If this is your first pregnancy, it may take you a little while to realise that those fluttering feelings are your baby's movements. At first, your baby's movements may feel like bubbles popping, or a soft rolling or swirling sensation. As your baby grows and becomes more snug in your womb, their movements may become slower, but they should feel just as strong and powerful, right up to and including labour. BabyCentre mums-to-be share what their baby's movements feel like during pregnancy. Nathan Haniger for BabyCenter.
It feels more like my baby is poking me just below my belly button! I'm desperate to feel solid kicks! It's a great feeling, apart from the downward kicks. They're not very pleasant at all. It's like there's a party going on in there sometimes!
My belly pops out when they move and it stretches out when they turn around. The movements are stronger now but they're not painful. Some are stronger than others but I can't quite place where they're coming from. My whole tummy suddenly changes shape. The developing digestive system has been going through its paces for several weeks already.
Your baby swallows amniotic fluid, which makes its way through the stomach and intestines. That fluid will combine with dead cells and secretions in the intestines to form meconium — a black, tarry substance you'll see at the very first diaper change.
Your baby will need bile to digest nutrients, and at 18 weeks, the gall bladder may begin to work. The illustration below shows how things may be looking inside your belly this week:. If this is your first pregnancy, you may feel the baby begin to move inside your belly sometime soon. This fluttering feeling is known as quickening. As your baby gets bigger, you may notice stronger movements and maybe even kicks in the weeks to come. Because each mom is different, you may feel this movement earlier this is common if this is not your first baby or in some cases even later.
At this stage of your pregnancy, your body is going through a lot of circulation changes, such as increased blood volume and rapidly expanding blood vessels, which can cause your blood pressure to drop.
You may also notice around 18 weeks that your feet are getting bigger. A part of this is due to swelling caused by water retention, known as edema, which can occur from the second trimester onward. Hormones also play a part in growing feet. The pregnancy hormone relaxin, which relaxes your pelvic joints so your baby can fit through the birth canal, loosens the ligaments in your feet, causing the foot bones to spread.
At 18 weeks pregnant, here are some of the symptoms you may be experiencing:. Women often describe as more forceful, with more rolling, squirming and pressing movements. A healthy baby will keep moving when you are in labour.
There are no set number of movements a baby should have, so counting kicks or recording on a chart is no longer recommended. It is different for each infant. If you notice anything unusual, seek out medical help as soon as possible. This may involve you going to hospital for monitoring or treatment. Learn more here about the development and quality assurance of healthdirect content. Read more on raisingchildren. Read more on Ngala website.
Pregnant women are being urged not to rely on smartphone apps that claim to listen to your baby's heartbeat.
At week 16, you might begin to feel your baby moving, while hormonal changes may be affecting your libido. This essential guide for parents of premature babies covers gestational age, premature birth risk factors, premature labour and premature development.
Drinking alcohol in pregnancy can cause birth defects and long-term health problems for babies and children. This is fetal alcohol spectrum disorder FASD. In this pregnancy week by week guide, find out how your baby is growing, how your body is changing and how to look after yourself. Once you start noticing these gentle movements, you may find they appear intermittently. One day you may feel a lot of activity, then nothing the next day. Your baby might also move more in response to a loud noise, a strong emotion you experience or something sugary you drink or eat, such as a glass of orange juice or a candy bar.
There is no right amount of movement you should feel at 18 weeks, since a number of factors influence when you first feel your baby move. Moms who have already had a baby tend to notice fetal activity earlier because they have experience recognizing a baby's first subtle movements. Thinner moms may sense movement earlier than heavier moms.
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