This week, your baby is going through a significant growth spurt—and so is your belly. Gradually, the extra weight and your growing uterus are becoming more noticeable and can cause minor pregnancy discomforts. In this article, you’ll learn what they are, how you can take good care of yourself right now, and how your baby is developing.

How big is your baby in the 18th week of pregnancy?

This week, your baby is about the size of a sweet potato and measures around 14 centimeters. From now on, it is about as large as the placenta and fills it out. Baby and placenta continue to grow in parallel, so this size ratio will remain until birth.

18th week of pregnancy: What's changing for you

Your belly is growing! No wonder—after all, your uterus is now about the size of a melon. As your baby bump grows, many women experience their first symptoms. For example, the strain on the round ligaments that hold your uterus in place continues to increase, so you may feel a pulling sensation in the muscle fiber strands in your lower abdomen. The enlarging uterus also presses more and more on your bladder. As your weight shifts forward due to your belly, you may occasionally notice slight balance issues or experience back pain. Some pregnant women also (again) experience circulatory problems, as the amount of blood transported through your body continues to rise. Therefore, it is important to take regular breaks and relax in between.

The Placenta , which cares for your baby, has now grown to its full size. From now on, only its structure will change.

This is completely normal, after all: your baby, your uterus, amniotic fluid, additional blood and water in your body, as well as fat as an energy reserve, all contribute to weight gain.

Hemorrhoids

An unpleasant side effect that some expectant mothers are now becoming familiar with is hemorrhoids. Although everyone has hemorrhoids—that is, vascular cushions at the end of the intestine—we usually do not notice them. This can change during pregnancy, as blood vessel dilation, increased blood flow, and pressure from the uterus can cause the cushions to protrude to varying degrees. This can be quite uncomfortable, but hemorrhoids are generally easy to treat. How to recognize hemorrhoids, how to prevent them, and how to relieve discomfort can be found in the article "."

Week 18: Development of Your Baby

During this week, your baby’s extremities—its arms and legs—are growing in particular. This brings it closer to its final proportions. It sleeps around 20 hours a day, which is not surprising considering that its body requires a lot of energy for development. Your baby still does not have a sleep-wake cycle, but it mainly sleeps when you are awake and active, because your movements soothe and rock it to sleep. During the awake phases in between, it prepares for life outside your body: it practices grasping and trains its breathing reflex by inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid. Not only are its lungs filled with amniotic fluid until birth, but it also reaches its digestive tract when swallowing. There, it is processed and, along with dead cells, enters the intestine. After birth, your baby will excrete the amniotic fluid, cells, and everything else it swallowed in the womb as so-called .

Your baby's reproductive organs are fully developed by the 18th week of pregnancy, and the mammary glands and nipples are now forming. During an your doctor can determine from this week whether your child's heart and other organs are developing well.

This is how your baby is measured

To monitor your baby's age-appropriate development, at each check-up, their crown-to-rump length (CRL)—the measurement from the highest point of their head to the tailbone—is taken. Their legs are not initially measured because their posture is still too curled to accurately assess their length. This changes by the end of the 18th week of pregnancy: now, the torso and legs have grown enough that, as an alternative to the crown-to-rump length, the crown-to-heel length (CHL) is measured. You may have also noticed during your last check-up that, gradually, other measurements become relevant, providing insights into your baby's developmental stage. For example, from the 4th month of pregnancy onward, their head and chest circumference and length are also measured.
Their thigh bone (femur length) is also measured. It is possible that, based on the results during pregnancy, the originally determined Expected Date of Birth will be further adjusted. If you want to learn more about which values are relevant for which examinations, check out our article "<|vq_hbr_audio_16371|><|vq_hbr_audio_10759|><|vq_hbr_audio_1259|><|vq_hbr_audio_1259|><|vq_hbr_audio_12314|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio_10528|><|vq_hbr_audio The maternity record – how to learn to understand it “ finished.

This is now important

• As your child’s skeleton is now growing rapidly and their bones are hardening, sufficient calcium is especially important because it contributes to the development of healthy bones. This trace element is found, for example, in dairy products, but also in vegetables like fennel or broccoli.

• Your body excretes more magnesium during pregnancy than usual, which can lead to a deficiency. You can usually recognize this by calf cramps. To prevent them, magnesium supplements may help; massages and alternating showers can also relieve calf cramps.

• Did you know that your baby can sense how you are feeling? During fear, anger, or joy
  your body releases certain hormones that act as messengers. Through the placenta, your baby also receives some of these hormones, which can cause it to move restlessly in stressful situations or to be completely relaxed in happy moments. One more reason to take good care of yourself!

With our pregnancy calendar, we want to accompany you through this exciting time and provide you with relevant information, which is also created in exchange with our
LILLYDOO experts. Nevertheless, the information listed here can
never replace a personal consultation with your doctor or midwife. Always contact your healthcare professional with questions and for professional care.