You Are In Your 22nd Week Of Pregnancy

How big is your baby?
The head to heel measurement is now at around 10.94 inches (27.8cm) and your baby is now weighing approximately 15.17 ounces (430g). By the end of this week your baby will be about the size of a Barbie doll.

How big are you?
Your uterus should now be about 0.78 inches (2cm) above your bellybutton and about 8.66 inches (22cm) above your pubic symphysis this week.

You may be feeling comfortably pregnant now as most women tend to enjoy the second trimester of their pregnancy, as most of the early pregnancy symptoms would have left them and they are not yet too big to be uncomfortable all the time.

How is your baby developing and growing?
Your babys brain will start with some rapid development this week - and this rapid development will continue until your baby is 5 years old. Your baby may also be roused from his/her sleeping pattern by external sounds and your movements. Even though your babys eye lids are fussed shut, he/she will still be making blinking movements.

If your baby is a boy then towards the end of this week his testes will have started descending into the scrotum. If your baby is a girl then the ovaries - which are made from the same tissue as the testes - will remain in place and by the end of this week her uterus would be completely formed.

Your baby's organ systems are becoming specialized for their particular function. The function of the fetal liver is much different from that of an adult. One of the functions of the adult liver is to breakdown bilirubin, which is produced when blood cells are broken down. As the life span of fetal blood cells is less than those of an adult, the fetal liver will produce more bilirubin.
The bilirubin is then removed from your baby via the placenta and your own liver will then rid the bilirubin from it's blood. Should a baby be born with a high bilirubin count they may get what is called Jaundice. This is typically caused by your baby's liver not being able to deal with the high bilirubin count.

A baby with Jaundice may have a yellowish tint to his/her skin and it is usually treated with the aid of phototherapy.