matter of the brain. It will be weeks before learning and memory
are linked in the last stages of your pregnancy.
Your baby is likely to be increasingly more active and predictable in his movements.
At around this
time you’re likely to start feeling regular, more definite movements,
and become accustomed to your baby’s activities.
Up close and personal
State-of-the-art technology means it’s possible
to see what your baby will look like before you give birth. Some
ultrasound scans enable parents to see their unborn baby close up either
in 3D, as a still image, or 4D as a moving picture.
Clear scans of the
facial features can be seen from around this week. However, the optimum
time to have one of these scans is between 26 and 34 weeks, when your
baby still has room to move around easily. You will be able to see an
amazing level of detail that won’t be visible on a standard prenatal
scan. Remember to inform the sonographer if you don’t want to discover
the sex of your baby.
The US FDA
cautions against keepsake ultrasound images, since the ultrasonography
may be done by someone not well-trained, using higher levels of energy
for a longer time which could be harmful.
Be aware that it’s
expensive to have these scans and if your baby is in the wrong position,
you may not get a great result. The position of the placenta, amount of
amniotic fluid, and your size can also affect the quality of the
picture.
