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You are now in the fifth month of your pregnancy and you have just four months or nineteen weeks to go. Your little treasure is growing steadily in your womb and your body is quite adapting to the changes of the growing miracle within you.
While the placenta still provides most of your baby’s nutrition, now your baby also consumes small amounts of amniotic fluid.
This week, your baby’s arms and legs are in proportion, and her movements are more coordinated. In addition, there has been increase in the little one’s length. We’ve measured from the crown to rump until now, but now we’re measuring from the crown to heel, proving why she grew so quickly.
The liver and spleen of your unborn baby have been hard at work producing blood cells, but the bone marrow has developed enough to assist as well.
While the placenta still provides most of your baby’s nutrition, now your baby also consumes small amounts of amniotic fluid.
This week, your baby’s arms and legs are in proportion, and her movements are more coordinated. In addition, there has been increase in the little one’s length. We’ve measured from the crown to rump until now, but now we’re measuring from the crown to heel, proving why she grew so quickly.
The liver and spleen of your unborn baby have been hard at work producing blood cells, but the bone marrow has developed enough to assist as well.
This week, your baby is more active than before and moves around a lot in your tummy. Your baby will also start to sleep and also tend to have sleeping time. Unfortunately, your baby’s time for sleeping and yours may not correlate, and you may find your baby moving around just when you’re ready to sleep. After a while, you can discover your baby’s sleeping pattern and try to time your sleeping pattern with theirs.
At this stage, your baby has now started to develop reflexes and can now react to you. This means that if you touch your belly gently, your baby can give a little kick or push back as a reaction to your touch. If you still haven’t felt your baby yet, there’s no problem, especially if this is your first pregnancy. You’re probably missing it, or your baby’s movements are not strong enough yet.
At twenty-one weeks, your baby is now also swallowing the amniotic fluid. They still receive nutrients from the placenta, which weighs less than the baby. Blood cells are also produced by your baby’s liver, spleen, and bone marrow. Your baby’s digestive system is also forming so that it can perform its function when your baby is born. Your baby’s eyes, which formed around week 11, but remained closed, are also starting to open.
Now your baby is measured from head to toe, instead of from their head to the bottom of their butt. This week, your baby weighs approximately 360 grams and measures 10.51 inches in height. Your baby can be compared to the size of a carrot this week.
By this time, you would have gained about thirteen to fourteen pounds of extra weight, which means you are looking very different from before. If you haven’t yet, you should get maternity clothes and do away with the tight clothing for now.
At 21 weeks pregnant, you have about 19 more weeks to complete your pregnancy journey.
At week 21, your baby may be leaving stretch marks all over your breasts, stomach, buttocks, hips and thighs. These lines may appear as red, pink, or brown streaks at first, depending on your complexion and your inherited genes, and will eventually fade.
According to estimates, stretch marks affect at least one in every two women, and you’re a likely candidate if your mother had them while pregnant. Rapid weight gain can also increase your susceptibility to stretch marks, which is another reason to add pounds slowly and steadily, at about a pound per week.
There is no proven method for preventing stretch marks from marking across your body. However, applying moisturizers like cocoa butter isn’t a bad idea; it will prevent the dryness and itching associated with pregnancy-stretched skin. They gradually fade away and are less noticeable after delivery.
This week, expect to get Braxton Hicks. These are contractions that can start as early as the twentieth week of pregnancy, and their purpose is to prepare you for labor during childbirth. These contractions are not supposed to be regular or very painful and often stop when you change positions. They can be triggered during sex or by dehydration or significant movement on the baby’s part.
Your skin becomes dry and irritating as your skin stretches along your bump. You may also experience itching on your skin. Using a lotion that is pregnancy safe will help to moisturize your skin and reduce itchiness. You should let your doctor know if you have a rash, as it could be a sign of a pregnancy condition called PUPPP.
As your skin also stretches, you will get stretch marks which can be purple or red. Fortunately, these stretch marks fade after pregnancy over time.
Your milk ducts would have fully developed by the end of this trimester, but you may discover some leaking in your breasts this week and after that.
You will also get lower back-pain caused by the extra weight put on your back by your growing belly.
You may also experience rapidly growing hair and nails, swollen and bleeding gums, increased appetite, bloating, headaches and tiredness, sleeping problems, and dizziness.
This week, expect to get Braxton Hicks. These are contractions that can start as early as the twentieth week of pregnancy, and their purpose is to prepare you for labor during childbirth. These contractions are not supposed to be regular or very painful and often stop when you change positions. They can be triggered during sex or by dehydration or significant movement on the baby’s part.
Your skin becomes dry and irritating as your skin stretches along your bump. You may also experience itching on your skin. Using a lotion that is pregnancy safe will help to moisturize your skin and reduce itchiness. You should let your doctor know if you have a rash, as it could be a sign of a pregnancy condition called PUPPP.
As your skin also stretches, you will get stretch marks which can be purple or red. Fortunately, these stretch marks fade after pregnancy over time.
Your milk ducts would have fully developed by the end of this trimester, but you may discover some leaking in your breasts this week and after that.
You will also get lower back-pain caused by the extra weight put on your back by your growing belly.
You may also experience rapidly growing hair and nails, swollen and bleeding gums, increased appetite, bloating, headaches and tiredness, sleeping problems, and dizziness.
Elevating your feet can help alleviate the swelling you would start having this week, and help you feel better throughout the day. You should also try to take walks of about thirty minutes daily.
Drinking enough water this period will help with the issue of constipation and bloating. It also keeps you hydrated.
Performing moderate exercise or engaging in pre-natal yoga will help prevent unhealthy weight gain during pregnancy. It also helps improve your mood when you’re down.
Make sure to eat healthily and gain as much weight as you are supposed to during your pregnancy period. Also, avoid peppery food as it can lead to heartburn and indigestion, which is very uncomfortable. Avoid eating junk foods because they increase the chances of diabetes in both you and your unborn baby. Make lists and paste them around your house to help you remember things. It is common to be a little forgetful during pregnancy.
Sleeping on your back: By now, you should have adjusted to sleeping on your side or finding ways not to sleep on your back. Ensure that you don’t sleep on your back because it cuts off blood flow to your baby, which is dangerous. You can ask someone to watch out for you when you sleep, so they can make you adjust yourself if you sleep on your back.
Baby Movement: As your baby becomes more lively and increases their movements, try to monitor their movements so that you can notice if there’s a change in the frequency or if the movements stop together. Changes in your baby’s movements can be a sign of a complication, so make sure to mention it to your doctor. Research has shown that a high percentage of women with stillbirths noticed a change in their baby’s movements but did not say anything about it.
© Mindsmaking 2024
