You’re 5 months pregnant! Already more than halfway through the second trimester.
And that means a lot of things. You might be feeling excited, nervous, or a little bit of both. The good news is that it’s all totally normal—and the even better news is that we’re here to help you navigate those feelings and make sure you have all the information you need about what’s happening with your body during this time.
First off: congratulations on your pregnancy! It’s such an exciting time! We can’t wait to see how things go for you in the next few months.
We’re so excited for you. We know this is going to be such an exciting time in your life, and we want to make sure that you have all the information you need to get through these next few months.
5 Months Pregnant Is How Many Weeks
If you’re wondering how many weeks pregnant you are at 5 months, the answer is between 17 and 20 weeks. You can also say that someone’s been five months pregnant or that they’re 20 weeks along in their pregnancy.
Why does it matter what number we use? Well, it helps us know how far along a woman is in her pregnancy—and how far she has left to go until she delivers her baby. At 5 months pregnant, you’re already more than halfway through your pregnancy.
Of course, every woman’s body is different, so there are no hard-and-fast rules about when exactly you can expect certain things to happen. But here’s a general overview of what goes on during each stage of pregnancy:
Image Source: iStock
5 Months Pregnant Symptoms
If you are 5 months pregnant, then you are probably wondering how it feels to be pregnant at this stage. It is a very exciting time for you and your partner. At this point, your baby is growing rapidly, and his or her organs are developing. You may experience some of the following symptoms:
You may have heard that morning sickness is supposed to stop after the first trimester. This is true in most cases, but not all. Some women suffer from nausea and vomiting throughout their entire pregnancy, even after the first trimester, even at 5 months pregnant.
Nausea is a feeling of queasiness or an unsettled feeling in your stomach. Vomiting is emptying your stomach contents through your mouth. If you’re experiencing either of these symptoms for longer than a few days or weeks, it could be a sign of something more serious than a minor case of morning sickness.
-
Heartburn and indigestion
Heartburn occurs when stomach acid backs up into the oesophagus, creating a burning sensation that can radiate to your neck, chest, or throat. Indigestion is simply excess gas in your digestive tract.
Both heartburn and indigestion are caused by hormones that relax the valve between your stomach and oesophagus. This makes it easier for the stomach acid to rise up into the oesophagus, where it causes irritation and pain.
This is when your bowel movements are infrequent, hard, or difficult to pass. It can be caused by hormonal changes in your body and an increase in progesterone production, as well as a decrease in estrogen levels, which cause the muscle walls of your intestines to relax.
You may also experience constipation because of increased pressure on your abdomen from your growing uterus, which compresses your intestines and makes them less active than usual.
Image Source: iStock
This is when you have frequent bowel movements that are watery or looser than normal stools and often accompanied by stomach pain, nausea, fever and cramping abdominal pain may also accompany diarrhoea but it’s not always present for example if you’ve eaten something that doesn’t agree with you.
One thing that can cause a lot of discomfort is food cravings. When you’re pregnant, your body needs more nutrients than ever before. But if you’re not careful about what you eat, your cravings could lead to weight gain and other health issues.
So how can you satisfy your cravings without getting off track? Here are some tips:
-
- Go with the flow: If it’s been two days since your last cupcake craving, don’t try to fight it. Instead, give in—but only because satisfying these cravings will help keep them at bay longer!
- Make healthier choices: If there’s one thing dietitians love talking about more than food cravings, it’s making healthy choices when it comes to eating during pregnancy.
-
Back pain
When your uterus grows, it puts pressure on your spine. At 5 months pregnant, you might notice that your back pain becomes more noticeable as the day goes on and gets worse at night as well. That’s because during the day, your body is moving around and taking up space in your abdomen, which puts less pressure on your spine.
At night, when you’re lying down, your body is still and the weight shifts to the front of your body—and specifically, to where your spine meets the pelvis.
What to Expect Being 5 Months Pregnant
You might be feeling a little overwhelmed, but don’t worry—we’re here to help. Here are five things you should know about being 5 months pregnant:
- Your morning sickness will start to subside around this time.
- The baby’s heart is beating and its lungs are developing at this point in pregnancy.
- You’ll need to continue taking folic acid supplements, which can help prevent birth defects in the baby’s brain and spinal cord if taken during pregnancy (and even before).
- Make sure to eat healthy foods like fruits and vegetables so that you get all the nutrients your body needs for both mum and baby!
Some women feel more fatigued during these months because their bodies are working harder on two fronts: supporting a growing baby and preparing for birth by producing larger amounts of blood and other fluids.
To help relieve some of this fatigue:
- Take frequent breaks throughout the day when possible,
- Drink plenty of water throughout pregnancy,
- Eat healthy snacks whenever you feel hungry (but don’t overeat)
- Take prenatal vitamins according to package instructions (and talk with your doctor if they’re not working well)
5 Months Pregnant: Belly Size
You’re now 5 months pregnant, and your belly has definitely started to show. The bump is hard to miss and will likely grow even more noticeable over the next few weeks.
It’s important to remember that your baby is growing rapidly at this point—about an inch per week! And as your belly grows wider and heavier, you may find yourself needing to make some adjustments in your daily routine.
Getting up from a seated position may be more challenging than it used to be, especially if your belly bumps into things or gets in the way of everyday tasks like reaching for things on high shelves or getting dressed in the morning.
How big should your belly be?
You’re five months pregnant, and you’re probably feeling like your belly is ready to burst. But how big should it be?
It depends on a few factors:
- How many weeks are you? If you’re past 20 weeks, your belly should be at least as big as a basketball (though some women’s bellies expand even more than that).
- How much do you weigh? The heavier you are, the bigger your belly will get—so if you’re on the heavy side, don’t be surprised if it takes a while to get there.
- Do you have twins or triplets? If so, your belly will likely be even bigger than someone who’s carrying one baby only.
So how do most people know when their bellies are “big enough”? Some doctors recommend measuring your abdomen once every week to see how far along your baby has grown since last week—but this isn’t always possible for everyone!
5 Months Pregnant: Baby Size
5 months pregnant and you’re finally starting to feel like a proper human being again.
You’ve started to feel your baby move around, and he’s got a lot more space to move around in. Your uterus has grown from the size of a fist at 3 months, to the size of a banana at 5 months. That means that your baby is also growing at a rapid pace!
By now, you’ve probably noticed that your belly button is starting to pop outwards—you may even be able to stick your pinkie finger into it! The ligaments supporting your uterus are tightening up, making room for your baby’s growing body.
The muscles in your abdomen are getting more robust to support the growing weight of your belly and help keep everything together. You may start feeling some pressure in the lower part of your abdomen as well—this is normal, but if it gets too uncomfortable, talk with your doctor about how you can relieve some of the pressure (and if there’s anything else they can do).
Your baby has grown from about 1 inch long at 4 weeks to 9 inches long at 5 months! They weigh about 2 pounds (1 kilogram) now and should be about 13 inches long from head to toe by now.
Image Source: iStock
Your child is growing at an amazing pace, but there’s still a lot of room for them to grow. So hang tight, mum. There’s still more in store for the coming months.
If you have any concerns about this stage of pregnancy, do not hesitate to consult your OB-gynaecologist.
Here at theAsianparent Singapore, it’s important for us to give information that is correct, significant, and timely. But this doesn’t serve as an alternative for medical advice or medical treatment. theAsianparent Singapore is not responsible for those that would choose to drink medicines based on information from our website. If you have any doubts, we recommend consulting your doctor for clearer information.
