Week 19 of pregnancy | Second Trimester

In Week 19 you are only one week away from your pregnancy’s halfway mark. Let’s look at the condition of your skin as well as Baby’s, and discuss child birth classes.

MOM

You may find that your skin is changing texture at the moment. Certain parts of your skin might become dry, while others even a little flaky. Certain parts may also become blotchy in patches, in particular on your forehead or cheeks, but don’t be alarmed – this will disappear after your baby is born. You might like to start using a lotion to prevent stretch marks on your tummy – as this prepares your skin in advance for “the big stretch”.

BABY

Baby continues to grow and grow, and weighs about 220 grams in Week 19. He or she will now also become truly unique when the outer layer of skin develops to form tiny fingerprints. If it’s a girl, your baby will have developed egg cells in her ovaries by this stage. These eggs will still be of a primitive nature, but developed nonetheless. Another milestone is that your baby is now developing permanent teeth buds – behind the existing milk teeth buds which developed a few weeks ago.

DAD

At this stage perhaps you could help your partner decide on what antenatal or child birth class to attend. With our diverse nation, there are classes to suit everyone and also every birthing option. You and your partner will benefit from these classes by learning about pregnancy, labour and birth, as well as picking up a few handy tips when it comes to looking after your baby. It will be great if you can schedule these classes so that both of you can attend.

Next week you will be halfway through your pregnanc,y and we’ll be discussing Mom’s belly button and how Baby’s skin is protected from lying in amniotic fluid for such a long time.