A monumental shift is occurring in your baby's lungs this week. The cells in the alveoli (the tiny air sacs) are beginning to produce surfactant. This crucial, soapy substance prevents the air sacs from collapsing and sticking together when they deflate, making it possible for the baby to breathe air after birth.
🍼 What's Happening With Your Baby
Now the size of a large grapefruit, your baby has officially crossed the 1-pound mark (roughly 500 grams).
Billions of brain cells are developing over the next couple of weeks. These control all of the baby's movements, sensory perceptions, and basic life functions like breathing.
The bones of the middle ear have hardened completely, meaning the baby's hearing is incredibly sharp. They can easily distinguish between high-pitched and low-pitched sounds.
🤰 What You're Feeling This Week
As your belly stretches rapidly, the skin can become incredibly tight, dry, and intensely itchy. This is standard stretching, but severe itching on the palms of your hands and soles of your feet should be reported to a doctor, as it can indicate a liver condition called cholestasis.
You might notice your gums bleeding more easily, or even the appearance of small, benign nodules on your gums called 'pregnancy tumors' (pyogenic granulomas). These are harmless and caused by hormones and plaque.
Tingling or numbness in your hands is common. Carpal tunnel syndrome often flares up during pregnancy because fluid retention causes tissue swelling, which compresses the median nerve in your wrist.
The Brain-Lung Connection
The baby's brain and lungs are communicating. The production of surfactant marks a critical turning point; if a baby is born prematurely after this week, the presence of surfactant vastly increases their chance of survival.
✅ What To Do This Week
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Wear wrist splints at night — If you are waking up with numb or painful hands from pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel, wearing simple pharmacy wrist braces while sleeping can keep your wrists straight and relieve the nerve compression.
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Hydrate your skin heavily — Apply thick, emollient body butter or oil to your belly and breasts immediately after showering to lock in moisture and relieve intense itching.
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Report severe, generalized itching — If the itching spreads to your hands and feet and prevents you from sleeping, insist on a blood test for Obstetric Cholestasis.
"The physical expansion is unrelenting. Your organs are shifting, your lungs are compressed, and yet, your body accommodates it all with a profound, quiet strength."
— A Note From Your Body, Week 23