She is swallowing amniotic fluid, and her kidneys continue to make urine. Hair on her scalp is sprouting, too. Sensory development reaches its peak this week. The nerve cells serving each of the senses – taste, smell, hearing, seeing and touch – are developing in their specialised areas of the brain. Nerve cell production slows down as existing nerve cells grow larger and make more complex connections.
You may have started to feel your baby's movements. If the idea of having a baby still seems remote, nothing makes it more real than feeling her move for the first time. Most mums-to-be start to feel movement (called quickening) between 18 weeks and 20 weeks.
If you've been pregnant before, you'll feel things earlier rather than later. What you may first think is a rumbling stomach may be your baby doing some back flips. Make note of when you first start feeling your baby and tell your midwife at your next visit.
Have a look at our sex and relationships section to see how having a baby will affect your life.
Note: Every baby develops differently. This page is designed to give a general idea of how a fetus grows in the uterus.
See your previous stage: 18 weeks pregnant
See your next stage: 20 weeks pregnant
ReferencesThis article was written using the following sources:
Hill M. 2009. Development week by week. University of New South Wales Embryology. embryology.med.unsw.edu.au [Accessed August 2009]
Medline. 2009. Fetal development. Medline Plus Medical Encyclopedia. www.nlm.nih.gov [Accessed August 2009]
Visembryo. 2006. Pregnancy timeline. The Visible Embryo. www.visembryo.com [Accessed August 2009]