Week 14

Carola Felchner is a freelance writer in the medical department and a certified training and nutrition advisor. She worked for various specialist magazines and online portals before becoming a freelance journalist in 2015. Before starting her internship, she studied translation and interpreting in Kempten and Munich.

More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.

In the 14th week of pregnancy, the child is already moving around vigorously in your stomach; it is now about the size of an apple. The growth of your baby and its "nursery furnishings" are responsible for the small pregnancy ball that you now carry around with you. Find out more about the topic here: Do you get fat in the 14th week of pregnancy? What weight gain is normal now? Can you already feel the child's kicks?

14th week of pregnancy: your baby's size and development

Water, march! The baby (14 weeks gestation) in your tummy makes extensive use of the amniotic fluid that surrounds it. It drinks the slightly sweet liquid and excretes it again - and then it starts all over again.

In addition to swallowing exercises, the fetus trains its muscles in the weightlessness of the amniotic sac in 14 weeks of gestation and moves diligently - it still has enough space for it. In the 14th week of pregnancy he is still too young to let you feel his activity, but that will soon change.

14th week of pregnancy ultrasound: That can be seen

The 14th week of the fetus is around 7.5 centimeters tall and weighs an impressive 24 grams - that's about as much as half a slice of bread weighs. His legs look longer and he can move his neck better. Sometimes you can now also see the child's hiccups on the ultrasound.

14th week of pregnancy: That will change for you

Something bulges in the 14th week of pregnancy! Your stomach shows more and more clearly that a child is growing inside. On the one hand, this is due to the fact that the baby (14 weeks after the start of the pregnancy calculation) had a growth spurt of around 1.5 centimeters in the last week. On the other hand, it is also because the placenta and the amount of blood have increased, and the amount of amniotic fluid has also increased. Overall, the fetus is currently swimming in around 100 milliliters of amniotic fluid. Up to the 38th week of pregnancy it will be up to 1.5 liters, but due to lack of space this will be reduced to around 800 milliliters by the time of birth.

By the way, inferring the gender of the child from the shape of the abdomen does not work. Whether your ball is pointed or flat, wide or narrow depends on your fitness and stature as well as on whether it is your first pregnancy.

How pronounced the weight gain is in the 14th week of pregnancy can vary greatly from woman to woman. According to guidelines, depending on your stature, you can gain 1.3 (overweight) to 2.5 (underweight) kilograms per month of pregnancy without having to worry.

During the 14th week of pregnancy, the hormones estrogen and progesterone increasingly circulate in your body. The former can make you a little restless. In this phase of pregnancy it is therefore not uncommon for you to have poor sleep and often wake up before the alarm goes off. After all, your life is about to change quite a bit. Relaxing rituals before lying down such as warm (foot) baths, massages or a relaxation tea can help.

14th week of pregnancy: That is important now

Many pregnant women really long for a pregnancy ball in the 14th week of pregnancy. On the other hand, one development that most women may not like so much are stretch marks. Often these stretch marks mainly develop in the second half of pregnancy. After all, the waist circumference grows by around 40 centimeters and even more in the case of multiple pregnancies. The skin has to stretch quite a bit. Sometimes visible grooves appear in the skin - experts speak of striae gravidarum (stretch marks).

In particular, pregnant women with sensitive, fair skin who gain weight during pregnancy, were previously overweight or have weak connective tissue, are prone to stretch marks. But there is another factor involved: the changed hormone balance, especially the pregnancy-related increased cortisol level in the blood. The adrenal hormone reduces the elasticity of the skin.

Such streaks are annoying and will never go away completely. But they are only a visual flaw.

Midwife tip

In the 14th week of pregnancy, the skin does not have to stretch excessively, but keeping it supple does not do any harm. And by the way, you can pamper yourself with fragrant lotions and oils. You can get good care products in the drugstore or pharmacy. With regular use, perhaps combined with a plucking massage, they can prepare the tissue for stretching and thus reduce stretch marks. However, your genes still play a role in this. Don't worry too much if the shimmering streaks show up on your skin, try to accept them as a reminder of a special time - in which you are now in the 14th week of pregnancy.