20 Weeks Pregnant – Everything You Need To Know

You’re 20 weeks pregnant. Congratulations you are at the half way point in your pregnancy!

You’re definitely looking and feeling pregnant now.

Your uterus is around the same height as your belly button.

Consequently you’re probably finding it harder bending in the middle!

If you haven’t already, you might be due to have your mid pregnancy ultrasound.

It’s also called the anomaly scan and is performed to look at your baby’s development and discover any potential problems.

Some pregnant women worry about too many ultrasounds during pregnancy. You may like to read Ultrasounds In Pregnancy – Risks And Benefits to help make an informed choice. 

This ultrasound scan is often when women find out they’re pregnant with twins!

Your doctor or midwife will also start to measure your belly from 20 weeks of pregnancy.

This is your fundal height and is the distance from your pubic bone to the top of your uterus.

The fundal height is the way your care provider can track your pregnancy progression.

Your measurement should match your week of pregnancy, give or take a few centimetres.

If the fundal height is too low or too high, it can indicate a pregnancy complication.

This might be gestational diabetes, fetal growth problems or baby’s position is breech.

If this scan detects potential problems you’ll be offered further testing or monitoring.

It can be frightening to told all is not tracking along as expected.

Just remember to ask your care provider plenty of questions and get the information you need to make the right choices for you.

20 Weeks Pregnant – Everything You Need To Know

Pregnancy up to this point can seem like a one-sided affair to your partner.

Not much looks to be going on from the outside.

But clearly a lot is happening on the inside!

Your partner might be feeling relieved early pregnancy symptoms have eased off.

And also really looking forward to feeling your baby moving too.

Exactly when this will be possible is hard to tell.

And it varies a great deal between women and pregnancies.

However any time from now is a good time for your partner to start trying to feel baby’s movements.

Week 20 can be a good time to check in with each other and reconnect.

Especially if you’ve been really tired up to now.

Perhaps your partner has been concerned about how to bond with your growing baby.

Or has worries about becoming a parent.

Communication between couples about how they see themselves as parents can’t start too early.

Maybe a weekend away will give you a chance to take stock of where you are at and how you see the next months unrolling.

Involving each other in things outside of baby’s arrival can be important too.

Even a movie night at home snuggling up can do your connection wonders.

20 Weeks Pregnant – Your Body

You may find you’re sweating quite a lot now, which is your body’s way of trying to cool off.

Stay hydrated and don’t allow yourself to get overheated. The sweating will ease off after baby is born.

Heartburn and indigestion are likely to make an appearance.

This is due to baby pushing up out of the pelvis and crowding your digestive system.

Your energy levels should be back to normal now, especially after a good night’s sleep.

Make sure to include plenty of protein-rich foods in your diet to help boost your energy levels.

It is really important to ensure you are getting plenty of nutrients in your diet, especially iron.

During pregnancy your blood volume increases by up to 50% more than usual.

Iron is required to make haemaglobin (protein in red blood cells that delivers oxygen).

In fact it’s normal for iron levels to drop with the extra blood volume your body is making.

Likewise it’s important you make sure you’re getting enough iron in your diet.

Iron can be found in red meat, dark leafy greens, dried fruits and oatmeal.

Consuming iron rich foods with those high in vitamin C helps boost iron absorption.

At 20 weeks pregnant, you are more prone to urinary tract infections (UTI), because the smooth muscles in your urinary tract relax.

Keep an eye out for symptoms such as pain or burning when you urinate.

Frequent urination is a common symptom of a bladder infection but is also common during pregnancy.

If you have any pain or burning when you urinate it is a good idea to see your caregiver.

Untreated UTIs can lead to more serious problems like kidney infections.

20 Weeks Pregnant – Your Baby

Your baby at 20 weeks is growing fast but still has plenty of room to move about.

Loud noises can cause your baby to startle.

Not only can can your baby hear your voice he can recognise your voice over other people’s voices.

If you haven’t started talking to him already, now is a good time.

Listening to classical music at the end of the day may be soothing to both of you.

Especially if you take a warm bath at the same time. Just remember not to use water that is too hot.

Your baby is swallowing plenty of amniotic fluid now.

This is being filtered and some of it is becoming meconium.

This is a thick tar-like substance that fills the intestines and will be the first bowel movement after birth.

This week, your baby weighs about 289 grams and s about the size of a banana. The crown to rump measurement is  16.5 cm long.