Pregnancy Guide

23 Weeks Pregnant

Your baby is the size of a Grapefruit. Discover exactly what is happening to your body and your baby this week.

New pregnancy guide: Learn how weeks are counted, what each trimester means, and how to interpret your calculator results for better preparation and planning. Read the full guide

Week 23 in detail

A real sleep–wake cycle — glucose test is coming

Baby this week

Sleep and wake periods are more distinct. The face looks finished on scan. Skin can still appear reddish as fat lags behind growth. Fingerprints are unique. Survival with intensive care improves week by week from here — still a neonatal-unit conversation, not a home-birth plan.

  • Cycles of rest mean quiet hours on the bump are allowed
  • The pancreas is making insulin; your glucose handling is about to be tested
  • Vernix thickens

Your body this week

The uterus sits above the navel. Stretch marks can appear regardless of cream (genetics lead). Weight gain ranges widely; your clinician’s curve matters more than a forum. Glucose screening is often booked between 24 and 28 weeks.

  • Cream can ease itch even when it cannot erase marks
  • Breathing practice now is cheaper than panic in labour
  • If you had diabetes before pregnancy, screening timing may differ — follow that plan

Get ready for glucose screening

Confirm when your gestational-diabetes test is. The checklist above is moisturiser, the test, and breathing. The drink-and-wait test is annoying and useful — eat what they tell you the day before, not a “last hurrah” of cake unless they say otherwise.

A general guide, not medical advice. Scan timing and symptoms vary — ask your clinician.

Baby Growth Curve

This chart visualizes the average length of the baby from week 1 to 40. Values are based on standard clinical averages.

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