Week 18
The Water lily (~10–15 cm) rests at the meeting place of surface and depth. It is a keepsake for a week when subtle movement may begin to ripple into notice.
This week at a glance
Size
About 14.2 cm (5.6 in), crown to rump.
The flower
Water lily (~10–15 cm) — this week’s plate, drawn at your baby’s scale.
You might notice
Possible flutters · Stretch marks · Sleep changes · Bloating · Dizzy
How big is the baby at 18 weeks?
About 14.2 cm (5.6 in), measured crown to rump — the size of a water lily.1
The fetus is around 14.2 cm from head to bottom. Hearing, feeling, swallowing, and sucking reflexes are developing, while the arms and legs keep moving.
18 weeks pregnant is how many months?
Week 18 falls in the fifth month of pregnancy. Weeks and months don’t divide evenly, and your antenatal care counts in weeks — so Zohra keeps weeks, and prints the month for the relatives who ask.
That puts you in the second trimester (weeks 14–27).
What might you be noticing?
Some people begin to feel movement as a bubbling or fluttering sensation around now, while others do not yet. Stretch marks, sleep changes, bloating, and dizziness are also possible.1
If you notice a first flutter, save the time and place without turning it into a schedule. Make a note before an upcoming scan about what you want to know—and what you may prefer not to know.
For the record: What small ripple changed the feeling of this week? — this week’s page in the app asks the same thing. All forty prompts are here.
Written from the sources above and checked against them. Not reviewed by a clinician — see the editorial policy. Zohra is a journal, not medical care; for anything worrying, talk to your midwife or doctor.