23 Weeks

Your Baby This Week – Week 23

Your baby now weighs a little over a pound. His hearing is well established, and he can make out a distorted version of your voice, the beating of your heart, and your stomach rumblings. Loud noises often heard in utero, such as the barking of a dog next door or the roar of a vacuum cleaner, probably won’t faze your child when he hears them outside the womb. Numerous studies seem to indicate that the unborn prefer classical music, especially Vivaldi. Play “The Four Seasons” for your child, and pay attention to his movements. Does he quiet down during adagio sections, and speed up for the allegro portions? You may have a budding conductor in your womb.

In addition to advances in your baby’s hearing, blood vessels in the baby’s lungs are developing to prepare for breathing. His swallowing, but usually won’t pass stool until after birth.

If your baby were to be born now, he would still have a good chance of survival (about 85 percent) with the right care. Advances in science and technology now mean that a 24-week-old baby can grow outside the womb if necessary, although about 50 percent of children in this situation will have some severe and permanent damage.

As for you, you may feel clumsy now that your center of gravity has shifted; your gums may bleed when you brush your teeth, and your belly button, once an “innie,” may now stick out. Don’t worry — it’ll revert to its pre-baby state soon after you give birth.

Your baby’s face and body now look more like a full-term baby. He now looks close to how he will look at birth.

The eyes, though they are still closed, are now close together on the front of the face and the ears are in their finished position. Eyelashes are fairly well-developed and hair is growing on your baby’s head.

Your baby’s movements are becoming more restricted now as he fills up the uterus more. Cartwheels and somersaults inside the amniotic sac are no longer possible, but he can still hold the umbilical cord and touch and feel around him. Though your baby is already living in tight quarters in the amniotic sac, he will soon have even less room to move around.

His vital organs are now quite mature. However, since the lungs are not yet fully formed, your baby would have breathing problems if born prematurely at this stage.

Your baby is becoming increasingly conscious of the world outside and may feel startled when you are startled.

Your baby may alternate between having very active and very calm periods that you can feel.

Your baby may have facial expressions such as frowning, squinting and pursing of the lips.