17-20 Weeks

17 Weeks Pregnant

Your baby is about 13 cms in length crown to bottom (5.12 inches) and weighs about 140 grams (4.94 oz).

Seventeen weeks into your pregnancy, or 15 weeks after conception, fat stores begin to develop under your baby's skin. The fat will provide energy and help keep your baby warm after birth

The baby’s eyebrows and eyelashes are beginning to grow and they can move their eyes now, though the eyelids are still shut.

The lines on the skin of the fingers are now formed, so the baby already has his or her own individual fingerprints. Fingernails and toenails are growing and the baby has a firm hand grip.

18 Weeks Pregnant

Your baby is about 14.2 cms in length crown to bottom (5.59 inches) and weighs about 190 grams (6.70 oz).

Eighteen weeks into your pregnancy, or 16 weeks after conception, your baby's ears begin to stand out on the sides of his or her head. This week, your baby might begin to be able to hear. The sounds your baby hears are muted sounds from the outside world, and any noises your digestive and circulatory system makes, as well as the sound of your voice and heart.

The baby’s skin becomes covered with a waxy substance called vernix caseosa. Vernix protects your baby's delicate skin from abrasions, chapping and hardening that can result from exposure to the amniotic fluid it bobs around in.

19 Weeks Pregnant

Your baby is about 15.3 cms in length crown to bottom (6.02 inches) and weighs about 240 grams (8.47 oz).

The amniotic fluid level now begins to increase, expanding the membrane sack the baby is floating in and filling the space within your uterus. The amniotic fluid or ‘waters’ provide nourishment and protection for your baby. It provides the baby with space in which to be able to move which is so important for the baby’s healthy brain development and the growth of health muscles and joints. This space is also a buffer zone for the baby against any pressures or knocks coming from outside of the uterus for example, if you fall or are bumped into. For girls, the uterus and vagina might begin to form this week. The baby’s waters also provide it with a constant temperature environment. As the uterus expands and its wall gets closer to your abdominal wall, you may begin to feel your baby’s movements. You might feel them as little flutterings to start with, and once you have started to notice them as the baby’s movements, you will feel them regularly.

20 Weeks Pregnant

Your baby is about 16.4 cms in length crown to bottom (6.46 inches) and weighs about 300 grams (10.58 oz).

As your baby grows to be bigger, as their hearing and nervous system become more mature, their activities and responses become more obvious. The baby’s sense of touch is the first to develop and babies in utero have often been observed during ultrasound scans, touching their own bodies, particularly their own faces. By now, your baby is able to use their fingers and move the thumb in opposition. They might suck their thumb and find their mouths more easily now than when they are born as they do not have to deal with the additional challenge of gravity.

Around about now it might be possible to begin a ‘touch dialogue’ with your baby. If you wait for a movement from your baby and then respond with a gentle pat to that location on the abdomen, the baby may respond with a nudge from inside.