Week 22

Carola Felchner is a freelance writer in the medical department and a certified training and nutrition advisor. She worked for various specialist magazines and online portals before becoming a freelance journalist in 2015. Before starting her internship, she studied translation and interpreting in Kempten and Munich.

More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.

In the 22nd week of pregnancy, the baby likes to do gymnastics and motor skills a lot. You get to feel that. Likewise, the increased energy and mineral requirements. Read interesting facts about the 22nd week of pregnancy: Your child's development, why they fidget when you rest, and how big the weight gain is in the 22nd week of pregnancy.

22nd week of pregnancy: This is how your baby is developing

Just a few little things and your baby is "ready". In the 22nd week of pregnancy, the little being in your belly is already a miniature of how it will later be born. All that's missing is some protective fat. And the iris as well as hair, eyelashes and eyebrows still need a little color and that's it.

The youngsters can also do a lot in terms of motor skills: clench their fists, suck their thumbs and do all kinds of gymnastics exercises, which you can now feel very clearly in the form of knocks and kicks. If you have the feeling that your baby prefers to be active when you want to rest, you are right: when you are lying down, the abdominal wall relaxes and the organs press less on the uterus. For the little one this means: space to run around!

22nd week of pregnancy ultrasound: That can be seen

At the end of the 22nd week of pregnancy, the unborn child weighs around 350 grams and is around 26.5 centimeters long. With ultrasound, the filigree bones are particularly fascinating, for example the ankle and hand bones. The spine is also easy to see when the little one with a round back snuggles up in your stomach.

22nd week of pregnancy: That will change for you

In the 22nd week of pregnancy, small bumps, the so-called Montgomery glands, grow around the areola of your breasts. These small sebum glands are slowly getting ready for their use: They produce a fatty secretion that makes the nipple supple and protects it from injuries. This is how you prepare this sensitive area of the body for breastfeeding. Allegedly, the glands also secrete fragrances that later show the infant the right way to the food source.

If you get hungry again, it's no wonder. After all, your stomach resident is a respectable "co-eater" in the 22nd week of pregnancy. This means: a weight gain of around 250 grams per week is now normal.

In addition to (consumes) energy, your child also needs a lot of magnesium. A deficiency manifests itself in muscle and stomach cramps. First try to cover your needs with magnesium-containing foods (e.g. whole grain products, legumes, nuts, meat). If this does not alleviate the symptoms, talk to your doctor about taking a gastric supplement. Because a severe deficiency over a long period of time can, in the worst case, trigger premature labor and a miscarriage.

22nd week of pregnancy: That is important now

In the 21st or 22nd week of pregnancy, you should slowly deal with the topic of pelvic floor exercises. The pelvic floor is a muscle plate that runs from the pubic bone to the spine. It gives the abdominal and pelvic organs and supports the sphincter muscles of the urethra and anus. Strong pelvic floor muscles also help your body carry the extra weight during pregnancy and help heal cracks or cuts that appear during childbirth. If, on the other hand, the pelvic floor muscles are (too) weak, pain, incontinence and hemorrhoids can occur.

If you attend yoga or sports classes for pregnant women before and in the 22nd week of pregnancy, pelvic floor exercises are probably already part of the exercises. But there are also special courses and exercises that you can do at home. Because like all muscles, the pelvic floor only becomes and remains strong if you exercise it regularly.

Midwife tip

You probably haven't looked at your pelvic floor a lot - imagine you have to go to the toilet and tense your muscles so that nothing escapes. These are your pelvic floor muscles! Let your midwife show you a few exercises if you want to strengthen the pelvic floor - this is also about the 22nd week of pregnancy.