20th Week of Pregnancy: Let's Talk about

Gender
By BabyZone's Pregnancy Week-by-Week Contributors
In this article:
What's Happening with Your Body
All About Baby
How Big Is Baby
!ost Co""on Pregnancy #uestions
!ultiple !adness
$or Your Partner
$un $acts
$ollow %he Chronicles o& a 'eal-(i&e Pregnancy
Boy or girl? ight around this ti!e" an ultrasound can ans#er that big $uestion for you%
)e* and "ore se*+ 'e"e"ber that unless you',e been ad,ised against it by your healthcare pro,ider
because o& bleeding or risk o& "iscarriage- se* is &ine- a good stress relie,er- and a great way to .touch
bases. with your partner/ 0on't &eel up to it %hat's 12- too/ 'ead )e* and Pregnancy and re"e"ber that
cuddling is a good thing- too/
What's &a''ening #ith (our Body
The Gender )ltrasound
You're &inally co"&ortable in your "aternity clothes3your protruding baby bu"p proudly declaring you're
going to be a "o"- soon/ In &act- you're hal&way there+ By now you're &eeling your unborn baby wiggle and
kick3which "ay be caused by your baby e*periencing hiccups/ Along with your progressing pregnancy- you
"ay also notice "ore aches and pains/ Your lower back and abdo"en "ay be sore &ro" your growing belly/
Heartburn- indigestion- and &latulence are &re4uent as your e*panding uterus allows less space &or your
sto"ach/ )welling- called ede"a- "ay "ake your hands and &eet unco"&ortable- too/
The Big )ltrasound
%his week you'll get a sneak peak at your unborn baby+ At 56 weeks- "ost physicians re4uest that you
recei,e an ultrasound to deter"ine that your baby-to-be is de,eloping nor"ally- that your due date is
accurate- and3i& you're interested3whether there are pink or blue baby booties in your &uture/
Ultrasound Basics
7ltrasound is a sa&e- relati,ely co"&ortable procedure that gi,es physicians "ore in&or"ation about your
de,eloping baby/ An ultrasound technician will apply a topical gel to your abdo"en so that the high-
&re4uency sound wa,es can tra,el easily through your belly/ %he technician then "o,es a transducer- a
handheld de,ice that looks so"ething like a grocery store scanner- around your abdo"en- sending sound
wa,es as it goes/ %hese wa,es- once translated through the ultrasound "achine- generate a picture/ %he
ultrasound technician will take se,eral "easure"ents o& di&&erent parts o& your unborn baby's body to "ake
sure her de,elop"ent is on track/
0on't be surprised i& you're asked to arri,e &or your ultrasound with a &ull bladder/ A &ull bladder constricts
your baby-to-be's wiggle roo"- "aking &or easier i"aging/ But because things are so crowded in there- the
ultrasound technician "ay ha,e to prod your unborn baby into resituating so that all the "easure"ents can
be "ade/ With a &ull bladder and pressure &ro" the transducer on your abdo"en- the ultrasound "ay be
slightly unpleasant3but don't worry- the pictures will be worth it+
%he ultrasound usually lasts around 86 "inutes/ 0epending on the o&&ice where you recei,e your ultrasound-
you may be able to recei,e a recording o& the session or at least se,eral pictures to show o&& your baby-to-
be/ 9ot all lab o&&ices o&&er recordings o& the ultrasound &or "o"s-to-be so call be&orehand to check what the
lab o&&ers/ You can also ask i& you can take ho"e a picture or two/
(our baby's gender: In "ost cases- your ultrasound technician will be able to tell you i& you're ha,ing a girl
or boy/ I& you don't want to know- tell the technician before you begin so that you don't inad,ertently see or
hear so"ething you shouldn't/ :%ry your hand at predicting Baby's gender with our ;ender Predictor+<
$or those wo"en who do want to know the baby's se*- the results are usually accurate/ Usually. %he
accuracy rates &or deter"ining your unborn baby's gender by ultrasound are about =6 to >6 percent/ 2eep in
"ind- the ultrasound technician needs to get a clear picture o& your unborn baby's .parts. to be certain/ $or
girls- the technician will be looking &or three s"all lines between her legs indicating the &e"ale labia/ $or little
boys- the technician will be looking &or a de,eloped penis and scrotu"/ Be &orewarned3so"e babies do not
cooperate &or this look at their pri,ate parts and wiggle and s4uir" to the point that the technician "ay not
be able to say with any degree o& certainty whether you're ha,ing a boy or a girl/
Take a look at our great collection of baby boy and baby girl ultrasounds!
Is ultrasound necessary? While the 56-week ultrasound is traditional- it's not necessary/ .%here's no
ad,antage to per&or"ing an ultrasound i& a wo"an's pregnancy is otherwise nor"al and healthy-. e*plains
0r/ ?oanne !otino Bailey- Ph0- C9!/ .While it has beco"e standard practice- there's no "edical e,idence
that shows that per&or"ing standard ultrasounds i"pro,es a baby's outco"e/. %hat said- 0r/ Bailey points
out that "ost "others &ind the ultrasound to be a co"&ort- getting a chance to &inally see their unborn babies/
In other countries- such as ?apan- "any wo"en recei,e an ultrasound at e,ery o&&ice ,isit- notes 0r/ Bailey/
%his is also the case &or "any "o"s e*periencing high-risk pregnancies- were trips to the ultrasound
technician "ay occur once or twice each week/
*ontinued fro! 'age +
,ll ,bout Baby
By week 56- your baby-to-be is gearing up &or the ne*t phase in his de,elop"ent3&illing out/ His organs are
getting into their proper places/ His kidneys are now in position with their &a"iliar bean shape/ His testes :or
o,aries &or girls< ha,e reached their position/ His brain continues to &or" and grow/ His teeth are beginning
to appear- and he can swallow/ I& you ha,en't been able to &eel hi" "o,e- chances are you'll be &eeling hi"
"o,e "ore and "ore o,er the co"ing weeks/
&o# Big Is Baby?
He's still @ust barely si* inches long :crown to ru"p< and weighs around nine ounces/
Your belly button "ay beco"e an .outie. as the uterus presses on it &ro" behind/ )o"e wo"en swear that
putting a Band-Aid on it helps keep it &ro" brushing pain&ully against their clothes/ Worth a try+
-ost *o!!on Pregnancy .uestions
I'! afraid of getting stretch !arks/ What can I do to a0oid the! or hel' the! go a#ay?
)tretch "arks :or striae< are an unpleasant by product o& pregnancy &or "any wo"en/ 'apid stretching o&
the skin causes these initially red or purple "arks/ In ti"e your stretch "arks will di"inish and beco"e
sil,ery or white in appearance/ %hey should also beco"e s"aller or less pronounced- but won't e,er
co"pletely go away/
)eeing these red or purple lines creating a road "ap on your belly- hips- or breasts can be "ore than a little
disconcerting &or "ost wo"en/ %here are "any &actors in,ol,ed in deter"ining whether or not you end up
with stretch "arks/ Here's what you need to knowA
1thnicity is one o& the strongest &actors/ Although no "atter what your ethnic background is- B6 C
>6 percent o& you will end up with the"/ Al"ost >6 percent o& Caucasian wo"en will end o& up with
so"e a"ount o& stretch "arks/ 0arker skinned wo"en tend to e*perience less stretch "arks/
Genetics are another big &actor/ %alk to your "other and see i& she e*perienced stretch "arks
during her pregnany/
Weight gain plays a big part in the stretch "ark ga"e/ D*cessi,e weigh gain will increase your
risks o& ending up with stretch "arks/
&ydration is another &actor- and one that you can control/ 0rink plenty o& water and use
"oisturiEers to help keep your skin supple/
%ake your 'renatal 0ita!ins and eat #elll- there is no substitute &or good nutrition in taking care o&
your skin- hair- and nails/
I& you do end up with stretch "arks- try to keep in "ind it is a s"all price to pay &or your wonder&ul baby/ And
a&ter gi,ing birth- you can nourish your skin with crea"s and oils to help your skin bounce back/ You can
also talk to a der"atologist or in so"e cases a plastic surgeon- &or ad,ice on how to help your skin's
appearance i"pro,e/
-ulti'le -adness
-ust2&a0e Gadgets for T#ins
We',e discussed "ust-ha,e e4uip"ent &or "o"s o& twins/ 9ow it's ti"e to pro&ile the top "ust-ha,e :and
o&ten o,erlooked< products &or the babies the"sel,es/
F/ !any parents-to-be o& twins purchase two bouncy seats/ I& you can "anage it- I reco""end &ourG
they are cheaper than swings and playyards- and "uch easier to "o,e around/ :)cour garage
sales or check eBay- Craig's (ist or $reecycle to &ind low-cost and &ree gently-used ite"sG but be
sure to check our recall list &or products to steer clear o&< It's help&ul to ha,e two bouncy seats in
your &a"ily roo" and two in your bedroo" so that when you need to shower- &old clothes- or @ust
doEe o&& &or a &ew "o"ents in the a&ternoon- you don't ha,e to lug bouncy seats back and &orth
throughout your house/
5/ A sling or front2'ack baby carrier can be great &or your twins/ %wo options that ha,e recei,ed
strong re,iews &or use with twins- especially newborns- are the Baby 2'%an and the !oby Wrap/
Both products ha,e detailed instructions on their respecti,e sites on how to use the slings with
twins/
8/ 7sing a back'ack as a dia'er bag is a li&esa,er/ It allows you to hold all o& your gear hands-&ree+
Be sure to choose one with pockets on the outside which pro,ide a con,enient place to stash
bottles- burp cloths- and &or"ula containers/
*ontinued fro! 'age 2
Another tool "any parents o& twins swear by :e,en though they initially shy away &ro" it< is a bottle 'ro'/
9ot intended to replace your presence- the prop helps parents who- &or one reason or another- need two
hands to &eed one baby but both babies need to eat at the sa"e ti"e/ %he Bottle Bundle by (ittle Wonders
is a great product- an "any "o"s o& twins ha,e had wonder&ul luck with it/.
1ther essential ite"s on your shopping list- whether you're ha,ing twins or not- should beA
3ia'er rash crea!/ %he "o"s in "y group &ound that all crea"s are not created e4ual+
Boudreau*'s Butt Paste- while also ha,ing a hilarious na"e- works like a char" when your baby's
botto" is in bad shape/
*ool2!ist 0a'ori4er/ When the babies are stu&&ed up- this product adds "oisture to their roo"'s air
and helps keep their nasal passages &ro" getting too dry/
ectal ther!o!eter/ $our o'clock in the "orning isn't the best ti"e to hear that your pediatrician
wants to know a baby's te"perature and you don't ha,e a ther"o"eter in the house+ A rectal
ther"o"eter is the best way to get an accurate te"perature on a newborn/
%he need &or car seats- cribs- and diapers is ob,ious/ But i& you ha,e the abo,e ite"s in your house
prior to your little ones arri,al- you'll be well prepared &or your &irst &ew weeks at ho"e/
5or (our Partner
Boy or Girl? That's the .uestion%
0o you want to know whether you are ha,ing a boy or a girl %his can be a big decision to "ake-
with lots to consider/ How does your partner &eel How will you decide
!any parents optnot to learn their babies' genders because they want to be surprised at birth/ It is
hard to argue with the suspense that builds throughout pregnancyG &inding out your little one's
gender when you "eet &or the &irst ti"e is a once-in-a-li&eti"e e,ent/ What a dra"atic "o"ent+
$or other "o"s- and dads-to-be- knowing i& a boy or girl is on the way can help the bonding
process begin sooner/ Because a "an doesn't ha,e a physical connection with his de,eloping
baby- &inding out "ay help 0ad-to-be de,elop a "ore concrete picture o& what Baby will be like/
When pondering which path you and your partner will take- consider that this is not only about
disco,ering the se* o& your babyG you'll need to conte"plate whether or not knowing "ight help you
bond with Baby and better en,ision what your new li&e/
5un 5acts
At one ti"e- physicians thought that the &etal heart rate "ight show whether unborn babies were
boys or girls/ )upposedly- girls' heart rates were &aster than boys'/ %here's no "edical e,idence to
support this clai"- although researchers ha,e noticed that an unborn baby's heart rate can help
physicians deter"ine the gestational age/
5ollo# The *hronicles of a eal2Life Pregnancy
How do other wo"en e*perience pregnancy ;et an inside look at one wo"an's ,ery personal
@ourney to "otherhood with candid week-by-week accounts/ $ind out what happens to )arah (o,e
in week 56 o& her pregnancy/
Wondering what is in store for you and your pregnancy? Skip ahead to next week!
urious to see how we calculate important pregnancy dates? Be sure to re!iew our "regnancy
hart!