24 weeks pregnant
At the 24th week of pregnancy, the fetus turns 22 weeks, the sixth lunar month ends, and with it the second trimester of pregnancy.
Fetal changes
The size of the fetus at 24 weeks of gestation reaches 30 cm in length and weighs approximately 650 g. It already becomes cramped in the uterine cavity, but this does not prevent the future baby from constantly changing its position in the mother's belly at 24 weeks of gestation.
By that time, a constant number of muscle fibers was already laid in the transverse muscles, that is, the growth of muscle tissue is now carried out only by increasing the length and thickness of the muscle fiber.
The number of nerve cells in the brain of a fetus at 24 weeks of gestation is also final, and now the brain will not increase in size as rapidly as during the last month. Furrows and convolutions appear on the surface of the brain.
The fetus has formed almost all the senses, ultrasound at 24 weeks of gestation shows that it is able to clearly respond to light directed at the woman's bare stomach.
At the 24th week of pregnancy, emotional bonds are established between the mother and her unborn child. Feelings that a woman experiences cause adequate responses in fetal behavior. For example, anxiety or fear scares a baby in the womb, he begins to move restlessly and roll over. Moreover, an important role is played in this case by stress hormones that come from the mother to the fetus. The emotional reaction of the unborn child is longer and stronger than that which the stimulus caused in the mother. This is partly due to the peculiarities of the development of the central nervous system of the fetus at this stage.
Changes in a woman's body at 24 weeks of gestation
The size of the uterus continues to increase, its bottom is determined 23 - 24 cm above the pubic articulation and 3 - 4 cm above the navel. All sensations that arise in a pregnant woman are associated with the growth of her fetus, and, accordingly, the abdomen.
There is a thick mucous plug in the cervical canal, which will remain there until the onset of labor. The mucous plug performs protective functions.
Unpleasant sensations and mild pain at the 24th week of pregnancy can be associated with the so-called training (false) contractions, since the uterus at this time begins to prepare for childbirth, periodically contracting and relaxing. Severe pain at 24 weeks of gestation is not typical for false contractions.
If the training contractions are regular, and are accompanied by severe pain, as well as profuse watery discharge at 24 weeks of gestation, then this may be the beginning of premature labor. Pain then can be regarded as contractions, and discharge - as discharge of amniotic fluid. In this case, you need to urgently seek medical help.
Normally, discharge at 24 weeks of gestation is moderate, transparent or whitish, slimy in consistency and odorless.
Stretching the skin on the abdomen at 24 weeks gestation often causes itching and sometimes whitish-pink stretch marks.
Examination at 24 weeks of gestation
A planned ultrasound scan at 24 weeks of pregnancy is not prescribed, since the woman had to undergo it at 20 - 22 weeks. Usually, an ultrasound scan at 24 weeks of gestation is necessary for late registration, or to monitor the growth of the fetus, if its delay was noted at an earlier date.
It is important for a woman to continue to regularly monitor her weight, its excess often indicates not good weight gains in the fetus, but about fluid retention and edema.
Late gestosis, the onset of which sometimes falls on the 24th week of pregnancy, is characterized by edema, increased blood pressure and the appearance of protein in the urine.
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