Your baby

Your baby is around 16.4cm long now. Their hair is starting to grow – as are the nerves in the brain that control smell, hearing, taste and touch.

Abdominal organs such as the stomach, liver and intestines are now fully encased in the abdominal cavity.

Your little one’s tooth buds for their milk teeth are now in place. By now, on your ultrasound, their spine will also appear quite straight.

You

Congratulations, as a 20 week pregnant mum-to-be, you’re halfway through your pregnancy! You may feel aches in your abdomen as your uterus continues to grow – and could start to notice some backache or occasional leg cramps.

You may have noticed a number of changes in your body that affect the way you move and exercise. 20 weeks pregnant weight gain and the change in your centre of gravity are likely to affect your posture. Regular gentle exercise will help this and alleviate stress.

From this week a lot of women start to feel the first kick. It may feel like butterflies in your tummy. Most of your baby’s movements will be reflexes but they will be exploring their surroundings freely with their hands and feet.

If you’re finding sex is becoming difficult try some new positions. Find out more about sex during pregnancy.

What to think about

During this week’s scan, you may have asked to know your baby’s sex. Remember this isn’t 100 per cent accurate unless you have an amniocentesis test. If you’re not sure you want to find out the sex of your baby, weigh up the pros and cons.

Your Maternity Certificate should be available from your midwife or doctor around now. You should give that to your employer you certificate so that your statutory payments can be organised.

Take care when cleaning, some products make contain harmful chemicals so make sure you read the labels before use.

If you haven’t already, get signed up to your antenatal classes. They usually begin in the seventh or eighth month but they fill up pretty quickly. Find out more about the benefits of antenatal classes.

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