Week 18
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.At the 18th week of pregnancy, you are five months pregnant - and your baby may already have a slight tingling sensation for the first time. Read here what is also going on in the 18th week of pregnancy, for example, why movement now not only relaxes you and why you always have to take bleeding seriously.
18th week of pregnancy: This is how your baby is developing
Your offspring is and will remain active in the 18th week of gestation: The development of the little one progresses, the baby continues to do exercises in the amniotic sac, thereby training the skeleton, muscles and nervous system.
In addition, both boys and girls now have mammary glands. The first signs of nipples can also be seen at this point in pregnancy (18th week). The internal sexual organs are well developed, around five million egg cells have already formed in the ovaries of girls by the 18th week of pregnancy.
As the bones get tighter, your baby can better distinguish the sounds around them. But it cannot be seen day and night. This is why it sleeps around 20 hours in the 18th week of pregnancy - a lot of it while you are awake, as your movements calm the fetus and lull it to sleep.
18th week of pregnancy ultrasound: That can be seen
Your child is a proud 12.5 centimeters tall from the top of the head to the bottom in the 18th week of gestation and weighs around 150 grams.Your gynecologist can see on the ultrasound image in the 18th week of pregnancy whether the heart of the fetus is developing well. The umbilical cord becomes more recognizable because it becomes longer, thicker and stronger from the 18th week of pregnancy - not because it is then better suited for the offspring to play (which they will nevertheless do), but because it is the only way that it is sufficient for the growing unborn child with all nutrients.
18th week of pregnancy: That will change for you
Around 18 weeks of pregnancy, some pregnant women feel a feather-light bubbling, nudging or fluttering in their stomach for the first time - an exciting moment! But it is also quite normal for the baby to take time until the 22nd week with such “proof of presence”. Experienced mothers who are already expecting their second or third baby naturally find it a little easier to distinguish the tiny kicks and bumps in the abdomen in the 18th week of pregnancy from bowel movements.
18th week of pregnancy: That is important now
Bleeding during pregnancy - whether light or heavy, whether in the 5th or 18th week of pregnancy - should always be taken seriously. Depending on when they occur in pregnancy, there are different reasons that you should definitely have your gynecologist clarify. This is especially true if bleeding during pregnancy is accompanied by pain in the lower abdomen or fever.
Even with a lot of bright red blood and / or large blood loss - possibly with blood clots (blood clots) - urgent medical help is needed. These signs suggest a serious cause of the bleeding. Even if the baby is out of the most sensitive phase, a miscarriage (late abortion) can still occur around the 18th week of pregnancy.
Midwife tip
Especially if you are becoming a mom for the first time, you probably don't know exactly what to look for if you want to feel your child's movements. It doesn't get any easier because the little one makes itself noticeable so early in many forms that are difficult to distinguish from normal body processes: as stroking from the inside against the stomach, as "grumbling intestines" like after a heavy meal and so on. Do not put yourself under any pressure not to have to feel anything in the 18th week of pregnancy, everything will come in its time.
