19. week of pregnancy – course, child development, tests

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You and your baby start at week 19 of pregnancy. If you are over 35, you may be doing specialist prenatal tests now. Find out what you can expect from your body at 19 weeks of pregnancy and how your baby is changing.

19th week of pregnancy – course

You are almost halfway through your pregnancy and your little one is growing almost visibly. At the moment, it is about 16-17 cm from the top of the head to the bottom border of the buttocks and weighs 250 g, so it resembles a mango in size. It begins to slowly fill the uterus, but still has enough space to constantly change its position. As he grows up and gets a little tighter, moving around won’t be so easy.

Despite the fact that your stomach is not very big yet, in the 19th week of pregnancy you are getting more and more sore. Swelling of the legs and ankles, back pain, occasional dizziness, muscle cramps – all of this can be painful. First of all, try to relax and find resources for your ailments on an ongoing basis. Many of them can be helped by physical activity, for example in the form of a swimming pool.

See also: Exercises in pregnancy – types of exercises, rules, contraindications

19rd week of pregnancy – baby’s development

The baby is still moving intensely, but these are not completely random movements. In the 19th week of pregnancy, the baby responds vividly to stimulithat come to him from the outside world. He may be scared off by loud noise, react to a stroking belly, calm down when you start walking. When bright light hits the stomach, it will also register it. The child slowly learns to grasp and acquires reflexesnecessary for his life, such as breathing or swallowing.

He also moves the facial muscles very vividly, making various grimaces. Of course, they are still unaware, but the child may now smile and even stick out his tongue.

Further myelination of the axons continues so that the nerve impulses in your baby’s body will be transmitted more quickly. In the 19th week of pregnancy, one more interesting thing happens in the nervous system – the temperature regulation system is slowly developing.

Maintaining an appropriate body temperature is one of the main problems that a newborn will struggle with after birth, which is why it still stores fat, including special brown fat. For the time being, it is helped to maintain the temperature by the fetus and lanugo, which it is covered with.

Do you remember where your baby’s ears were just a few weeks ago? They were located on the sides of the neck. By 19 weeks of pregnancy, they are already seated in the right place on the sides of the head and slowly start to stand out.

19st week of pregnancy – changes in your body

Sure in the 19th week of pregnancy, your spine bothers you a lot. This happens whenever the body’s center of gravity changes and the spine is in an unnatural position for itself. In this case, rest will not help, but exercise. You can try, for example, aqua-aerobics for pregnant women. Thanks to appropriately adapted classes, they are safe practically in every trimester (of course, except in cases where pregnancy is high risk and the doctor advises against classes for specific reasons).

Backache, unfortunately, can cause headaches. Changes in pressure that your body is not used to also do not help. Try to oxygenate as much as possible; air your bedroom especially before going to sleep. Never get up abruptly as this can aggravate the dizziness and headache. You can also think of a specially contoured pillow that will help you keep the cervical in the right position. Changes in this area are usually responsible for the headache.

In the 19th week of pregnancy you will feel soreness in the ligaments on which the uterus hangs. You can try rubbing the groin area, but the ligaments are hooked deep in your stomach, so you are not able to help yourself as you would like.

In addition to the aforementioned ailments, there will also be changes in the face. These will be caused by hormones that cause brown spots on the nose, cheeks and forehead. These types of discoloration during pregnancy are called chloasma or a pregnancy mask. Pregnancy hormones also cause linea nigra to appear, which is a black line that runs along the abdomen to the pubic bone. Each of these changes will fade over time after birth, but sun exposure can increase pigmentation, so consider using a sunscreen or just avoiding the sun.

At 19 weeks of pregnancy, your skin may also become itchy. Itching may be the first sign that stretch marks will appear soon. To avoid this, it is worth starting abdominal skin care with the use of stretch mark preparations intended for pregnant women. Regular moisturizing is important here. The skin of the abdomen must be moistened with an olive at least twice a day. It is now the best cosmetic for the daily care of your body.

An additional problem at this time is also becoming urinary tract infections, which are caused by hormonal changes that, in turn, occur in your body during pregnancy, giving bacteria the perfect conditions for growth. Symptoms include frequent urge to urinate, abdominal pain, stinging and burning when urinating. Sometimes there may also be blood in the urine.

If any of these symptoms develops, see your doctor immediately. Untreated urinary tract infections can lead to various complications, such as pyelonephritis. Depending on the course of the infection, your doctor may recommend over-the-counter medications or antibiotics.

The 19th week of pregnancy is also the time of a runny nose, i.e. rhinitis. Due to the increase in the concentration of estrogen and progesterone, the blood flow through the nasal mucosa increases, its swelling and, sometimes, the production of a watery discharge. If, in addition to rhinitis, you have symptoms such as cough, fever, feeling crushed or unwell, see your doctor as soon as possible.

Remember that you are pregnant now and you need to take care of more than just yourself. Remember to take any medications without first consulting your doctor. There is no great cure for rhinitis associated with hormonal changes. All that is left to do is to humidify the air in the house, especially during the heating season.

Also check: Pregnancy and medications

Especially important in the 19st week of pregnancy

If you are prone to yeast infections, you should pay special attention to your body. A large amount of vaginal discharge may make you more susceptible to infection. At the first disturbing symptoms, consult your doctor.

Remember that during pregnancy, your diet must include vegetables and fruits, which are an invaluable source of vitamins and microelements. However, some of them are especially important to you. They can be divided by color, i.e. green vegetables such as: lettuce, spinach or broccoli, which are full of folic acid, necessary for the proper development of the child. Then yellow and orange vegetables, ie carrots, peppers and pumpkins, in which you can find large amounts of vitamin A. It is needed for proper vision and regulates the growth of epithelial tissue.

It is just as important that you give up intensive sunbathing. Although sunlight is essential for the synthesis of vitamin D, lying in the sun for too long can cause headaches, overheating, and even fainting. Do not forget that your body is going through hormonal changes and therefore you are now more likely to develop, unfortunately, irreversible, sun discoloration. It is worth using creams with high UV filters and covering your face with a cap or a hat.

Various exercises such as walking, swimming, yoga or Pilates will also be very good for your health. In the 19th week of pregnancy, it’s a good time to work on strengthening your aching back muscles. Exercise can also help reduce stress levels. Before you start any exercises, you should consult your doctor beforehand, who will help you make the right choice.

The 19th week of pregnancy is also the time when your belly will no longer let you sleep peacefullyand you cannot forget that sleeping on your back from the second trimester puts a strain on the spine and back muscles, and can also put pressure on the main blood vessels, which will result in dizziness. To remedy this, try to sleep on your side with both legs bent and place a pillow between your knees. You can also put the pillow under your stomach. When you wake up in the middle of the night on your back, take it easy and just go back to sleeping on your side.

All women should have free access to prenatal testing

Tests in the 19st week of pregnancy

If you are over 35, have had a previous baby, or have had a genetic condition in your family’s medical history, you may consider having additional prenatal tests for any impairment. The tests are divided into invasive and non-invasive.

Invasive testing carries a higher risk of harm to the fetus, but today medical standards are so high that you have nothing to fear. The most popular invasive prenatal test is amniocentesis.

Another test, recommended in special cases between 15 and 20 weeks of pregnancy, is the toxoplasmosis antibody test. They should be done by all women who have a cat at home or who often come into contact with cats.

The 19th week of pregnancy is also the week when a second ultrasound scan would come in handy. If you haven’t made an appointment yet, please do so as soon as possible. Ultrasound examination will enable the assessment of the correct anatomy of the child’s body, especially the heart. Additionally, if you are lucky, you will be able to recognize its gender.

Find out more: Second ultrasound – what can I expect?

19th week of pregnancy – preparation for a toddler

In the 19th week of pregnancy, it is worthwhile to slowly consider where you will arrange a place for your baby and what to equip it with. During the week you also probably already know what the gender of the baby is. That’s good, this knowledge will help you choose the right colors for your toddler’s entire layette.

A layette with basic things should include a cot, a changing and bathing place, as well as a cupboard for clothes. Most likely, the child will share bedrooms with you at the very beginning, so you do not need to arrange his own room right away.

Preparing these things at this stage is very good because preparing them will prepare you mentally for the arrival of a new family member. Thanks to this approach, it will be easier for you to spread over time, after all, large expenses for a full layette for the baby.

Remember that if you start preparing now, you will have time to take advantage of various promotions, think about the choice or maybe use used things in good condition or ask for advice from friends and colleagues who have already raised their own children. Earlier preparations give you more time and make you sure that you already have everything you need.

You must not forget that with the developing pregnancy you will have less and less energy, and the simplest activities such as shopping will become more and more challenging for you.

Besides all of this, there is one more very important reason. Namely, while the pregnancy should last 40 weeks, sometimes it may happen that babies are born much earlier, even around the 25-26 week. Early delivery is often accompanied by various dramatic, violent circumstances that will not favor or leave time for the organization of the baby’s living space. Taking care of these aspects of motherhood in advance will allow you to stay calm and focus on what is really important in parenting.

See also: Nutrition for pregnant women – III trimester

Interesting facts about the 19th week of pregnancy

If you could see your baby’s X-ray right now, you would see a very complex skeleton. An interesting thing could also be observed in the child’s jaw. In the nineteenth week of pregnancy, the buds of permanent teeth form under the milk buds, which will break through the gums only in a few years!

Additionally, in the 19th week of pregnancy, 25 to 30 liters of blood flows through the child’s body every day, which is full of nutrients the baby needs. Interestingly, the child expels from 7 to 17 milliliters of urine every day. During this period, too, the baby gets hiccups. Thanks to them, he can exercise the diaphragm muscles.

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