Pregnancy Week 19
You probably feel like you’ve been pregnant forever at this stage and the good news is that you are almost halfway through! This is a big milestone and you’ll also be going for your anomaly scan around now too where you can get a closer look at your baby and the sonographer can check everything is developing as expected.
If you haven’t started feeling your baby move already, you may well start to feel the first flutters of movement this week. And if you have been able to feel for little one for a while, you might notice their kicks become a little firmer and more definite this week as your baby grows bigger and stronger.
You might find you suffer from indigestion and heartburn, caused by a combination of hormones and your growing baby pressing on your stomach. Eating smaller meals can help and you may find drinking a glass of cold milk relieves some of the symptoms.
Eating just before you go to bed can make it worse so avoid having snacks or meals within three hours of bedtime. If you’re really finding it hard to cope with, speak to your GP or midwife as there are things you can safely talk which will help.
You may also find you are getting more breathless than usual as your uterus starts pushing up towards the lungs. This is quite common and usually nothing to worry about but if it is really interfering with daily life, get checked out by your doctor.
Your ligaments are now looser than usual too thanks to the hormone relaxin. This can mean exercises like running or aerobics which put pressure on your knees and ankles may feel uncomfortable so you might want to switch to something which is less high impact like swimming to stay active.
What is happening with my baby at 19 weeks?
As your baby gets bigger, their body will become more in proportion and their skin will become less translucent. In short, the foetus is starting to look much more like an actual baby.
Now weighing around 240g and measuring 15cm in length, your baby is a similar size to a heritage or beef tomato or a mango. Their senses are busy getting ready for the outside world and their lungs are developing with the main airways, known as bronchioles, starting to form.
Your baby has even started growing their adult teeth, which will stay behind their baby teeth ready to start emerging when your child is around six years old. And tiny hairs are starting to appear on your baby’s scalp, although it is too early to tell what colour their hair will be or how much they will have when they are born.
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