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Info Centre - Your pregnancy: 21-24 weeks
Your pregnancy: 21-24 weeks
Your baby
At 24 weeks, your baby is about 33cm long and weighs about 570g.
The baby starts sucking its thumb, and fine hair, known as lanugo, appears on her body. We don’t know why this is, but it may be that it keeps the baby at the right temperature.
There is a chance that a baby born at 24 weeks will survive, though the prognosis is not good. Before this, the baby’s lungs aren’t well enough developed to survive.
The baby’s eyebrows start forming at this stage, and she is also developing a sense of taste. She can swallow and digest amniotic fluid.
You
At 24 weeks, you will start putting on a lot of weight. Your heart and lungs are working 50% harder than normal. Your bump will almost certainly be showing. You may also start to feel more hungry and eat more – you need to be eating an extra 500 calories a day.
In this middle stage of pregnancy, you may experience a variety of discomforts. These can include:
- Piles
- Breathlessness
- Cramp in your legs
- Stress incontinence
- Pins and needles in your fingers
- Rib pain
- Heartburn and indigestion
- A gritty and dry feeling in your eyes
You can find out more about these problems and how to cope with them on the “Pregnancy niggles and discomforts” page.
There are a couple of symptoms that may alert you to a problem with your pregnancy:·
- Itching. It’s normal for the skin on your abdomen to itch, but if you have severe itching all over your body, see your doctor immediately. It could be a sign of liver disease.
- Swelling. Again, swelling in your feet, ankles and hands is quite normal because your body retains extra fluid in pregnancy, but if you experience sudden swelling, contact your doctor because it could be a sign of liver disease. See “Health problems and pregnancy”.
If you are planning on a water birth at home, you should hire a birthing pool about now. Some women find that labouring or giving birth in water can ease the pain, and it can be a more relaxing experience. See “Using water in labour and birth” and “Labour and birth in water: how and why you might use water”.
Also see “Home birth: all you need to know” for more information.
Telling your employer you are pregnant
The week by which you must tell your employer you are pregnant is known as the Notification Week or the Qualification Week. This is 15 weeks before the week you are expecting your baby.
You can work the date out by taking the Sunday before your due date and counting back 15 weeks. For example, if you are due on March 10th, and March 10th is a Friday, then you should count back from March 5th. During this week, you must tell your employer that you are pregnant and intend to go on maternity leave; that you want to receive Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP); and the date you plan on starting maternity leave. This cannot be earlier than 11 weeks before the baby is due.
Your employer has to reply within 28 days, giving the date the organisation expects you to return.
See “Maternity leave, paternity leave and returning to work” for more information.
Returning to work
If you are planning to return to work, now is a good time to think about your childcare options and find out what is available. The most common options are day nurseries, childminders and nannies. Your county council website can be a good source of information about the types of childcare available in your area.
Collect form MAT B1 from your midwife. This is written proof of pregnancy, and you will need it for claiming benefits.
See “Maternity leave, paternity leave and returning to work” for more information.
