Week 22 of your Pregnancy
Sneak peeks: ultrasounds
These days, almost every woman at some point in her pregnancy is given a sneak peek at her growing baby with an ultrasound. Usually done to find out a fetus’s size and position, ultrasounds use reflected sound waves, rather than X-rays or other types of radiation, to produce an image of the fetus and placenta on a monitor. They are considered completely safe for both fetus and mother. You may have had one in your first trimester to confirm your pregnancy and estimate your due date. From week 14 through 26 of pregnancy, ultrasounds can tell the age of a fetus within 7 to 14 days by measuring the size of the fetus’s head, limbs, and body. (By week 18 of pregnancy, an ultrasound can usually also tell the sex of the fetus.)
Ultrasounds measure a fetus’s length from the top of its head to its bottom (”crown to rump” or “sitting height”) in the first trimester; the measurement is not a “head to heel” length. After the first trimester, most technologists measure a combination of the skull, the thigh bone, and the abdomen to calculate the fetal weight. In the third trimester, ultrasounds are less useful to estimate the size of a baby but will reveal a baby’s position as birth approaches.
Your Baby’s Development
* Approximate length 10 to 11 inches crown to rump, weight 15 ounces.
* Though the mother is aware of her baby’s movements, it may be a few weeks before someone else can feel these movements by putting a hand on the mother’s abdomen.
* The fetus is most active in the early mornings and after a nightly meal. The glucose content in some foods usually gets her moving!
* She’s growing steadily and will gain more than 6 ounces this week.
Courtesy: University of Virginia Health System
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