Medically reviewed by Tanja Premru-Sršen At twenty-four weeks pregnant, your baby is growing and getting stronger and stronger as each day passes by! It is moving more and more by each day, and you are probably feeling these moves in the form of pokes and kicks inside your belly.
You can expect these movements to become more frequent during this week and in the upcoming weeks. Keep reading to learn more about other things you can expect during your twenty-fourth week of pregnancy.
During the twenty-fourth week of your pregnancy, you will still deal with the common second-trimester pregnancy symptoms, including backache, food cravings, weight gain, nasal congestion, and heartburn.
On top of those, some new symptoms might show up during week twenty-four of your pregnancy, including:
Your body (especially your belly) is getting bigger by the hour, it seems like, and your skin has to stretch to keep up with all of the changes, which is how we get stretch marks!
The pregnancy-related stretch marks often appear on the belly, breasts, and buttocks, but they can also appear on the arms and legs.
Unfortunately, they cannot be prevented, as they are the skin’s natural response to stretching.
They often fade away after birth, or their appearance is significantly minimized.
During pregnancy, you are likely to experience dull or even sharp pain on one or both sides of your hip area and abdomen.
This is referred to as round ligament pain, which is quite a common symptom of pregnancy that happens due to the ligaments struggling to hold your uterus in place, therefore becoming strained and stretched.
Changing positions ever so often and gently stretching can help reduce the pain.
If you have not experienced tightening or cramping in your abdomen that comes and goes already, you will start feeling it now.
You may have Braxton Hicks contractions which are contractions of your uterus in preparation for giving birth. If you put your hands on your belly when the contractions happen, you can feel your uterus becoming hard. The contractions come irregularly.
Often, you may feel them in the evening. They usually are not painful and last for about 30 seconds.
Contact your health provider if you feel frequent, regular contractions of the uterus.
Your belly is getting big at twenty-four weeks pregnant, and it might be difficult to get used to and find the perfect sleeping position that does not feel uncomfortable or weird, especially if you can feel your baby moving a lot at night. Pregnancy hormones can also be a culprit during the twenty-fourth pregnancy week.
Try getting a pregnancy pillow; it will solve all of your issues, and it feels so cozy!
The growing baby bump and growing uterus are messing up your balance, and many pregnant people notice that it is now pretty easy to feel off-balance and dizzy.
Increased blood flow to your whole body and some other changes in circulation can also make you feel dizzy or light-headed.
Make sure to walk carefully and avoid dangerous tasks, and lay down on your side if you feel too dizzy to stand or walk.
At the twenty-fourth pregnancy week, your baby is 12.68 inches long and weighs about 1.48 pounds, which is about the size of an ear of corn.
Your baby is entering a stage of a major growth spurt, and they will grow more and more by the day, almost doubling in size in the next month or so. You can probably feel the baby’s movements at this point.
Your baby lungs are developing rapidly at twenty-four weeks! At the tips of the smallest branches of your baby’s lungs, respiratory sacs are growing and multiplying, which will come in handy once the baby arrives; all that crying will take some serious lung power!
At this point of the baby’s development, your baby is as skinny as a branch; not much fat is stored on that tiny body of theirs. However, as the time passes, the baby’s body will start to plump up and fill out, adding more baby fat on those bones that will fill out the baby clothes once they arrive. In addition, the baby’s skin, which is now translucent, will start to change soon.
In order to stay safe and well-prepared during your pregnancy, you need to fulfill certain tasks to keep up with the journey and prepare for the baby’s arrival.
The list of things you need to complete during your twenty-fourth week of pregnancy will include:
Staying active during your pregnancy is essential for pregnant women, pelvic floor muscles included.
These muscles are often overlooked, and they should not be! Performing Kegel exercises and pelvic floor exercises will strengthen your vaginal muscles and perineal muscles and prepare them to deliver the baby.
Your nesting instinct is probably kicking in, and you feel like renovating, baby proofing, and buying things for the baby. If this is the case, lean into it!
Now is the perfect time to (safely) organize, clean, and decorate.
As previously mentioned, many pregnant women deal with heartburn during their second trimester and third trimester.
Be careful and thoughtful about what you are eating and when to avoid making the heartburn worse.
Eating small meals more often and sticking to a healthy pregnancy diet will help with avoiding this uncomfortable feeling, and it will help you avoid excessive weight gain during pregnancy.
This might not seem important now, but it will make it much easier to get back to the pre-pregnancy weight much faster after baby’s arrival.
It is essential to stay away from harmful things and activities to protect you and the baby inside of you during your pregnancy. During week twenty-four, make sure to stay away from:
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