📱The Maila Maternity Health Tracker app is now available for iOS! Install the app for weekly videos and articles: [ Ссылка ]

______
At 20 weeks of pregnancy, the fetus’s skin, hair, and nails continue to develop and grow [1]. The skin contains juvenile sweat glands [2]. The fused eyelids begin separating over the next four weeks [3].

As the fetus grows, its space becomes increasingly restricted. In response, the fetus adopts a “fetal position” with its limbs bent and tucked in [4]. Should you feel rhythmic fetal movements, it is likely fetal hiccups. If you have not yet noticed quickening (the first fetal movements), pay attention to anything that feels like the “tickling of butterflies.”

If you are having a girl, the vaginal canal is developing, and her uterus has formed [5].

References:
1. Harms R, Wick M, editors. Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy. Boston: Da Capo Press; 2011.
2. Fu X, Li J, Sun X, Sun T, Sheng Z. Epidermal stem cells are the source of sweat glands in human fetal skin: evidence of synergetic development of stem cells, sweat glands, growth factors, and matrix metalloproteinases. Wound Repair Regen. 2005;13: 102–108.
3. Tawfik HA, Abdulhafez MH, Fouad YA, Dutton JJ. Embryologic and Fetal Development of the Human Eyelid. Ophthal Plast Reconstr Surg. 2016;32: 407–414.
4. Betts JG, Young KA, Wise JA, Johnson E, Poe B, Kruse DH, et al. 28.3 Fetal Development. Anatomy & Physiology. Houston: OpenStax; 2013.
5. Moore KL, Persaud TVN, Torchia MG. The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2016.

______
At Maila Health, we’re on a mission to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes and experiences through meaningful innovation in digital health. If you’re pregnant, postpartum, or raising a baby, we’re here to help ensure you get the support and quality health care you deserve.

● To hear more from us, subscribe to our YouTube channel!
● Learn more about Maila Health here: [ Ссылка ]
● Read about topics related to pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum, and FemTech on our blog: [ Ссылка ]
● Find out how to get in touch with us here: [ Ссылка ]

#PregnancyWeekByWeek #PregnancyJourney #SecondTrimester #BabyDevelopment #MailaHealth

______
Produced and written by: Samantha Lattof, PhD MSc
Medically reviewed by: Ayodeji Olelakan Abere, MD MBA MHA
Animation by: SciePro / Pond5
Music by: audiomarket / Pond5
Narration by: Ava / Wellsaid

свернуть