Week 19: Almost time to see your baby again
Image: @jhajdinjak
Welcome to week 19 of the Happy Parents Happy Baby guide to pregnancy, birth and beyond.
This week we'll be covering:
We hope you enjoy it!
Preparing for the 20 week scan
You’ve almost reached the halfway mark and in the next week or so you’re going to have the opportunity to see your baby again!
The 20-week scan is a detailed scan of your baby’s physical development - it looks at your baby's bones, heart, brain, spinal cord, face, kidneys and abdomen. It also looks at the placenta, blood flow and fluid surrounding your baby.
The person performing the scan will also check your baby’s genitals so this is the chance to find out the sex of you baby if you haven’t already and would like to.
The length of your baby as well as their head and tummy circumference will also be plotted on a graph to monitor how they are growing.
The 20-week scan screens for a number of rare conditions and that is why it is also known as the anatomy or anomaly scan. You will be told at the end of the scan if any further follow up is recommended.
You’ll be given more photos of your baby and you can then compare them to the 12-week ones and see how much they’ve changed and grown!
Your baby’s development in week 19
Size of a mango
Around 15cm long
Around 240g in weight
Your baby is putting on weight at a rapid rate but if you saw them now, their skin would still look a bit wrinkled. It’s not until the final weeks that your baby will ‘fill out’ with a bit of fat.
Your baby’s skin is also now covered in a substance called vernix which protects it from the amniotic fluid. You’ll have probably seen photos of newborns looking white and greasy in the first minutes and hours - this is totally normal.
Week 19 Checklist
You might like to:
Celebrate your news with family and friends if this is something that feels right for you
Buy a pregnancy pillow if you are uncomfortable in bed - you can get a 10% discount on the bbhugme pillow using the code HPHB10
Spotlight on: Headaches
Each week we'll be delving into the common symptoms of pregnancy and bringing you top tips for managing them from our team of specialists and parent community.
Head pounding? Let’s look at why.
Headaches are common in early pregnancy and usually improve as your pregnancy goes on, however if you are concerned at any point it’s always best to seek help from your medical team.
There are a number of reasons you might experience headaches, which include hormonal changes, withdrawal from caffeine, dehydration, tiredness and stress.
Is there anything that will help?
Simple lifestyle changes such as drinking plenty of fluids, getting enough sleep and taking steps to rest and relax can help. Check with your midwife if it is safe for you to take paracetamol if needed.
There are times when a headache in pregnancy can be more of a concern..
A headache can sometimes be a symptom of pre-eclampsia. This usually starts after 20 weeks of pregnancy but can have serious complications for you and your baby if left untreated.
Call your maternity unit urgently if you have:
a severe headache
problems with vision, such as blurring or seeing flashing lights
pain just below your ribs
vomiting
a sudden increase in swelling of your face, hands, feet or ankles
weakness in your limbs
facial drooping
Birth story of the week
This week we catch up with Aurelie from our Clapham antenatal course. She initially wanted an elective Caesarean birth but ended up giving birth to Ayaan with just gas and air
“I wanted a C-section until the beginning of my third trimester when I changed my mind - don't ask me why! It just happened and I decided to go with a vaginal birth. I was keen to have an epidural. After 2 days of contractions, I made my way to hospital to be told that I was 3cm dilated and so couldn’t be admitted. I decided to head back home to relax. When my contractions were every 2 minutes I returned to hospital and the midwife told me that I was now 7cm dilated! She put in the call for my epidural to be done ASAP, however unfortunately/fortunately (I can't really confirm what it would have been) the doctor was with another patient.
“As a result, 30 minutes later I was then fully dilated and the epidural had not been done. My contractions were coming so regularly that there is no way I would have been able to sit down still long enough for it to be administered! My midwife gave me the confidence to go ahead without it. As it turned out, my baby would have been born before the epidural would have worked anyway! I got on my knees, as for me it's all about gravity and I started to push with just gas and air! Despite being my first baby, things happened much quicker than I had imagined.
“I think keeping active until the end and believing in myself really helped! Happy Parents. Happy Baby. taught me everything that could happen in labour, the pain relief and so many other things! This meant I knew what to expect, what I wanted and what I didn't! I also knew what questions to ask my team.”
We’re so grateful to Aurelie for sharing her lovely birth story with us.
Treat of the week
Music can be so powerful during pregnancy and birth so this week’s treat is wireless earphones.
These are great for listening to your pregnancy relaxations and positive affirmations.
They’re also ideal for playing music when out and about or for shutting out other sounds, so you are calm and relaxed during your baby’s birth.
Products are based on suggestions from our specialists and community of parents. We may earn commission from shopping links.
Join our community
Happy Parents Happy Baby is here to support you through every step of your pregnancy, birth and parenting journey.
Connect with other parents-to-be and learn everything you need to know, by joining our award-winning antenatal classes.
That's all for now...
Thank you so much for joining us!
Have a great week.
Team HPHB x
Information you
can trust
Our articles are based on the latest-evidence based guidelines and scientific research and are written by our team of medical experts.
Coming up
next week
Stretch marks
Spotlight on: indigestion and heartburn
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