Pregnancy Week 18
 How big is your baby?
This week your baby measures 14.2cm (5.59 inches) and weighs in at around 190g (6.70 ounces).
Your baby's development
Your baby's pads on his/her fingers and toes will begin to form the characteristic swirls and creases of finger and toe prints.
By this week meconium - which is the early fecal waste matter - will start to
accumulate in the babys bowels. Meconium is made up of a number of different
materials such as; cell loss, digestive secretions, amniotic fluid, etc.
By the middle of the week your babys eyes will now look forward rather than to the sides and the ears will move to their final position.
Most of your baby's bones will also have begun to harden as ossification begins to take place.
Your development
At week 18 of your pregnancy your uterus is about the size of a cantaloupe and
the top will be just below your bellybutton. At this stage you should have already gained between 10-13 pounds
(4.5-5.8kg's).
By the end of this week your heart will need to work around 40% more than normal
to support the demand your baby is placing on you. In most cases this is no real
issue as a normal healthy person would easily cope with the increased
requirements.
You may have already felt your baby move, and even if you haven't then you will
shortly. At this stage you shouldn't be expecting any major movement as your
baby is still quite small with lots of room to move around.
Vaginal discharge
is common during pregnancy and is usually a whitish color, and this discharge
may increase as your pregnancy continues. The increase in vaginal discharge is nothing to worry about, and is
completely normal.
Nearly every women suffers from back ache during her pregnancy, you may have already felt it, but one thing is for sure, as you get bigger, so the pain will become more intense.
Below are some tips to try and lessen this pain:
 Watch your weight gain. Try and keep your weight gain steady
Exercise regularly
Sleep on your left side
Use heat pads on the area which is sore to try and relieve the pain
Speak to your healthcare provider about any medication which you can use to reduce the pain
Pregnancy Massage
Your Nutrition
During the last two trimesters
you will need to increase your
carbohydrate intake, and some good sources of
carbohydrates include:
 Potatoes
Green beans
Canned corn
Bananans
Raisins
Watermelon
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