Week 23 of Pregnancy (Trimester 2 of Preganancy)

A quiet week this – not much to report, except that I went swimming twice again this week. I think I can feel an improvement in my stamina. I can swim three lengths without having to rest, whereas when I started I had to rest between each one.

All the literature says that at this stage the fetus moves vigorously, often in response to sound. I proved that true this week – while cooking I accidentally banged a saucepan really hard onto the top of the cooker, and my baby jumped!! Poor thing, I probably frightened it!

Towards the end of the fifth month vernix is beginning to form on the skin of the fetus. This is a white, greasy, almost cheesy-looking substance that is thought to protect the baby’s delicate, newly formed skin from the possible damage of living in liquid for nine months. Vernix is a mixture of sebum, from the sweat glands, and skin cells. It adheres to the lanugo (fine downy hair) all over the skin, but mostly disappears before birth. The little that remains may play a part in lubricating the fetus’ passage along the birth canal during delivery.