19 weeks pregnant

How big is your baby at 19 weeks?

About the size of a beef tomato — around 15.3 cm (6 in) long head to bottom, according to the NHS, weighing roughly 272 g (9.6 oz).

This is the last week measured head to bottom, so do not be alarmed when next week's figure is 10 cm longer.

A note on the numbers: up to week 19 the NHS measures crown to rump — head to bottom, because the legs are curled. At week 20 it switches to head to heel, which is why the length appears to leap 10 cm in a week. Weights here are the median from the WHO fetal growth charts, which begin at 14 weeks; half of babies weigh more, half less.

What's developing this week

The adult teeth are starting to grow, lining up in the jaw behind the first set. Your baby will be around six before any of them appear.

Weight gain is now the main event. The NHS puts it in perspective on this week's page: your baby is putting on weight, getting ready for a birth about 21 weeks away. Between now and term the weight multiplies roughly twelvefold while the length only doubles.

Hearing is developing to the point where outside sound starts to register, and the brain region controlling movement is complete — which is why kicks become organised rather than reflexive over the coming weeks.

What you might feel

The hormone relaxin is loosening your ligaments, and this is the week people usually notice. The NHS explains the consequence plainly: your back, knees and ankles are left without their usual support, so exercise such as running can become uncomfortable. Staying active is still recommended — 150 minutes a week — but swapping impact for swimming, walking or a bike is a sensible response to a real change, not giving up.

Pelvic pain appears on the NHS symptom list from this week, and is worth mentioning early rather than enduring: pelvic girdle pain responds well to physiotherapy and referrals take time.

Sleep

Not sleeping is one of the most common complaints of mid-pregnancy. The NHS suggests sleeping on your side, pillows to support your bump and aching muscles, and a pillow between your knees. Side-sleeping is a comfort suggestion at 19 weeks; it only becomes a safety recommendation from 28 weeks.

The NHS also says something on this week's page that is easy to skim: trust your instincts and share any worries with your health professional. Vague unease is a legitimate reason to ring.

Is 19 weeks pregnant 4 months or 5 months?

Week 19 is in month 5, its second week.

There is no official weeks-to-months map. A calendar month averages about 4.3 weeks, not 4, so 40 weeks is a little over nine months — and two apps can disagree about which month you are in. The most widely used mapping:

• Month 1 — weeks 1 to 4
• Month 2 — weeks 5 to 8
• Month 3 — weeks 9 to 13
• Month 4 — weeks 14 to 17
• Month 5 — weeks 18 to 22
• Month 6 — weeks 23 to 27
• Month 7 — weeks 28 to 31
• Month 8 — weeks 32 to 35
• Month 9 — weeks 36 to 40

Your maternity team will not use months. Everything is booked by week and day — "19 weeks and 3 days" — because a few days change what is offered. The anomaly scan window is 18+0 to 20+6 weeks, not "about five months".

What's happening at your appointments around now

Your anomaly scan is likely to fall this week or next. NICE puts the window at 18 weeks and 0 days to 20 weeks and 6 days; the NHS usually books it between 18 and 21 weeks.

What to expect: about 30 minutes, in a dimly lit room so the sonographer can see the screen. You lie on a couch, gel goes on your bump, and a probe is moved over it while they check your baby's bones, heart, brain, spinal cord, face, kidneys and abdomen, plus your placenta and the blood flow in your womb. Wear loose clothing, take out a belly piercing, bring your maternity notes.

The sonographer will often go quiet. That is concentration, not bad news — they are working through a defined checklist, and sometimes ask a colleague to look at an image as a matter of routine. If your baby is lying awkwardly you may be asked to walk around or eat something and come back. You are told the results after all the checks are done, and most people are told there are no signs of any of the conditions screened for.

Is it safe to fly at 19 weeks pregnant?

Yes, in a straightforward pregnancy — and you are inside the window everyone recommends. The RCOG is unambiguous: occasional air travel is not harmful in an uncomplicated pregnancy. There is no evidence that cabin pressure or humidity harm you or the baby, and none that flying causes miscarriage, early labour or your waters to break. ACOG names 14 to 28 weeks as the best time to travel; the NHS names mid-pregnancy.

If your anomaly scan has not happened yet, have it before you go. The RCOG's point about obstetric emergencies is really about access to care, and the scan is what tells your team whether this pregnancy needs closer watching.

The risk that is real: blood clots

Pregnancy raises deep vein thrombosis (DVT) risk, and that does not ease in the second trimester. ACOG puts it plainly: any travel of four hours or more doubles DVT risk, and pregnancy adds to that. Under four hours the RCOG says you are unlikely to need special measures. Over four hours:

• Loose clothing, comfortable shoes, an aisle seat, regular walks about the cabin
• In-seat exercises roughly every 30 minutes
• Water steadily; cut down on caffeine
• Graduated compression stockings — not ordinary flight socks, and sized for you by a midwife or doctor

With other clot risk factors you may be advised to have heparin injections around the flight.

Practical points

• Airline cut-offs are usually 37 weeks for one baby, 32 for twins, so nothing restricts you yet — but from 28 weeks most airlines want a letter from your midwife or doctor, which the NHS warns can cost money and take weeks.
• Check what maternity and emergency care exists at your destination, and tell your insurer you are pregnant so that cover includes pregnancy-related care.
• Some travel vaccines and anti-malarial tablets are unsuitable in pregnancy; travel to Zika areas is not recommended.

When to call your midwife or doctor

The second trimester is the quietest stretch of pregnancy for most people, which is exactly why it is worth knowing what is not ordinary. Maternity units are staffed around the clock.

Get emergency help now

Call your local emergency number (999 in the UK and Ireland, 911 in the US and Canada, 000 in Australia, 111 in New Zealand) or go to an emergency department if you have:

• Heavy vaginal bleeding, or any bleeding with severe abdominal pain
• Abdominal pain you cannot concentrate through
• Fainting or collapse, chest pain, or sudden breathlessness
• A severe headache painkillers do not touch, blurred vision or flashing lights, pain below your ribs, or sudden swelling of your face, hands or feet — the NHS lists these as pre-eclampsia symptoms, most likely from 20 weeks, needing immediate assessment

Call your midwife or maternity unit today, whatever the hour

• Any vaginal bleeding, however light
• A gush or a steady trickle of fluid from your vagina
• Regular tightenings, or persistent low backache and pelvic pressure
• Discharge that changes colour or texture, smells strongly, or brings itching or soreness
• Itching without a rash, especially at night or on your palms and soles — the NHS asks for this to be checked, because it can be intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy
• A temperature, feeling generally unwell, or burning when you pee
• If movements have started and they slow, weaken or change, call immediately — not in the morning. Having felt nothing yet at 19 weeks is ordinary.

You do not need to be certain something is wrong. That is what the number is for.