What happens in the 19th week of pregnancy?

In the 19th week of pregnancy, your baby measures about 5 1/2 - 6 inches in length and weighs nearly 7-8 ounces. Your baby is now swallowing amniotic fluid and his or her kidneys are producing urine.

Vernix is also forming at this point. This is nothing but a creamy-looking substance covering the baby's skin in order to protect the baby and its developing glands as well as sensory cells. The vernix is made up of dead skin, oil and lanugo.

Changes in You:

By this time, your breasts have increased in size and weight. Your areola, which is the darkish area around your nipples, is also getting larger.

As you put on more weight, you might possibly want to change to fuller, comfortable and less restrictive clothing that is made of lighter-weight fabrics. This helps in keeping you more comfortable as your body temperature tends to increase.

You will start feeling your baby's first movements, which often happen between weeks 18 and 20. These first movements are called quickening, and these may feel like butterflies in the stomach or a growling stomach. Later in your pregnancy, you will also feel kicks, punches, and possibly even hiccups! Each baby will have different movement patterns, however, if you're concerned about these movement patterns or if the movements have reduced in frequency or intensity, consult your doctor or health care provider right away.

Many women, at this pint of time, wonder whether having sex will hurt their baby, and the answer is no. Sex is considered to be safe at all stages of pregnancy, provided your pregnancy is normal. This does not essentially mean you're going to want to have it. During various stages of pregnancy, a lot of expectant women find that their desire for sex fluctuates depending on their fatigue, anxiousness over the birth, growing size, and a host of several other body changes. Feel free to discuss these issues with your partner by keeping the lines of communication open. Even though you both are likely to be preoccupied with the baby, it's also important to spend some time together.

Your Baby's Development

Now, your baby gets covered by a white, waxy substance known as vernix caseosa, which helps in preventing delicate skin from becoming chapped or scratched. Premature babies possibly will be covered in this cheesy, waxy coating at delivery.

Your baby is still quite tiny, but this week brings the development of brown fat, which helps in keeping your baby warm after birth. During last trimester, your baby will add more layers of fat for the purpose of keeping itself warm and protect itself.

By pregnancy 19 week, your baby is starts producing meconium, a substance that will become your baby's first bowel movement. After your baby is born, he or she will start passing meconium during the first few days of life. Meconium is quite normal but can at times turn dangerous.

When your baby is still developing inside you, it ingests and then excretes the amniotic fluid every day. Meconium is a combination of mucus, amniotic fluid, lanugo (the fine hair covering your developing baby's body), bile, and the cells that have been shed by your baby's intestines and skin. Typically, this is greenish-black in color and tarry upon excretion.

Generally, your baby will pass meconium after delivery, but at times your baby can pass meconium while you are still pregnant. This can be a sign of fetal distress. Meconium passed in the utero can mix with amniotic fluid, and can get into the baby's lungs. This might cause complications after delivery, including pneumonia.

Remember that your baby is packed in fluid for 9 months. The vernix helps keep your baby's skin looking soft and supple.

By this week 19, your baby's brain is also developing pockets to specialize in hearing, vision, smell, taste, and even touch. If you baby is a girl, she already has produced 6 million eggs in her ovaries, although this number will decrease by 4 million by the time your baby is born.