Week 18 of pregnancy

This week, your baby is making a significant growth spurt – and with it, your belly. Gradually, its additional weight and the growing uterus are becoming more noticeable on your body and can cause minor pregnancy discomforts. You can read about what they are, how you can now take good care of yourself, and how your baby is developing in this article.

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

Your baby is comparable to a sweet potato this week with a length of 14 centimeters. From now on, it is 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 as large as a melon. With the growing baby bump, many women experience their first symptoms. For example, the strain on the round ligaments that hold your uterus in place continues to increase: you probably feel a pulling sensation in the muscle fiber strands in your lower abdomen. The enlarging uterus presses more and more on your bladder, as a result. As your weight shifts forward due to your belly, you may also occasionally notice slight balance issues or suffer from back pain. Some pregnant women also experience (again) 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 , who cares for your baby, has now grown to her full size. From now on, only her structure will change.

The . 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 the weight gain.

Hemorrhoids

An unpleasant side effect that some expectant mothers are now becoming familiar with are 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, especially the extremities of your child, that is, its arms and legs, are growing. 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), which is the measurement from the highest point of their head to the tailbone, is taken. The reason their legs are not initially measured is that 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.
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This is now important

• As the skeleton of your child is now growing rapidly and their bones are hardening, sufficient calcium is especially important because it contributes to the development of healthy bones. The 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, leading to a deficiency can occur. You can usually recognize this by calf cramps. To prevent Can you additionally take magnesium in the form of dietary supplements? taking, massages and alternating showers also help against 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, causing 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 also in exchange with our
LILLYDOO experts are being created. Nevertheless, the ones listed here can still
Never replace personal consultation with your doctor or midwife with advice. Always contact your healthcare professional for questions and professional care.