Week 19 of Pregnancy | How Big is Your Baby at 19 Weeks?

Pregnancy is a time of huge change for you, your body and your life. Our guide will help you through this amazing time, letting you know what to expect at each stage and, most excitingly, what your baby is up to each week.

At 19 weeks of pregnancy, your baby is the size of a mango!

You’re almost at the halfway point in your pregnancy and by 19 weeks, your baby has grown from a poppy seed into a mango. This means they’re 16cm (6.25in) from their crown to their rump and 23cm (9in) from crown to heel.

They also weigh around 260g (9.4oz). Before you know it (well, by 27 weeks of pregnancy…) your baby will have reached the kilo mark!

Baby’s using moisturiser already!

Your baby’s skin is producing a thick, creamy white coating called vernix caseosa (1). This coating has a lot of very important functions:

• Vernix acts as a lubricant to ease your baby’s passage through the birth canal
• It forms a waterproof layer over your baby’s skin to protect it during their long immersion in your amniotic fluid
• It helps to prevent infection, both inside the womb and in the first few days after birth
• Vernix helps your baby to regulate their body temperature

• It also promotes wound healing and keeps your baby’s skin supple as they adjust to life on the outside

Your baby’s hair is starting to grow

Your baby’s head hair will soon put in an appearance as the hair canals on their scalp (2) are fully formed and so your baby’s hair will become visible by 21 weeks of pregnancy.

Laying down more fat stores

Although your baby’s been depositing white fat for a couple of weeks now, they’ve started making brown fat as well (3). White fat stores energy, while brown fat helps your baby to generate body heat.

Those pearly whites are also in development

You probably won’t see them until your baby’s around six months old, but rest assured that those baby teeth are working hard on growing (4) while they’re tucked away in those gums.

How you’re feeling at 19 weeks pregnant

Nausea and vomiting are probably a thing of the past by now, but you’ll still be feeling some heartburn, a bit of dizziness and nasal stuffiness and possibly some food cravings.

You might also be noticing stabbing or stretching pains around your lower abdomen and groin. They can take you by surprise and cause quite a shock, but they’re almost certainly round ligament pains (5), a common pregnancy symptom.

Round ligament pains

While they’re very unpleasant, these pains are caused by nothing more sinister than the stretching of the ligaments around your growing uterus. If you cough, laugh, sneeze or change position suddenly, you might feel a sudden sharp pain, although they can also happen for no apparent reason (other than the growing and stretching, obviously).

Forgetfulness

You might notice that you’re a little more absent minded than usual, or that it’s hard for you to concentrate. So-called pregnancy brain (6) is believed to affect up to 80% of pregnant women and we’re not totally sure what causes it, although realistically, being pregnant is probably enough of a reason!

Staying healthy at 19 weeks pregnant

Hopefully you’re having a good second trimester and all those annoying pregnancy symptoms are taking turns rather than piling in all at once.

Carry on with your healthy pregnancy diet (7) and drink lots of water as these two habits are a great basis for health at any time of your life, as is a bit of exercise (8).

Coping with round ligament pain

There’s no way to prevent this pain, as your round ligaments have to stretch and grow with your womb. However, you can reduce its frequency and severity by:

• Changing position slowly - no sudden movements
• Wearing a belly support belt
• Using a pregnancy pillow at night
• Keeping a good posture as much as possible
• Doing some gentle stretching
• Flexing or bending “towards” the pain

If you’re feeling absent minded

It could be tiredness, it could be pregnancy hormones, it could be a combination, but you can help yourself to cope with and reduce pregnancy brain by:

• Getting some extra sleep when you can
• Taking steps to reduce stress
• Eating well and watching your blood sugar and hydration levels

Look after your gums and teeth

Yours and your baby’s! Healthy eating is important for your teeth and those tiny teeth your baby’s working on. A diet that’s low in sugar will help to prevent teeth decay for you while a calcium and vitamin D (9) rich diet will provide your baby with the nutrients they need to build strong teeth.

Things to think about at 19 weeks pregnant

Work on your posture, because as your baby bump grows it can cause lower back pain, so strengthening your core muscles (10) can help to reduce this.

If you haven’t seen your dentist so far, make an appointment now so you know your teeth and gums are in good shape. You may be entitled to free dental care while you’re pregnant (11). 

Find out more about your 20-week ultrasound scan (12) and talk with your partner about whether you want to find out your baby’s sex and what you’ll do if you need further tests.