Pregnancy Week 20: Baby Growth

You will also be happy to know that your baby now weighs about 250 grams and is about 20 to 25 cms in length from crown to rump.

Till now, your baby was curled up like a little ball, hence all measurements were made from crown to rump. Post this week, your baby will be measured from head to toe as s/he will straighten out her body more often.

The baby’s sebaceous glands now secrete a waxy substance called vernix caseosa. This protects your baby’s fragile skin from the surrounding amniotic fluid. The vernix caseosa will stay on your baby’s skin as a protective layer and will even be present at birth. This is why your baby’s skin at birth will look as if there’s a layer of paste on it.

Your baby is now super active in the womb now – kicking, somersaulting, swallowing and sucking, s/he sure is busy! Your baby pees into the amniotic fluid but never passes stools in the womb. Stools (meconium) collect in your baby’s bowels only to be passed after birth.