EIGHTEENTH WEEK OF PREGNANCY: what you feel and how your baby grows

November 12, 2024

Eighteenth week of pregnancy: what you feel and how the baby grows

1. Introduction 2. What month is the eighteenth week of pregnancy? 3. Fetus at 18 weeks: how is it growing? 4. Symptoms of the eighteenth week of pregnancy 18 weeks pregnant and I don't feel it moving: should I be worried? 5. 18 weeks pregnant and risk of miscarriage: here's what to know 6. How to understand if the fetus is well at 18 weeks? 7. Belly at 18 weeks of pregnancy 8. What to eat? 9. How to manage sports activity?

Introduction

Time passes and the moment has come for you to experience the eighteenth week of pregnancy .

To help you navigate the many questions that characterize the path of sweet waiting, I have prepared this article.

Spoiler alert: Your little one is already the size of a sweet potato in the womb!

For an even more complete and conscious journey towards birth, I recommend you join the Academy to access all the best video courses to support your health during pregnancy (multidisciplinary antenatal course, pelvic floor, breastfeeding, nutrition, pilates, etc.) and the development of your baby (motor development, language, cognitive, self-weaning, pediatric disobstruction, etc.).

Also, on my Instagram profile @drsilva.com_official and on my Youtube channel you will find lots of content designed for you and your little one.

What month corresponds to the eighteenth week of pregnancy?

If you are in your eighteenth week of pregnancy, it means that you are in the middle of the fifth month , between 17+5 and 21+6.

Fetus at 18 weeks: how does it grow?

At the eighteenth week of pregnancy, your little one is, on average, 12 to 14 cm long (I remind you, as always, not to focus only on the numbers).

Weighing an average of 145 grams - about the size of a sweet potato or a pomegranate - the fetus now has taste buds capable of perceiving flavors.

Its hearing is also extremely sensitive to various sound stimuli.

At this time, you are going through a stage of pregnancy that is very important for the nervous system.

Around the eighteenth week of pregnancy, in fact, we witness the development and finalization of numerous highly complex neural connections.

Its small nerves are already covered by the myelin sheath , which is essential for allowing nerve impulses to reach the various neurons more quickly.

Thanks to his now developed sense of touch , your puppy in the eighteenth week of pregnancy has clear perceptions when he touches his face and clenches his fists.

Isn't it wonderful?

Think, in fact, that at this point in the journey of waiting he already has his fingerprint and developed nails.

Fun fact: if you are expecting twins, know that, according to several studies, despite the presence of a thin membrane between the two fetuses and the eyes of the puppies still closed, they are still able to perceive each other.

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