Pregnancy week 19: symptoms, baby size and tips
Pregnancy week 19 takes you almost to the halfway point of your pregnancy, and it’s a perfect time to enjoy the second trimester. Your baby is now the size of a mango, their skin is protected by the vernix caseosa and they’re noticing more and more of the world around them: your voice, your heartbeat, the sounds of your everyday life. Let me walk you through it, as always ❤️.
If you’re coming from pregnancy week 18, you’re on a great track. And to have the whole path at hand, check out our pregnancy week by week guide.
What is pregnancy week 19?
As always, pregnancy weeks are counted from the first day of your last period (LMP), not from conception. In week 19 you’re about 17 weeks from fertilisation, in your fifth month of pregnancy (weeks 18–21) and still right in the second trimester, which runs from week 13 to week 28.
You’re only about a week away from the halfway point of the pregnancy. For many women this is one of the most enjoyable stages: fewer symptoms, more energy and a bump that shows more every week. Your uterus is clearly above your navel and it’s normal to notice your waist getting wider and your body rounding out.
How is your baby developing in week 19?
Your baby is still growing fast, and this week brings some big news for their skin and their brain:
- Their skin is covered in vernix caseosa: that whitish, creamy coating that wraps them and protects them from the amniotic fluid, like a natural lotion. It keeps them safe and stops their skin from wrinkling.
- Lanugo now covers their whole body: that super-fine hair that runs across their body which, along with the vernix, keeps them protected and warm inside the sac.
- Their brain is specialising the senses: it’s starting to set aside areas dedicated to smell, taste, hearing, sight and touch. One of the big developments this week.
- Their kidneys are now producing urine: they make urine and pass it into the amniotic fluid, a process that helps keep that fluid balanced.
- Their sweat glands are forming: their skin is getting ready for life outside the womb.
- They keep practising movements: stretching, turning around and moving their arms and legs. Some mums feel their first kicks around now.
If you haven’t taken a test yet, don’t worry: your hCG is still high and any test is very reliable. You can take our free online pregnancy test for guidance with your symptoms, and if yo
