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Welcome to the 23rd week of pregnancy, dear mum-to-be. It won't be long now until the third and final trimester of your pregnancy begins. Does the thought of the impending birth scare you? In this part of our pregnancy calendar, you will find out what to look out for during the Choice of place of birth should pay attention to. The better you prepare for this special moment, the greater the chance of a positive and self-determined birth. Below you can find out everything you need to know about your baby's development, possible pregnancy symptoms and what weight gain is normal in the 23rd week of pregnancy.
Your little belly dweller is now around 28 centimetres and therefore about the size of an aubergine. Its weight in week 23 is around 450 grams. In this phase of pregnancy, your baby's development is all about growth and weight gain. His brain in particular is now taking up more and more space. Eyebrows and scalp hair become thicker and the skeleton becomes increasingly ossified. Your baby's delicate body is now completely covered in cheese. This protects its skin from the amniotic fluid and later makes it easier for the baby to glide through the birth canal.
Your little one's sleep-wake rhythm is becoming more and more pronounced. Most of the time, the foetus's eyes remain closed. Now and again, however, it even blinks. Your darling is getting stronger with every week, which he proves to you with extensive kicks and pats.
He is constantly learning new movements with his hands during this phase and his fine motor skills are improving. The little one particularly enjoys sucking his thumb. This is an important exercise for breastfeeding. After all, throughout the history of mankind, it has been vital for a newborn baby to stimulate milk production from the mother's breast by sucking after birth.
The tiny bones of the inner ear harden and your little lodger can hear better and better. In addition to the sounds inside your body, he is now increasingly aware of acoustic stimuli from the outside world. He can hear dad's deep voice particularly well.
Talk to your little one a lot, sing him songs and tell him stories. From this stage of pregnancy, your baby will begin to store its first memories. After the birth, it will recognise your voices and feel safe and secure around you.
Not all organs are equally developed in this 23rd week of pregnancy. While the digestive system is already working at full speed and the intestines can already absorb nutrients, the lungs are not yet fully functional. The cells do not yet produce surfactant, a substance that is important for the development of the alveoli. Babies born extremely prematurely therefore often have problems breathing. If a premature birth is announced before the 33rd week of pregnancy, the pregnant woman is often given a so-called lung maturation injection. This promotes the formation of surfactant in the lungs and greatly increases the premature baby's chances of survival.
So, have you been approached on the street about your growing belly? Perhaps other women have given you a smile or a wink. Now you've officially joined the mum's club. Whether you want to show off your belly or hide it under maternity wear is of course up to you.
You may have already compared your belly with that of other mums-to-be, for example during pregnancy yoga. You will realise that every belly is unique - just as every pregnancy is unique. So don't worry if your belly is bigger or smaller than that of other women in the same stage of pregnancy. This is completely normal.
A common pregnancy symptom during this phase is dizziness. Have you already experienced this? You want to get up quickly from the sofa, but suddenly your eyes flicker, your ears ring and everything starts spinning. Occasional dizziness during pregnancy is usually nothing to worry about. The cause: your circulation is under a lot of strain thanks to the increased blood volume. Sometimes it doesn't manage to transport the blood quickly enough from the legs upwards to the head. This causes a temporary lack of oxygen in your brain and you feel dizzy. However, if this condition lasts longer, you should definitely have it checked in hospital.
What helps? It's best to take precautions: before you get up, move your feet first and get your circulation going. While sitting, you can support your circulation by "cycling" with your feet, i.e. moving them up and down as if you were pedalling. It is also advisable to eat regularly and drink plenty of fluids. If you have been travelling in too much of a hurry, lie flat on your side and elevate your legs slightly if you have an acute attack of dizziness.
Your baby will still be supplied with sufficient oxygen during a brief dizzy spell. However, if you experience persistent dizziness or even lose consciousness, you should consult your doctor. In this case, you could be suffering from anaemia.
Are you one of those women who constantly have cold hands? Then this symptom of pregnancy might make you happy: due to the accelerated metabolism and increased blood volume, the hands and feet of pregnant women are almost always warm.
It becomes a little more uncomfortable if you also experience sweating and hot flushes. Our tip: Dress in an "onion look" so that you can always take something off if you get too warm. It is also worth paying attention to whether there are certain triggers for hot flushes during pregnancy. These could include spicy food or coffee. In any case, you should drink plenty of water.
In accordance with the maternity guidelines, no pregnancy is permitted in the 23rd week of pregnancy. Ultrasound planned. The 2nd major ultrasound scan, which takes place between the 19th and 22nd week of pregnancy, has probably already been carried out on you. The 3rd and final ultrasound scan of the pregnancy is then scheduled between the 29th and 32nd week of pregnancy. However, if there is a medical indication, i.e. a medical reason, your gynaecologist may also want to take a look at your unborn baby at another time. If the little one is awake, the movements of the eyes can be seen behind the closed eyelids in week 23 of pregnancy.
A little person is growing inside you. But that doesn't mean you should eat twice as much during pregnancy. A healthy and balanced diet is essential for your baby's development. While the calorie requirement was not increased at all in the first trimester, it increased slightly at the start of the 4th month. In weeks 13 to 27, your body needs an average of around 250 Kcal more per day.
250 Kcal is about as much as:
- 1 pot of cream yoghurt or
- 2 to 3 apples or
- 2 bananas or
- 50 grams cashew nuts
As you can see, you don't need to eat a lot of extra food to cover the additional requirement. From the third trimester onwards, you should eat around 500 Kcal more per day compared to the time before pregnancy.
Too much? Too little? Well, what do your scales say in the 23rd week of pregnancy? Weight gain during pregnancy is a concern for many women. Especially in this phase of pregnancy, as the weight of many pregnant women now makes a big leap. On average, normal-weight pregnant women gain around 10 to 16 kilograms by the time they give birth. A newborn weighs around 3 to 4 kilograms. So where do the remaining pounds come from? Part of the weight comes from the placenta, amniotic fluid and uterus. The latter alone weighs around 1 kilogramme at the end of pregnancy. The weight gain is also caused by the enlarged breast tissue, the increased blood volume, water retention and stored fat.
While women usually gain a maximum of 1.5 to 2 kilograms in the first trimester, this increases to around 400 to 500 grams per week in the 2nd trimester. In the 3rd trimester, the expectant mother's body weight then increases by a further 5 kilograms on average. By the 23rd week of pregnancy, your scales will probably show an increase of around 6 kilograms compared to before the pregnancy. Slight deviations upwards or downwards are perfectly acceptable.
Only around 17 weeks to go until the birth! Have you already thought about where you want to give birth to your baby? Regardless of whether you decide to give birth in a clinic, a birthing centre or a home birth - a Good preparation is the be-all and end-all for a complication-free birth.
Especially in large cities, maternity clinics can be fully booked months in advance. So don't wait too long and present yourself at your preferred hospital (or birthing centre).
But how do you find the perfect place to give birth to your baby? First of all, you should be clear about what is important to you during your birth. Our online workshop on the topic of "Develop a birth plan" can be a great help here. Because if you know exactly what you want and how you envisage your birth, you can make informed decisions. Also in our Online birth preparation course midwife Katharina gives you lots of tips to help you find the right place to give birth.
What should you look out for when choosing your place of birth? Find out about local midwife care, among other things. Is 1:1 care possible? Also ask about the rate of episiotomy and caesarean sections. Does the hospital have family rooms for mum, dad and baby? Visit the shortlisted clinics and birth centres. Where do you feel you can really let yourself go? How does the hospital organise bonding and Breastfeeding supported?
Take your time to choose a place of birth and listen to your gut feeling. This is one of the most important decisions during pregnancy. If you want to have a beautiful and self-determined birth, you should attach much more importance to it than, for example, choosing the perfect pram.
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