19 weeks pregnant: Keeping abreast of changes
Your nipples look different and this change helps your newborn to latch on. Find out what else is happening this week.
Your body
By the start of the fifth month of pregnancy, you should have gained between about 2.7-6.3kg, of which only about 200g is your baby! The rest is made up of your placenta (170g); amniotic fluid (320g); your uterus (320g) and your breasts, which have increased in weight by about 180g each.
What's happening to your nipples?
Your areola (the dark area around the nipple is getting larger and darker. This should return to normal eventually, but could last until your baby is one year old. Yours aren't the only nipples that are changing: your baby's are now visible too.
Did you know?
The darker your nipples are, the easier it is for your newborn baby to find them and latch on when feeding.
A neck massage is always welcomed…. but especially during preganncy.
Feeling dizzy?
Don't be surprised if you feel light-headed now and again. Hypertension (low blood pressure) is common during pregnancy from the second trimester onwards and can make you feel dizzy. You can help yourself by avoiding sleeping or lying on your back, and standing up slowly after sitting or lying down. Another cause of light-headedness is high blood sugar (hyperglycaemia) or low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia): to keep your blood sugar levels stable, don't skip meals and eat well.
Whatever turns you on
What words apply?
Sex is…fine/exhausting/okay/great-when you feel like it/a nuisance/better than ever.
Contrary to old wives' tales, sex is perfectly safe* while you're pregnant and – because of the increased blood flow to your nether regions, plus more lubricating vaginal discharge than usual – can be amazingly satisfying for both of you.
*Unless you have a previous history of early miscarriage, or your doctor has advised you against making love, it's fine to have sex as often as you fancy.
Your baby
Your baby now measures 14cm from crown to rump and she weighs about 200g. Between now and her birth day, her weight will increase by more than 15 times!
Working out in the womb
Although you won't feel a lot of her movements because she's so well cushioned by amniotic fluid, your baby is far from idle. And while earlier in pregnancy her movements were primitive reflexes of the arms and legs, they now become more deliberate and co-ordinated. Connections are being made between the nerve fibres, and your baby is testing out her motor skills.
She uses the ample space inside the uterus as her personal exercise studio, twisting and turning, doing somersaults and pushing herself off the muscular walls of the uterus with her head and feet. All this activity helps to strengthen her skeleton, and tone and develop her muscles.
