24. WOP

At the 24th week of gestation, your baby is developed enough to be viable. If it is born from now on, it will still need a lot of support, but with good medical care, it has a good chance of surviving. What else happens in the 24th week, we show you here.

Important facts about the 24th week: What you should know

Your baby is about 31 cm long and weighs 700 g.

The lungs and the pulmonary circulation have developed further in the 24th week of gestation, which greatly increases your baby’s chance of survival in the event of premature birth.

Your baby’s taste buds will continue to develop and he or she will be able to differentiate sounds more consciously.

This happens with you

Weight gain and abdominal girth

Since the 22nd week of gestation, your baby has been gaining more weight. As a result, you will also continue to gain weight and the circumference of your baby bump will grow.

Women gain about 6 to 8 kg in the second trimester of their pregnancy. Of course, these are not all fat reserves that your body accumulates. They form only about 2000 g until the end of pregnancy. The rest of the weight is distributed among your baby’s body, the uterus, the placenta, the increased blood volume and the amniotic fluid.

Always remember: weight gain during pregnancy is important and desirable. After all, your body needs to nourish your baby and build up some reserves for after pregnancy.

Many of the extra kilos disappear all by themselves after pregnancy. If you are afraid of gaining more weight than necessary, you can counteract increased weight gain through healthy eating and physical exercise.

Child movements

You will feel your baby’s movements intensively in the 24th week of pregnancy. You can feel the kicks with the little feet and his somersaults strongly by now and can recognizethem on the abdominal wall.

This is especially exciting for your partner. Until now, he could not perceive your baby’s movements himself and you could only tell him about them. Now you can watch the movements of this little miracle together, when the little feet kick against the abdominal wall, or your baby stretches and the little palm appears on the belly.

Right now your baby is still very active because he has a lot of space in your belly and can move around a lot. In about four weeks it will be too tight for him in your belly and the baby’s movements will decrease significantly.

This is no reason to worry, but due to the lack of space and quite normal.

Tip for expectant fathers

While your wife is happy one hour, her mood can change abruptly. Mood swings are part of the daily routine during pregnancy and should not be overestimated. Stay calm and don’t let yourself be infected by bad moods.

Pregnancy complaints in the 24th week and what you can do about it

On the whole, you still feel very well in the 24th week of pregnancy. Nevertheless, pregnancy can put more strain on your body from week to week.

Exercise contractions

Exercise contra

ctions increase with the 24th week of pregnancy. It is important that you focus on the contractions and consciously notice changes in order to be able to distinguish practice contractions from real contractions.

Real contractions announce themselves with cramps, vaginal discharge changes and bleeding may occur. In many cases, the mom-to-be feels a dull ache in the abdomen or pelvis and the abdomen becomes hard.

If the exercise contractions do not subside after a few seconds, or occur more than three times an hour, contact your doctor or midwife immediately. Then it could be real labor pains.

Don’t be afraid that it could be a false alarm and for that reason refrain from reporting. It is much more important to prevent than to endanger your baby’s life. Therefore, do not hesitate to contact your gynecologist or midwife.

In addition, if droplets or a whole gush of fluid come out of your vagina, it may be a sign that your water has broken. If this is the case, you should go to the hospital.

Flatulence

The increased production of progesterone relaxes all organs in the body – including the gastrointestinal tract, which is why bloating and constipation are common symptoms in pregnant women.

Putmany small meals and “natural” laxatives such as tea and massage or massage your stomach.

Caution: medications such as laxatives are not an alternative! Many laxatives have a labor-promoting effect, which could have a fatal influence on the development of your pregnancy.

Abdominal pain

You can feel the upper edge of your uterus above your belly button in the 24th week of pregnancy. It continues to grow with your baby, and the weight gain of your offspring increases the strain on your body.

This weight puts a lot of strain on the ligaments of the uterus and this can lead to abdominal pain and strong pulling in the abdomen.

It will relieve the pain if you sit or lie down and take a break. A relaxing bath can also give you relief.

Gestational diabetes

It is recommended to test for gestational diabetes in the 24th week of pregnancy. If the test is positive, a sugar load test will be done afterwards to confirm the finding.

For you, gestational diabetes is not a big deal because there are no symptoms. After delivery, it will disappear on its own.

A sign of gestational diabetes is a rapid and strong weight gain. If you cannot explain why you have gained a relatively large amount of weight in your previous pregnancy, this may be an explanation.

A change in your diet or, in severe cases, the administration of insulincan help . Your gynecologist will be able to advise you on this.

Heartburn

Heartburn is a common symptom halfway through pregnancy and is often accompanied by nausea. Stomach acid becomes stronger during pregnancy, which promotes heartburn.

Low-acid foods such as whole grains, fish and meat or various fruits and vegetables help against heartburn.

What can be seen on the ultrasound in the 24th week of pregnancy?

On the ultrasound, your baby in the 24th week already looks like a newborn. It is still a little smaller and narrower than it will be at the time of birth, but basically all body parts are developed and in the right proportion to each other.

What is the risk of miscarriage in the 24th week of pregnancy?

A miscarriage is when the fetus dies before the 24th week of gestation.

From the 24th WOP on, a baby has increasing chances of survival with good medical care. Between the 24th week and the 37th week, a premature birth is when the baby is born alive.

From the 37th week of gestation, the baby is developed enough to live without medical help and is therefore no longer called premature.

If the fetus is stillborn after the 24th WOP, it is a stillbirth.

You should not worry about a premature birth, but focus on the fact that your baby has a good chance to survive from the 24th WOP, should it already see the light of day.

What happens to the baby

During the 24th week of gestation, your baby becomes more and more aware of the voices and sounds of its environment and increasingly reacts to them.

So he feels really good when you talk to your little treasure and tell him about your day, or how much you are looking forward to finally getting to know him. You can also play him your favorite song and dance to it, or sing him to sleep in the evening.

The weight gain of your baby is still proper, so that he can independently regulate his heat balance after birth.

This is how your baby develops in the 24th week of gestation

In the 24th week of gestation, your baby weighs about 700 g and is 31 cm tall. This is about the size of an eggplant.

An important development in the 24th week is the maturation of the lungs. Air channels and blood vessels have developed in the lungs and a substance called surfactant protects the lungs from sticking together.

Also, your baby continues to gain a decent amount of weight and build muscle mass. The development of the brain continues to progress, which favors the active training of movements.

Your baby has been able to distinguish between different flavors for several weeks. Now the ability to distinguish between salty and bitter or sour and sweet continues to develop.

Your baby clearly prefers sweet things and this will remain the case in the coming years. Perhaps you feel that you have an increased craving for sweets at the moment?

This may be due to the fact that your baby would like to have something sweet, because it can taste what you have eaten through the amniotic fluid.

Theskin and nails of your offspring are still a little soft, but otherwise fully developed. The eyes are also fully developed. Only the coloration of the iris will only occur after birth and may change several times during the first year of life.

This is important now

Premature birth

Due to the further development of the lungs in the 24th week of gestation, your baby has a very good chance of surviving outside your body if he or she receives good medical care.

However, it would still need a lot of support. Therefore, if real contractions occur, the doctors will do their best to stop them and give your baby the chance to develop as long as possible under the protection of your belly before it sees the light of day.

Knowing this can give you peace of mind, knowing that your baby will be able to survive from now on if it is born early for any reason.

Determination of the rhesus factor

Surely your doctor has already performed a rhesus factor test in the first trimester of pregnancy. Between the 24th week of pregnancy and the 27th week of pregnancy, a second examination will be performed.

The Rhesus factor is part of the genetic material and consists of a protein on the surface of the red blood cells. About 15% of all people have a deficiency of the D antigen and are therefore Rh-(Rhesus)negative.

If you are Rh negative and your baby is Rh positive, antibodies will form in your body against your baby’s blood. In the first pregnancy this is usually not a problem, because the defense is still very low, since there are still few antibodies.

In a second pregnancy, however, incompatibilities may occur and the life of your baby may be endangered.

If the examination shows that you are Rh-negative, you will be given anti-D-immunoglobulins, which inhibit the formation of antibodies. If antibodies are already present in the blood, it is sufficient for your doctor to examine you and your baby regularly in order to detect complications and a possible anemia of your baby.

Organization

In the 24th week of pregnancy, it is time to start thinking about certain organizational matters. It is best to discuss your parental leave with your employer and when you plan to return to work.

Inform yourself sufficiently about topics such as parental leave, baby break and parental allowance and consider with your partner what is the best solution for your little family.

Financial and tax aspects should also be taken into consideration. This way you can avoid money worries and financial bottlenecks so that you can concentrate fully on the birth of your baby. In addition, the father of your child can have your child registered on the income tax card, for example, and thus pay less tax.

Naming

By now you have known the gender of your baby for a few weeks and if this is not the case, then you have certainly made a conscious decision not to name your baby.

Many couples start naming their little darling around the 24th week of gestation. The choice is certainly not easy for you with the multitude of names that are available.

You have probably had a few names on a written or imaginary list for some time that you have always liked. At the same time, there are certainly names that are out of the question for you.

Nevertheless, it is not so easy to make a decision. After all, there is a huge selection of names and it will remain with your baby for a lifetime. Perhaps you will find the right name in a book, in conversation with your partner, with family or friends. We also have a few inspirations for you.

This is how you can support your body in the 24th week of pregnancy

Care for the baby bump

The first stretch marks unfortunately do not stay away in the 24th WOP. They appear on the belly and on the breasts. Right now they are blue-red in color.

They certainly do not belong to the beautiful sides of pregnancy, but they are absolutely not bad. The hard-on rather shows how much your body is doing and how much it can endure and achieve.

Don’t worry, after birth the coloring will disappear and the stretch marks will have a silvery shimmer and will no longer be so large.

While stretch marks can’t be completely prevented through skin care, it’s still important to take care of your skin to help it stretch in the best way possible.

You have certainly been massaging your skin with rich care for pregnant women for a few weeks now. Even if you see the first stretch marks, do not stop and continue to care for your skin daily with oils and lotions such as coconut and almond oil.

Midwife Tip

Your pregnancy is an intense and nerve-wracking time. One moment you are full of anticipation and the next you are worried about your future and that of your baby.

This can lead to grueling dreams at night, because your subconscious is busy at night with the coming changes.

In addition, the pregnancy hormone progesterone makes for more dream-intensive sleep. The closer you get to the birth, the more intense your dreams can become.

Please do not let this unsettle or worry you. Your body is intensively dealing with the changes of pregnancy.

FAQ

What happens in the 24th WOP?

In the 24th week of pregnancy, the baby continues to gain weight. In addition, further development takes place in the lungs. As a result, the baby has a good chance of survival from the 24th week if it is born too early.

WOP 24: In which month are you there?

At 24 weeks pregnancy, you are in the last week of your 6th month of pregnancy.

What does the baby look like at 24 weeks pregnancy?

The baby looks almost like a newborn in the 24th WOP. All body parts are developed and in the right proportions to each other. It is only smaller and narrower than it will be at the time of birth.

24 WOP: How big is the baby?

The baby is about 31 cm tall in the 24th week of pregnancy.

How does the baby lie in the abdomen in the 24th week of pregnancy?

In the 24th week of pregnancy, your baby still has a lot of room to move in your belly and is moving around a lot. It turns and moves and somersaults in your belly. Therefore, it does not yet have a fixed lying position.

How often do you feel fetal movements in the 24th week of pregnancy?

The baby’s movements can be felt every day due to the increasing size and activity of the baby. You can even see them on the abdominal wall from the 24th week. This is an incredibly exciting moment for your partner, because he can perceive the movements for the first time.

From when no more premature birth?

From the 37th week of pregnancy, there is no longer talk of premature birth, as the baby is now developed enough to survive on its own.

Premature birth: from when?

From the 24th week of pregnancy, the term premature birth is used, because from this stage the fetus has a very good chance of survival with medical care.

WOP 24 videos

Charlotte takes you into her 24th WOP.

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