18 WEEKS PREGNANT

Week by Week Pregnancy Guide: 18 Weeks

At the time you become 18 weeks pregnant, there are yet some more changes that would have taken place within you and the little baby you are carrying. But the good news is that you are almost half way in your pregnancy journey.

By now, your baby will be big so that in some few weeks to come, you can literally feel her twists, kicks, punches as well as her rolling. In short, your baby would have started using your tommy for gym. Measuring your baby from head to bottom, she should be about 5.6 inches now or around 14.2 centimeter while her weight should be around 190 grams.

Also, the nerves of your baby will start forming a protective covering involving myelin which is very important so that the nervous system will develop well and also function as expected after the baby is born. If your baby is a girl, at your 18th week of pregnancy, she would have started developing eggs also in her ovaries.

More so, the genitals of your baby would have been fully formed now and also in place. Although, during the anomaly scan you will do once your pregnancy is 20 weeks thereabout, if your baby is a boy, it is possible to become visible. But then, this is subject to the positioning of your baby. The essence of the anomaly test is to assess the growth of your baby and her development.

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Interestingly, if you are carrying a baby girl, now that you are 18 weeks pregnant, her vagina, fallopian tubes and the womb (also called uterus) will already be in place. Also, the testicle of your baby boy, by now, would have begun to move from his pelvis down to the scrotum.

At this stage, you will notice that your waist have started disappearing as a way of allowing your womb to move up outside of your pelvis. Then, people will easily notice your bump by now. But if you have had a baby before now, this sign is likely to appear sooner than those who are having their pregnancy for the first time.

It is also possible that you begin to notice some strange moves in you. This is as a result of the flexing of the bones and kick practice that your baby is going through. But then, there are some other women who don’t feel the moves at all until after a couple of weeks.

Then, you should be prepared to go through your second scan. While it depends on when you are recommended for it, the fetal anomaly scan takes place between 18th and 20th week to determine the growth and development of the baby.

You may want to start getting maternity dresses now because you will be adding some more weight and your clothes may not fit into your body. But then, be careful not to spend too much on maternity dresses because after your deliver, you will not need them again.

Don’t be surprised if you have some back pains. It only means growth in your bump and relaxation of your muscles and ligaments because of the hormones. Consequently, don’t lift heavy things, get a fit mattress or someone to massage for you.