Twenty-first week of pregnancy
With the 21st week, you have officially entered the second half of your pregnancy. Your child grows rapidly and practices a thousand stunts.
Weight and length at 21 weeks
Month | 5th month |
---|---|
Gestational age | from 20+0 to 20+6 |
Length of the fetus (*) | 25.6cm |
Weight of the fetus (*) | 330 grams |
Weight gain (**) | +6kg |
Moms group | July 2023 |
How many months is 21 weeks pregnant?
At the 21st week you are in the second half of the fifth month of gestation. To know the exact correspondence between months and weeks of pregnancy you can use our conversion table.
21st week : frequent symptoms
- Backache
- Increased appetite and cravings
- Round ligament pain
- Leg cramps
- Swollen legs
- Varicose veins
- Forgetfulness
How your body changes
Some concern is normal
By the 21st week , you may start to feel a little tired, especially if you have low blood pressure . This could be compounded by some concern for your health or that of the baby, or a feeling of unease related to changes in your body. Don’t worry: these emotions are absolutely normal when you’re expecting a child! Try not to close in on yourself, but to confide in your partner or a friend , in order to receive all the necessary support and reassurance.
Swollen legs
The hormones and pressure from the growing uterus could slow blood circulation , especially in the legs. For this reason, especially at the end of the day or during the hottest hours, feet and ankles may appear a little swollen . To counteract these symptoms, try to keep your legs raised : help yourself with a pillow when you lie down and with a footrest when you’re sitting. Another remedy is to wear elastic stockings to help circulation and venous return.
The solution is to move!
Even if you feel more tired, try not to give up physical exercise : moderate motor activity helps lift your mood , improve posture and breathing and reactivate blood circulation .
Whether it’s swimming, yoga or a simple walk in the open air , the important thing is to follow 3 simple rules : drink often , to avoid dehydration, wear comfortable clothing that supports your breasts well, and above all, don’t overdo it! If during exercise you feel breathless and find it difficult to speak normally , stop immediately and rest.
How the child grows
It is about 26 centimeters long , the size of a carrot , and weighs about 350 grams .
The measures change
Starting this week, the length of the fetus is expressed from head to toe and no longer from head to sacrum as in previous weeks. Meanwhile, its weight has exceeded that of the placenta , which reached its maximum thickness in the past week.
Bone marrow in action
Eyelashes and eyebrows have come out and hair is also visible . Your baby regularly ingests large amounts of amniotic fluid and passes it out in the urine .
The bone marrow has started producing blood cells , a task that until now had been done by the liver and spleen. If you’re expecting a boy, your testicles should begin to descend from your abdomen this week .
A little acrobat
Your little one now sleeps “only” fourteen hours a day and may already have developed a sleep-wake rhythm . When he’s not resting, he’s very active and exercises like a real gymnast: he rolls , somersaults and plays with the umbilical cord . Towards the end of this term, however, he will begin to stabilize his position, usually with his head down .
Do you know that…
You may have noticed this already, but your baby tends to be more active at night . This is because, when you relax, the production of stress hormones is reduced , which inhibit the activity of him. Furthermore, the lying position increases the space available for her acrobatics inside the uterus.
For the dad
Not all childbirth courses involve the participation of future dads, even if most include at least one or two meetings to be attended as a couple. Whether it’s the whole course or just a few dates, try to be present : you will learn some strategies to support your partner during labor and you will meet other couples of future parents who are experiencing the same joys and facing the same fears.
Checks and exams to do
If it hasn’t already been done in the past few weeks, your gynecologist will perform a second trimester or morphological ultrasound , to thoroughly assess your baby’s development and (if location permits) confirm gender .
Click here to see the tests you can take for free between the 20th and 24th week of gestation
Advice from the 21st week of pregnancy
Urinary infections, and in particular cystitis , are quite frequent during pregnancy. Here are some tips to prevent them:
- NEVER hold your pee for long periods . Preventing emptying of the bladder when required increases the risk of inflammation and infection;
- take care of your intimate hygiene , washing your genitals no more than twice a day with a delicate intimate cleanser . Remember that the movement must always be from the vagina towards the anus and not the other way around;
- wear cotton underwear and loose-fitting pants ;
- DRINK abundantly , to promote diuresis and avoid urine stagnation in the bladder. In addition to water, red fruit or mallow herbal teas , bancha tea (almost theine-free green tea) and unsweetened cranberry juice are particularly suitable.
Kathryn Barlow is an OB/GYN doctor, which is the medical specialty that deals with the care of women's reproductive health, including pregnancy and childbirth.
Obstetricians provide care to women during pregnancy, labor, and delivery, while gynecologists focus on the health of the female reproductive system, including the ovaries, uterus, vagina, and breasts. OB/GYN doctors are trained to provide medical and surgical care for a wide range of conditions related to women's reproductive health.