21th week of pregnancy – course, tests, diet, child development

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You are now halfway through your pregnancy and are entering week 21. you are getting closer to the solution. Your baby has already done all the hard work of making new organs and is just perfecting them and growing them. Check what is changing with him now.

21th week of pregnancy – course

The baby is really big now and fills the uterus, although it still has a lot of freedom of movement, thanks to which it constantly exercises its muscles and skeletal system. Measurement of its size in the 21st week of pregnancy will show that the CHL value (crown-heel length), i.e. the distance from the top of the head to the heels, can be up to 27 cm! The child weighs from 350 to 400 g.

You’re also “growing”, which can become more and more embarrassing, mainly due to swelling, back pain and a general feeling of heaviness. Remember that most of these ailments can be at least partially alleviated and you do not have to be doomed to them. All you need to do is take care of yourself and allow yourself to relax.

21th week of pregnancy – baby’s development

If you do an ultrasound in the 21st week of your pregnancy, you will see a beautiful baby profile. Some even say that at this point it is possible to identify certain family features, although we advise you to approach such opinions with a distance. Parents often have a problem with identifying who they are more like, even after giving birth to a child.

The more so because in the 21st week of pregnancy, although the baby’s head is already covered with hairs, they are colorless. So if you could see them, it wouldn’t tell you what his hair would look like in the future. The same is with the eyebrows, which are already nicely defined.

The child is constantly fidgeting and its movements are getting better coordinated and more conscious. These are not just jumps at random. This is evidenced by the fact that just around 21 weeks pregnant, the twins begin to stretch out their arms towards each other and examine each other (especially when they are identical twins sharing a common placenta). Children also show a particularly strong interest in the umbilical cord, which they seem to be “playing”.

Although, of course, no one remembers their fetal development, these early experiences may have some impact on the subconscious mind, because around the 21st week of pregnancy, the brain is so developed that the memory center begins to form.

This, in turn, may be related to his future eating habits. Scientists say babies get used to the diet their mother uses during pregnancy. This is because what pregnant women eat affects the taste of the amniotic fluid, and the taste buds at 21 weeks of pregnancy are already developed. So if you eat sweets often during pregnancy, it is possible that your baby will also become more likely to eat sweets later on.

The baby swallows amniotic fluid very often, and the digestive system is working well enough to digest the sugars it contains. In this way already in the 21st week of pregnancy, the baby eats its first “meals”. Although they are not important in terms of energy, they are a good exercise for the digestive system, which will be absorbing milk regularly in a few months.

For the proper development of the child and the health of the mother, it is worth introducing an appropriate supplementation into your diet, eg LittleMe Day + LittleMe Night Health Labs – for the benefit of the mother and the child.

Find out why natural childbirth is healthy for your baby

21st week of pregnancy – changes in your body

Stretch marks are a common complaint in the 21st week of pregnancy. They appear when the skin stretches too quickly and occur, among others, On the abdomen, buttocks, lower back breasts and inside thighs. However, after the end of pregnancy, stretch marks disappear. The most common complaint is women with dark complexion and those who gain excessive weight during pregnancy.

The skin changes not only on the abdomen. In the 21st week of pregnancy, some women experience acne. The only thing that can be done at the moment is increased care of the facial skin. Other changes that may occur in pregnant women are numerous facial discoloration. At this stage, the linea nigra, the characteristic dark line from the womb to the navel, should also be very clear.

Check how to get rid of stretch marks after pregnancy

It is no exaggeration to describe pregnant women as blessed. Both at the 21st week of pregnancy and at other stages, the condition of hair and nails improves significantly. This is due to the hormonal fluctuations that take place at this time. They make the first week of pregnancy different from the previous days. The female hair becomes thicker and shinier then. What’s more, even the best conditioners cannot guarantee such an effect!

Another change seen in the 21st week of pregnancy is the widening of the hips. The same hormones that influence the breast enlargement are responsible for this change. This does not mean that the woman is getting fat. The body simply begins to accumulate the water it needs to carry out its vital functions and protect the baby. Joints loosen under the influence of relaxin. This makes childbirth easier. Moreover, the joints do not return to their original shape after childbirth.

Find out more about childbirth

Both the 21st week of pregnancy and the entire second trimester are characterized by back pain. This is one inconvenience that at least half of women complain about. To reduce pain, you should exercise a lot. It’s a good idea to change positions frequently. Women working at desks are advised to stand up frequently. It is also worth remembering that the employer is obliged to provide the pregnant woman with work of a different nature for 4 hours.

Especially important in the 21st week of pregnancy

Pregnancy is a stage in a woman’s life in which almost a hormonal typhoon takes place in her body! In their 21st week of pregnancy, many of them struggle with acne. This is due to, inter alia, from an increased amount of progesterone, responsible for the work of the sebaceous and sweat glands. Thanks to it, they work more intensively. During pregnancy, the level of androgens also increases, which in turn causes clogging of the pores and the formation of acne.

Acne in the 21st week of pregnancy can take the form of plugs that cause pain or a mild rash. Contrary to popular belief, acne is not the result of poor hygiene. Helpful in combating it will be, among others drinking plenty of water and eating fiber to help remove toxins from the body. Eating hot spices, fatty foods and chocolate is strongly discouraged. It is worth replacing them with fish, vegetables and fruit.

In the 21st week of pregnancy, you can also apply cleansing masks, e.g. from onions and yeast. Peeling will also help, but only the one with fine grains. In addition, it is worth using zinc ointment and white clay masks. However, all of the above-mentioned methods will not bring the expected result if we do not first take care of general facial hygiene. The mouth should be washed twice a day with a mild soap. It is also recommended to remove make-up every day and not to squeeze blackheads.

Tests in the 21st week of pregnancy

One of the standard tests that a woman should do at 21 weeks of pregnancy is an ultrasound scan. In addition to it, it is also recommended to carry out the so-called a sugar curve that will help to determine if the examined woman suffers from gestational diabetes. Both in the 21st week of pregnancy and in the later stages of pregnancy, it is advisable to carry out urine tests and anti-Rh antibody tests, provided that the woman obtained a negative test result in the first trimester.

21st week of pregnancy – diet

In 21 tc. it is advisable to provide the body with large amounts of dairy products and calcium. Thanks to them, the baby’s bones and teeth will develop better. Many specialists even recommend that at 21 tc. Consume twice as much calcium as you did before you became pregnant. If for various reasons you do not want to drink milk, it is worth replacing it with cheese, yoghurt and kefir. It is worth choosing light products and lean or semi-fatty products. These dairy products are very caloric.

In the diet of a woman at 21 weeks of age. you should also find the protein found in products such as: lean meat, legumes, nuts, lentils, fish. It is worth including in your diet products containing a large amount of fiber, thanks to which we will prevent constipation – we can find fiber, among others. in vegetables and fruits. The body has a problem with the accumulation of vitamins, so it should be provided daily. To strengthen the placenta, it is recommended to eat raw vegetables rich in vitamin C.

In 21 tc. it is also advisable to eat products containing vitamin E. They include, among others: paprika, cabbage, carrot and vegetable oils. Whole grain cereals are also a rich source of vitamin E. Thanks to them, the skin becomes more elastic. However, one should not be under the illusion that even regular consumption of these vitamins will keep the skin intact after pregnancy. However, you can prevent it and regularly lubricate it with preparations that inhibit stretch marks.

In order to ensure your health and good condition, as well as the proper course of pregnancy and the child’s development, you can supplement with vitamins and minerals that are especially useful in the exceptional period of life, which is pregnancy. We recommend, for example, Pregnancy Complex – pregnant woman Viridian, which you can buy at a promotional price on Medonet Market.

21 weeks of pregnancy and ultrasound examination

Ultrasound examination at the 21st week of pregnancy is one of the most important procedures. With it, you can determine the size of a toddler’s head. A large head in a child may suggest that he has hydrocephalus. The disease is when an excess of cerebrospinal fluid accumulates inside the skull. As a result, the baby’s head has an unusual shape, resembling a pear. An ultrasound scan at 21 weeks of pregnancy is important as it allows you to measure the circumference of your baby’s head. Nevertheless, they should also be carried out in the earlier stages of pregnancy.

The ultrasound examination carried out at the 21st week of pregnancy also allows to determine if the child does not also suffer from microcephaly. It is a disease that can appear both in the mother’s womb and after the baby is born. Microcephaly is manifested by a child’s skull and brain too small, which may hinder normal functioning. When dealing with secondary microcephaly, it may be a symptom of inappropriate fusion of the cranial sutures. The cause of microcephaly is the child’s hypoxia.

Interesting facts about the 21th week of pregnancy

In the 21st week of pregnancy, women usually have a fairly large appetite. Sometimes there are cravings for products they have never liked before. It’s worth going for them boldly. Sometimes, however, there is the so-called perverted appetite, i.e. the desire for strange, often inedible products. This ailment, otherwise known as drinking, can manifest itself as an appetite for dust, dirt, raw potatoes or hair. Distorted appetite is not dangerous in itself, but if it occurs, please inform your doctor about it.

At 21 weeks gestation, women have unusual food cravings. Most of us take them with a grain of salt and recognize that they are something completely normal. However, an appetite for individual products may mean that the woman’s body is deficient in them. For example, an appetite for cucumbers may indicate a deficiency of vitamin C. Contrary to appearances, even a snore on chocolate can be a sign of a deficiency, for example, of magnesium. Instead of sweets, however, it is worth choosing healthy products containing the missing ingredients.

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