Pregnancy Week 18

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Pregnancy Week 18: The Belly Button

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Your baby's heart should be pumping plenty of blood to circulate through your baby by this time. Many doctors will perform an ultrasound between pregnancy weeks 18 to pregnancy weeks 22 to check for heart defects or other congenital problems. If your doctor does perform an ultrasound, by this time they may be able to predict the gender of your baby, as your baby's genitals should be visible by now.

Your uterus is just at your bellybutton, so any time now during pregnancy weeks 18 through pregnancy week 22 your belly button is likely to "pop" or stick out a bit. By now people should be able to tell you are pregnant.

Your baby is also developing during week 18 of pregnancy. Around pregnancy 18 weeks your baby starts creating Myelin, a coating that protects your baby's nerves. Myelin continues to coat the nerves throughout your pregnancy week by week.

Pregnancy Weight Gain and Growth

You shouldn't worry too much about how much weight you do or do not gain unless your doctor suggests you need to gain more or less weight during pregnancy. Keep in mind a lot of your weight gain results from fluid retention, your growing uterus (now the size of a cantaloupe), the placenta, your baby and the amniotic fluid in your belly. Most women also gain roughly 7 pounds of extra fat during pregnancy to help insulate their baby and to provide them the energy they need to breastfeed following delivery.

If you have concerns about your weight gain during pregnancy or want to simply avoid it, you can always ask your doctor to take your weight while you face away from the scale. That way you won't obsess about your weight and your doctor probably won't comment on it unless you gain too much or too little weight during pregnancy.

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