Baby’s Developments
Your baby is almost a foot long now and weighs about 700 g. The lungs of the foetus are developing internally and have also started producing surfactant. Surfactant is a substance that stabilises the alveoli (small air sacs in the lungs) and prevents them from collapsing when a person exhales. It is in preparation for breathing after birth that the foetus produces surfactant. At this stage, your baby can tell when it is floating upside down in the amniotic sac because the inner ear, which controls balance, is now fully developed. The foetus has head hair, but it is still all white since pigmentation has not set in. The foetus can hear all the internal sounds your body makes as well as external sounds and at this stage can recognise your and your husband’s voices.
Changes in the Mother
You may experience a metallic taste in your mouth, increased volume of saliva, vision changes and even bigger feet (some women’s feet increase almost by one entire size) in the upcoming weeks. As your uterus expands you will experience pains in your lower abdomen and back. But if the pains are severe and unbearable, then seek medical help.
Usually sometime between the 24th and 28th weeks, most women undergo a glucose screening test in order to test for Gestational Diabetes, a type of diabetes that occurs for some women during pregnancy, which goes off after you deliver but has very adverse long term effects for both you and your baby if you develop it. So make eating healthy a top priority during pregnancy.