Pregnancy Signs & Symptoms, Week by Week Pregnancy Guide

At this week, you are over halfway to go to your expected delivery date.

You may be feeling good in this period as the morning sickness from your first trimester is gone and the last trimester heaviness has not started yet.

There is a good fetal development in 23 weeks pregnant. There is a little bit chance of the baby’s survival when born in this week, but there are complications and risks at the time of giving birth this early.

Here is the fetal development in 23 weeks.

Baby’s lungs

At this week, the lungs of your baby are getting ready to breathe. The blood vessels in the lungs are growing this week. He/she produces a substance called as surfactant which permits the air sacs to inflate in the lungs. It also maintains the lungs from uniting together.

Skin

The skin is still red and wrinkled by the end of this week. The skin becomes less clear and the fat has developed increasingly in this week also. The skin pigment is forming now. The baby is in the form of a newborn, but the baby is thinner when compared to that of newborn as the baby has not developed much fat yet.

Size

Your baby is about 11 inches long and weighs about a pound. Baby looks like a tiny, thin newborn now.

Ear

Your baby’s inner ear is fully developed, which controls the balance. The bones which are present in the middle ear harden and the baby can hear loud voices now.

Pancreas

The pancreas which is important in the hormonal production is steadily developing. The baby has started producing the insulin which is very important in breaking down the sugars.

Meconium

The baby is swallowing, but normally he/she will not pass the first stool which is called as meconium until after the birth.

Eyes

The eyebrows of the baby are visible, and this week he/she starts to have Rapid Eye Movement.

Reproductive organs

• If you are carrying a baby boy, then the testes are moving down from his abdomen.
• If you are carrying a girl baby, the ovaries and uterus are in the right place.

Brain

The vestibular system which is present in the brain is responsible for the sensing movement. It is among the first parts of the brain to become mature.

Other developments

All of the baby’s internal organs are in their place even if they require much time to mature. Footprints and fingerprints are developing.