Reviewed
She looks more like a tiny human each day. Her eyes face forward and her ears are in their final position with the outer shells clearly visible now. Her legs have lengthened and are better proportioned to her body.
Your baby is maturing inside her body, too. In her lungs, the main branches are starting to develop tinier tubes at their tips. By the end of your second trimester, these tiny tubes will have air sacs (alveoli) at their ends. These air sacs will be laced with fine blood vessels by the time your baby is full term. These vessels allow the blood in your baby's body to pick up oxygen from your lungs and carry it from there to her organs and tissues.
Your mid pregnancy scan (anomaly or level II scan) will give you a glimpse of your baby kicking, punching, making faces and even rolling around. It's usually done between 18 and 20 weeks of pregnancy.
During the anomaly scan, the doctor will look at all your baby's major organs to check that they are growing as expected. She will also measure the different parts of your baby's body. Based on your baby's size, the scan report will give her an age in weeks. It's normal for your baby to be up to two weeks younger or older than your pregnancy week. But if there's more than two weeks of difference either way, your baby will be considered either too big for your stage or too small for your stage.
If you're having a girl, your baby's womb (uterus) is in place, and her vagina and fallopian tubes are developing. If you're having a boy, his penis will be clearly visible. But the radiologist will not reveal your baby's gender and won't let you have a look at it either. You'll have to wait till birth to know if you're having a son or daughter.
Check out our pregnancy guide to see what changes could be happening to you at 18 weeks pregnant.
Your changing body
7 ways your breasts change during pregnancy. More pregnancy videos
Note: every baby develops differently. This page is designed to give you a general idea of how a fetus grows in the womb.
18 सप्ताह की गर्भावस्था की जानकारी हिंदी में पढ़ें!
References
Hill MA. 2019. Fetal development. University of New South Wales Embryology. embryology.med.unsw.edu.au [Accessed November 2019]Moore KL, Persaud TVN and Torchia MG. 2019a. Fetal period: ninth week to birth. Chapter 6 in The developing human: clinically oriented embryology. 11th edition. Elsevier
Moore KL, Persaud TVN and Torchia MG. 2019b. Respiratory system. Chapter 10 in The developing human: clinically oriented embryology. 11th edition. Elsevier
Moore KL, Persaud TVN and Torchia MG. 2019c. Urogenital system. Chapter 12 in The developing human: clinically oriented embryology. 11th edition. Elsevier
NHS. 2018. Ultrasound scans in pregnancy. NHS, Health A-Z, Pregnancy and baby. www.nhs.uk [Accessed November 2019]
Visembryo. 2014. 16 weeks post fertilization: fingerprints and toe prints begin. The Visible Embryo. www.visembryo.com [Accessed November 2019]
de Vries JI, Fong BF. 2006. Normal fetal motility: an overview. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol 27(6):701-11. obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com [Accessed November 2019]
