You have now been pregnant for about half of your pregnancy. Halfway, if we calculate from the due date, but since it can happen both before and after the due date, it's difficult to determine. But you are halfway to the due date.
Halfway!
At this point, you may have started to get used to being pregnant. But other discomforts are beginning to arise as a result of the strain and hormone levels that your body is exposed to during pregnancy. This begins around this week, and you can see more about which discomforts in week 20.
Something special that you may start to notice now is that the skin on your belly may begin to itch. This happens because the skin on your belly starts to stretch a lot, which can cause you to experience itching. It can help to buy a good cream and apply it to the hard-tested skin.
The fetus is growing rapidly, and you will likely be able to see this on your belly and perhaps also on your own weight and energy needs.
Baby feels and senses
Right now in week 21, the baby is lying in a protected womb and sensing its first encounters with the outside world. First, the baby senses its own body and the inside of the womb. There are kicks and touches on the uterine wall, the umbilical cord, and the fetus's own little body.
The fetus senses the taste of the amniotic fluid, feels its own body, and can suck on its fingers. The latter helps develop the baby's sucking reflex, which is important after birth, as it is the source of getting food. The small hands are now so developed and strong that they can grasp together, which may affect the umbilical cord, but it is strong enough to withstand what the small baby hands expose it to.
The baby's sense of hearing is also well-developed, and from its safe cocoon in your womb, the child will lie and listen to the outside world, especially your voice and the sound of your heart. Another thing that is relatively well-developed in the baby now is the digestive system. In fact, it is so developed that around week 21, it begins to absorb parts of the amniotic fluid, which will become the baby's first stool after birth.
Size of the fetus
You are halfway to the due date, and the little fetus in your womb is now about 25 cm and weighs around 350 grams. This may not sound like much considering you are halfway through the pregnancy, but towards birth and in the last weeks of pregnancy, the baby will make a growth spurt and quickly approach the normal birth weight, which is between 2.5 and 4 kg.
Advice for the partner
Halfway through the pregnancy! This also means that the focus that has previously been on abortion risk and pregnancy discomforts is gradually beginning to shift to focus on childbirth and the things that are necessary to have around and after the birth.
Here you can help find the most important things and participate actively in, for example, childbirth preparation, both for your own sake but also for your partner's, so that you are both as prepared as possible for the upcoming birth.
At this point in time, there may also be an increased need to pamper your partner. Perhaps you should plan something special together, or if you feel the urge to pamper your partner but are unsure how, a Mammabox is an obvious choice. It is a box filled with relevant items for pregnancy and pampering based on the trimester of pregnancy your partner is in.
