23-weeks pregnant: baby development and diet tips

Baby development

The sex of your baby is now recognizable. If your baby is a girl, she has had ovaries for a few weeks, and her vagina is now hollow. If it's a boy, he already has a penis and a prostate. Though his testicles were formed in the 2nd month, they are still in his abdominal cavity. They’ll finish descending when they need to, whether just before birth or during the first few months after he is born. 

Your body

Pregnancy can be a strain on how your body works, and for some women a condition called gestational diabetes results.  If you’re pregnant, have never had diabetes before, and have high blood glucose (sugar) levels (usually in the second or third trimester), you are said to have gestational diabetes. The insulin, a hormone your body makes, isn’t working enough to move the glucose from your blood into the cells where it can provide energy.  Most women with gestational diabetes don’t continue to have diabetes immediately after their baby is born. For this reason it is thought that hormones from pregnancy are behind it all.  All women should be offered blood glucose screening by their healthcare provider between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy to check for gestational diabetes.   If you find out you do have gestational diabetes, don’t panic! It can be managed with diet, exercise, and – if needed – medication. Your healthcare providers will come up with a plan that’s tailor-made for you. When your blood glucose is under control, the majority of moms and babies continue to be healthy throughout pregnancy. 

Nutrition

Don’t rub salt in the wound, as the expression says. It is true that with meats, preserves, cakes, appetizers, chips, and the heavy hand that many of us have when seasoning our food, we commonly consume two to three times the amount of salt needed by our bodies. Sodium is an essential nutrient found in salt and many foods. Our bodies need a small amount to be healthy. Monitor your sodium intake and follow a balanced diet using Canada’s Food Guide.  If you have any doubts or questions, talk to your doctor about maintaining your healthy pregnancy diet. 

Tips

To involve your partner in your pregnancy, especially now that the pregnancy is approaching its last trimester, go to an ante-natal check-up or a discussion with your midwife together. And if possible, go to your childbirth preparation classes together. The idea is to make sure you and your partner spend some good quality time before the baby comes. You don’t have to look after a baby at the moment and your bump is still “manageable!”