Pregnancy Facts - Week 19
What's happening in week 19 of pregnancy
You = Bigger than last week. Moving on.
Your baby's development in week 19 of pregnancy
Your baby's been floating in amniotic fluid for a long time now. Your baby's been shedding lanugo, that soft, black body fuzz; and dead skin cells. Mixed together, it's called sebum. Where does all the sebum go? In the amniotic fluid. Where does the amniotic fluid go? Into your baby's mouth, air sacs and digestive system. Pretty gross right?
Your baby's oil glands are also producing a waxy substance, squalene.
When you combine sebum and squalene, you get this thing called vernix caseosa.
Vernix (Latin) = varnish
Caseosa (also Latin) = cheesy
Ergo, your baby essentially is making a batch of baby cheese and slathering it all over their body.
So what does baby cheese do? It coats (aka varnishes) your baby's skin from head to toe, acting as a force field to protect your baby from getting pruny.
Think about how wrinkly you get just sitting 15 minutes in a tub. Imagine what it would be like for a baby floating several months in amniotic fluid without vernix caseosa. It's also believed that the waxy substance acts as a protective layer to keep bacteria out.
Pretty impressive for homemade cheese.
How big is your baby in week 19 of pregnancy
This week, your baby is 6.0 inches (15.3 centimeters) big, and measures 8.5 ounces (240 grams).
