The baby can hear mom’s voice

The baby can hear mom’s voice

The baby now looks like a newborn. Their brain, heart, lungs, and digestive tract are formed, though they are still maturing. The bones and muscles get stronger day by day [1].

The baby spends most of the time in REM sleep, with their eyes quickly moving and their brain actively working [2].

At this point in the pregnancy, the baby can taste, smell and hear [3]. Loud music excites them and they can push and kick in response. Some of these movements can even startle mom!  

The baby continues to swallow amniotic fluid and urinate into it. Sometimes the expectant mom will feel when they get the hiccups [4].

If your partner is expecting twins

The babies are very active, and space is getting tighter, so your partner can easily feel how they’re trying to get comfortable inside the womb. Their lungs are starting to produce surfactant –a liquid that protects their respiratory tract. This is part of the process that will help them adapt to breathing outside the uterus.

What we can see on an ultrasound

Here, we can see the baby’s profile. They are resting with the back of the head and foot against the walls of the uterus. On the left of the photo, we can see the eyes, nose, lips, and chin. The dark area in the chest is the heart.

1. head

2. heart

3. leg

The second picture shows a cross-section of the baby’s head. The white oval is the skull. The thin horizontal line dividing the brain is the interhemispheric fissure. On the sides of it, the lateral ventricles of the brain are visible.

1. interhemispheric fissure

2. skull

3. lateral ventricles