Pregnancy: Weeks 19-22

In the fifth month, your baby's skeleton is mostly rubbery cartilage that will harden later. She might spend some time sucking her thumb.

A human fetus at 22 weeks. At this time, your baby will measure about 6 ½ inches long and weigh 9 ounces.

Week Number 19

Parts of the leg have now grown in proportion to the rest of the body.
You can feel the fetus kick, move its arms, and wiggle its fingers and toes.

Week Number 20

A skin covering called vernix caseosa forms to protect the baby's skin from the amniotic fluid.
Delicate eyebrows are forming.

Week Number 21

Body parts, tissues, and organs continue to mature.

Week Number 22

The eyelids are very well developed.
Fingernails are completely developed.

The fifth month is a very busy one. Your body is changing in ways that can no longer be hidden and you're carrying around a baby who's ready to rock and roll. Fears and anxieties might keep you awake at night. But there's good news, too—you're more than halfway there!

Back to Weeks 15-18

Continue to Weeks 23-26

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Excerpted from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Pregnancy and Childbirth � 2004 by Michele Isaac Gliksman, M.D. and Theresa Foy DiGeronimo. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Used by arrangement with Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

To order this book click here or call 1-800-253-6476.

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