Highlights this week
Baby development at 19 weeks
- Vernix – a waxy coating – is forming on your baby's skin
- Your baby may be able to hear the sound of your heartbeat
- Brain areas for vision, hearing, touch, and smell are expanding
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Your baby is as big as an oxheart tomato
length
15.3
cm
head to toe
weight
240
g
Pregnancy symptoms at 19 weeks
The top of your uterus (womb) may be reaching your belly button. From now on your uterus will expand at a rate of about a centimetre a week. See other BabyCenter mums' baby bumps at 19 to 21 weeks of pregnancy.You may also notice some aching in your lower belly. It's usually nothing to be alarmed about. It's just the stretching of your muscles and ligaments supporting your bump. To help your baby pass through your pelvis as easily as possible at birth, your body produces a hormone called relaxin, which softens your ligaments.
- As your baby grows, so do you – you may be gaining about 500 grams a week
- As ligaments supporting your uterus stretch, you may feel short, sharp pains
How your life is changing
It's only natural to worry about how you'll cope with the efforts of labour and childbirth, when the time comes.But if you're considering a caesarean because you're apprehensive about going through labour, remember this is a different way of giving birth which carries its own risks so it's worth thinking about your options. Of course caesareans are necessary and advisable in many instances, but they are as painful afterwards, and you'll need more time to recover than you would from a straightforward vaginal birth.
If the thought of coping with pain is really putting you off, there are many forms of medical pain relief which work very well. These range from an epidural, which numbs you from your tummy down, to gas and air, which you can breathe during contractions.
What you need to know
- Whether you're hungry, disturbed by snoring or strange dreams, you may greet the morning feeling far from refreshed. If you have a spare bedroom, consider sleeping apart now and then, to give you and your partner a break.
- It could be time to get out your diary and discuss the details of your parental leave with your boss. Find out whether partners are also able to take paid parental leave.
- Are you expecting twins or more? Find out what it will mean for your antenatal care.
- Desperate for a runny egg and soldiers? Why it's safer to eat thoroughly-cooked eggs.
Pregnancy tip: soothe aching muscles
"Try gently massaging your lower back or use a heat pack, hot water bottle or warmed facecloth. If the ache continues, if it's one-sided or if it's down your back, get it checked by your doctor or midwife."Danielle
Danielle Townsend is a content and communications specialist. She was an editor at BabyCenter for over a decade.
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