22 weeks pregnant: Pregnancy Symptoms & Baby Development
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22 weeks pregnant is how many months?
Month 5 (Trimester 2)
Baby development at 22 week
If you’re speaking to your bump, around now is when you’ll notice it responds.
Your body
Your growing baby could be piling on some pressure.
Diet & nutrition
Make sure you’re getting plenty of vitamin C.
Baby development at 22 weeks
What does my baby look like? And, what size is my baby?
In week 22 of pregnancy, your baby will measure roughly 20cm from head to bottom (roughly the size of a coconut) and weigh around 450g.
Your voice is the clearest thing he or she will hear during pregnancy1. Soon, your baby will start responding with sophisticated orienting movements1. Your baby is also beginning to make out other sounds, rhythms and melodies2,3. This is a good time to start talking to and, if feel like it, singing to your baby. Studies have shown that, just hours after birth, babies show a preference for their mother’s voice1.
The other sense that’s developing is taste4. Your diet can influence what your baby will eat when born, so it’s best to avoid passing on a taste for junk food. Tuck into plenty of fresh veg that’s rich in vitamin C.
Your baby’s well ahead of the game and already producing their adult teeth. They line up behind their milk teeth, although teething doesn’t usually start until they’re about six months old.
Pregnancy at 22 weeks (second trimester)
What’s happening in my body?
The most noticeable change spotted by others will be your growing bump. Yet some mums struggle to see anything other than the stretch marks that can appear. They affect around 80% of pregnant women6 and ‘pregnancy stripes’ are something you should be proud of.
After birth, they fade to a light silver mark, but won’t completely vanish. There’s no need to waste money on ‘miracle cures’. Un-perfumed moisturiser or body oil is fine: just massage it gently into the affected areas.
The pregnancy hormone progesterone is also piling on the pressure. Literally. It’s responsible for piles – or haemorrhoids – which are common in pregnancy. Progesterone relaxes the walls of blood vessels in your rectum, and with a growing baby pushing against the same blood vessels, they can swell up as piles.
To ease piles, eat plenty of high fibre foods, including wholemeal bread, fruit and vegetables, and drink plenty of fluids to keep your stools soft and regular. Hold a cloth dipped in iced water against your piles to ease pain, and ensure you talk to your doctor or midwife before using medication
Pregnancy symptoms at 22 weeks
Focus on vitamin C
As well as boosting your own immune system, vitamin C will also boost that of your baby. Vitamin C protects and keeps cells healthy, and supports both the immune and nervous system. Vitamin C also helps your baby absorb iron, which supports cognitive function.
The Reference Nutrient Intake (RNI) of vitamin C for pregnancy is 40mg each day – with an extra 10mg per day in the last trimester
THE
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VITAMIN C
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Vitamin C is needed by your baby to help create collagen, a protein that creates the connective tissue that helps give your baby’s body its structure, while supporting their developing organs. Collagen also underpins teeth, skin, gums, cartilage, bones and blood vessels, and your baby’s wound healing ability.
Vitamin C is also important for ‘non-haem’ iron absorption. There are two forms of iron: one from animal products and ‘non-haem’ iron, from plants. Vitamin C helps your body absorb iron from plants, further reducing the risk of iron-deficiency anaemia, which can affect your own health and your baby’s development. Improving non-haem iron absorption from plants further builds up your baby’s iron stores to support learning and growth in their first six months of life