Week 32 is the eighth obstetric month or the seventh lunar month of pregnancy. This difference is explained by the fact that in the obstetric month there are exactly four weeks of seven days, while the number of days in the lunar month is constantly changing. Be that as it may, every day the long-awaited first meeting of mother and child is getting closer.
Fetal development at 32 weeks gestation
The baby continues to gain weight intensively, and now his body weight can reach up to 1,8 kg, which naturally affects the weight of the woman herself. The height of the child is equal to 42 cm.
In parallel, the nervous system of the fetus is being improved. The size of his brain is already 60% of the size of an adult human brain.
Immunity began to work. It produces its own antibodies.
All the endocrine glands also started to work. The pituitary gland, thyroid gland, adrenal glands, pancreas were activated.
The child’s sense organs function quite well. He perfectly distinguishes the mother’s voice, knows how to distinguish it from the general sounds. Therefore, you need to talk with the child as much as possible, you can sing songs to him, read fairy tales. At this time, the baby is already giving a reaction to light stimuli.
The appearance of the child is undergoing changes – his skin is smoothed out, wrinkles disappear and fat folds appear, cheeks are rounded. If earlier the body of the fetus was covered with primordial fluff, now lanugo is gradually disappearing. In turn, the hair on the head becomes thicker, but at the same time soft.
The baby takes the position in the uterus in which he will be born. Head presentation is considered the norm.
The bones of the skeleton become denser, but the skull is still soft. This will make it easier for the baby to pass through the birth canal.