Your Pregnancy: The Fifth Month

THE FIFTH MONTH (Weeks 17-20)

Are you feeling achy? Not a surprise. Your baby is on a growth spurt this month and your abdomen is stretching to accommodate her.

Your Baby

By the end of this month your baby will be 8-12 inches long and could weigh up to a pound. Your baby is developing the thick white substance called vernix that will cover his body until birth to protect his thin skin from the amniotic fluid. Your baby’s bones and muscles are developed now and she can stretch, yawn, and make facial expressions. She can kick as well as move around, twisting and turning. You should be able to feel her little kicks and turns by now. She is also sleeping and waking, probably on a fairly regular schedule. Your baby is also developing his or her unique fingerprints. If your baby is a boy, his testicles are descending. If your baby is a girl, her uterus is fully formed and she has eggs in her ovaries.

Your Body

By the end of this month, you will be halfway through your pregnancy journey! Your uterus is now the size of a cantaloupe, and you are probably wearing your maternity clothes. The ligaments in your abdomen are stretching and you may be seeing stretch marks. In addition to aches in your abdomen, you may be getting leg cramps, mild swelling in your feet and ankles and backaches. You may also find that you are especially hungry this month. Some women will want to eat everything in sight, while others are slowed by bouts of heartburn and indigestion. On the upside, your hair and nails are probably stronger and healthier than they ever have been.

What You Need to Know

Even though you are likely to feel like you are hungry all the time this month, it is important not to go overboard. Of course, you should gain weight during pregnancy, but too much can be unhealthy for your and baby. Try to eat healthy and remember those prenatal supplements. If you have frequent foot or leg cramps, adding a calcium supplement can help.

Your doctor can probably tell the sex of your baby by ultrasound now. Do you want to know? Knowing your baby’s gender can make preparing easier, but many parents still want to do things the old-fashioned way and be surprised.

Now is a good time to start setting up the nursery. You still have plenty of energy for planning and shopping. Make sure that you leave the painting to someone else – you need to stay far away from any and all harmful fumes. Standing on a ladder probably isn’t the best idea either.

Read More About the Different Months in Pregnancy:

• First Month
• Second Month
• Third Month
• Fourth Month
• Fifth Month
• Sixth Month
• Seventh Month
• Eighth Month
• Ninth Month

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