Fifth month of pregnancy means middle of the second trimester. By this time you must be getting comfortable with your pregnancy and enjoying the tiny kicks of your baby. Your baby can hear you and sudden loud noises may even startle your baby now. The fifth month is considered week seventeen through twenty (17-20). At twenty weeks, you reach the mid-point of your pregnancy as pregnancy is counted as 40 weeks. Let’s take a look at the developments happening in the fifth month of pregnancy.

Your Baby

By the fifth month of pregnancy, the fetus becomes more active and turns from side to side and sometimes even head over heels. Your baby now has fingernails, grown to tips of fingers.

Your baby is also forming permanent teeth buds behind the baby teeth that are already formed. Your baby now sleeps and wakes up at regular intervals. Your baby is also covered in a fine hair called lanugo and may begin to develop a lotion like substances on their skin called vernix. This month your baby is going to grow rapidly. At the end of the 5th month of pregnancy fetus is 8-12 inches long and weighs 1/2 to 1 pound.

Your Body

By this time you must have started to feel the baby movements or quickening inside you. If you haven’t started to feel anything, remember to mention it to your doctor. Your uterus has grown to the height of your belly button. Your heartbeat will also increase at this time as it pumps blood for the both of you. You need more sleep and rest. If you feel tired during the day, take breaks and rest. Don’t push yourself, after all pregnancy is one time you can put your foot up and not feel guilty about it. You may get leg cramps, especially at night, if you’re not getting enough calcium. You might have already gained between ten and fourteen pounds. This may double in the last trimester, bringing your total gain up to twenty-eight to thirty pounds.

This month you may also notice that you tend to forget small-small things. This is normal and women the world over refer to the forgetfulness as ‘pregnancy brain’. The other pregnancy symptoms that are common this month are vaginal discharge, leg cramps at night, swelling in your ankles, and more heartburn.

Prenatal Care Guide

Keep visiting your doctor according to the scheduled appointments. Continue to eat a healthy, balanced diet and drinks lot of fluids like juice, water and milk every day. Your doctor may suggest an ultrasound this month to check the development of your baby. Size, bone structure, and the heart will be examined for possible problems. In the fifth month of pregnancy, many women get vaginal discharge and its common. However, if your discharge is yellow, greenish, or brownish, talk to your doctor right away. Foul smelling discharge can also indicate an infection which could cause preterm labor.