By pregnancy week 20, the infant is now starting to practice two of the most important exercises of the life; breathing and swallowing. This, it does on a regular basis and here, the infant continues to grow and fill out, with the head that is turning a bit more proportional to the rest of its body. The infant's skin is turning more complex at the end of 20th week of pregnancy that forms different layers. The epidermis or the surface of the infant’s skin now got four layers which includes ridges for the fingertips. The layers those form in the infant’s palms and feet will offer it with its own unique fingerprint in coming years of life.

It is the time of pregnancy week 20, the mother is at the midpoint of her total gestational period and the onlooker is definitely starting to observe mother’s bump! After pregnancy week 20, the womb has likely reached at the umbilicus. The growth typically starts for becoming more regular at this point in time and therefore, one would be observing regular changes in the abdomen. However, one should remember that she is halfway through her pregnancy period by 20 weeks of pregnancy as only twenty more weeks to go!

Some of the expecting mothers will deliver little bit earlier than 40 weeks, while others may deliver shortly after. A typical pregnancy generally lasts anywhere from 37-42 week. Where the mother fall in this spectrum depends upon a number of reasons that includes the accuracy of the expected delivery or pregnancy date, the health of the infant and even mother’s genetics!

By pregnancy week 20, the mother might feel slightly less dainty and a bit more bulky as her abdomen continues to grow and by now, the health care provider or obstetrician can start getting regular measurements of the abdomen to help confirming the unborn’s growth and development in the mother’s womb. Nevertheless, there are many ways the healthcare provider might keep record of the fetus's growth and development after pregnancy week 20.

Some of the health care providers have a measuring tape for measuring the fundus height. Fundus height is checked by measuring from the pubic symphysis to the top of the womb (medically known as uterus’ fundus). This method typically correlates right with the gestational age of the infnat while the mother is between 14 and 32 week of pregnancy.

After 32nd week, the use of the fundus height measurement is not so clear. In the later weeks of pregnancy, this is best to evaluate the overall size and health of the infant with proper ultrasound testing rather than measuring the fundus height. The size and weight of the unborn can be checked with an accuracy of plus or minus 20 percent when serial ultrasound is performed. Serial ultrasound examination can reveal the growth curve for the infant. Such measurements might enable the health care provider to determine the exact percentages of growth or the growth pace of the infant inside the womb.

It is during pregnancy week 20; some of the unfortunate mothers suffer from something called Intrauterine Growth Restriction or IUGR, which is the condition that resulting in significantly low weighing babies at the time of birth. There are plenty of factors that can contribute to the infant's growth in the womb. Some of the important risk factors for infant growth are mentioned here:

• Chronic medical illnesses.
• Low maternal pre-pregnancy weight.
• Inadequate weight gain during pregnancy
• Any history of previous fetal growth retirement.
• Severe and uncontrolled hypertension.
• Substance abuses (such as tobacco, alcohol, drugs).
• Abnormalities of the placenta
• Diabetes Mellitus.
• Increased levels of Alpha fetoprotein (AFP).
• Antiphospholipid syndrome
• Twins or multiple pregnancies.