19 Weeks Pregnant (Fetal Age 17 Weeks)

Your Baby's Hair And Eyebrows Are Now Visible

18 weeks pregnant

20 weeks pregnant

And how about you? Craving for something sweet or sour? Your cravings may predict the gender of your child according to an old wives' tale...

Your linea nigra may appear this week, as seen on the picture to the left. Don't worry, it disappears after your baby is born. Learn more about your post-pregnancy body here.

What to expect about...

• Your Baby
• Mom's Body
• 5th Month of Pregnancy Video
• Diary of a Daughter
• More Pregnancy Week 19 Diaries

Your Baby

Your baby will continue to grow and mature immensely in the coming weeks, and for some 19 weeks pregnant mothers will signify the half-way mark of their pregnancy although most women will carry their babies to term at 40 weeks and many even beyond!

An old wives' tale is that the length of your pregnancy will correlate to that of your hubby's mom's pregnancy, while the length of your labor and childbirth will correlate with that of your own mom's. So have a chat with these two women!

19 weeks pregnant, your baby is now approximately 7.5 inches long. His or her baby's bones are beginning to harden and the muscles are becoming stronger. All the better to kick and roll around inside with!

The nerves cells for each of the senses: hearing, smelling, tasting, seeing and touching are developing in their very own parts of the brain now, while other nerve cell production slows down as existing nerve cells grow larger and make more complex connections within the brain.

Your baby already has developed a sweet tooth! If sugar water is injected in the amniotic fluid, the baby drinks twice as much of the fluid as she usually does.

The kidneys start making urine and the specific development of the baby's brain where the sensory control is formed is continuing to mature. If you could peek inside, the gums of your little one begin to form teeth.

Your baby is starting to produce meconium, the first tar-like bowel movement after birth (and will continue for the first few days of life).

Meconium is a normal part of the baby's development and is a build-up of ingested amniotic fluid that is excreted each day within the womb. It is typically greenish-black in color and takes on a tar-like appearance. Not easy to wash off your newborn!

If your baby does manage to pass meconium before delivery though, it can be a sign of fetal distress and in addition there is a slight risk that your baby will inhale it during the delivery process and that this can create complications if it gets into the baby's lungs.

If this does happen, it won't be until very close to your due date and if the doctors suspect it or even see it because your water broke, labor is often induced. It is however not very common and certainly not something to worry about yet!

Mom's Body

http://www.flickr.com/people/inferis/

If you lie down, you should be able to feel the top of your uterus right below your belly button now when 19 weeks pregnant.

Round ligament pain is very common at this stage of pregnancy due to the increasing size of your abdomen and you may sense the pulling of the ligaments and an achy feeling.

19 weeks pregnant, your balance may shift at this point in time since your centre of gravity is off, so be careful if you must walk up and down stairs or get up and down many times during the day.

Heat rashes can occur during this time of pregnancy due to an increase in body temperature and perspiration due to activity.

Skin sensitivities may arise at this time where some women notice dry, flaky skin or sensitivity to certain fabrics due to the stretching of their abdomen.

Using cream regularly to keep your skin moist and drinking fluids during the day will help alleviate these problems that you may be experiencing now.

Some women find that regular use of cream will help prevent stretch marks during the latter part of pregnancy, while others may use creams only to find that nothing will stop those beauty marks caused by carrying a child.

If you do want to give the skin of your growing baby bump a treat, I can really recommend Bella B Tummy Honey Butter It is a truly wonderful product that smells good, works well even for sensitive skin, and makes your skin very soft.

Focusing on the upcoming birth of your little one and the many options available to you during delivery can be scary. While some elect to have a natural childbirth without drugs, others who do not want to deal with an extreme amount of pain would rather look into the many forms of pain relief.

Be sure to examine all of your options as nothing is written in stone when it comes to the big day. You'll find several articles about giving birth here, including videos and birth stories provided by other moms.

5th Month of Pregnancy Video

Instructions: When watching the video clips, start the videos by clicking the small arrow down to the left, not the large one in the middle of the screen. If you're using Internet Explorer as your browser and the video doesn't start, try clicking twice on the small arrow.

Diary of a Daughter

18 weeks pregnant

20 weeks pregnant

Related Content

• Weight gain during pregnancy, what is normal and not
• See what your baby is up to in these fetal development videos
• Poll: How is your body changing during pregnancy?

What Pregnancy Week 19 Is Like For Other Moms

Click below to see contributions from other pregnant moms to this page...

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References:
MayoClinic (2011), Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy
Joanne Stone MD and Keith Eddleman MD (2008) The Pregnancy Bible: Your Complete Guide to Pregnancy and Early Parenthood
Nilsson, L; Hamberger, L. (2004) A Child Is Born.
Soderberg, L. (2010) Mammapraktika. B Wahlstroms.

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