Day 131 of 280, second trimester
You are 18 weeks and 5 days
Your baby's fingers and toes are fully developed, and their unique prints are starting to form.
149 days until your due date
Your baby will be a unique individual, and his fingerprints will prove it. The ridge patterns in the skin that will form fingerprints (and toeprints) are now fully developed. They're determined by genes and, like most developments, appear about a week earlier on the hands than the feet.
Sweat glands appeared in the skin at eight weeks and will keep increasing until 28 weeks, but they won't work until after birth.
Your baby's skin color comes from melanin, a pigment made by skin cells called melanocytes, which have now moved into the skin. Different skin tones aren't caused by different numbers of these cells, but by how much pigment each makes and its shade. Melanin protects the skin from DNA-damaging ultraviolet light, but babies don't reach their final skin color until well into childhood, so all newborns are especially vulnerable to sunburn, and dark-skinned babies are often lighter at birth.
As a matter of fact
Vitamin E and allergies
Eating plenty of vitamin E-rich foods could reduce your baby's risk of allergies, including asthma.
Researchers think low vitamin E in pregnancy may affect the baby's lung development or immune system. Boost your intake through diet rather than supplements; any extra is stored in the body for later.
Explainer
Vitamin E foods
Good sources of vitamin E include salad greens, leafy green vegetables, nuts, avocados, eggs, and wheat germ.
Good to know
Acupuncture
In acupuncture, fine needles are inserted at points on the body linked to energy channels (meridians), which are believed to carry vital energy, or qi. Illness and symptoms are thought to come from an imbalance in this energy.
Acupuncture has been widely and successfully used in pregnancy, and regular treatment can help with:
- Pain and nausea; a recent study found it effective for nausea and vomiting and the more dangerous hyperemesis gravidarum
- Heartburn
- Hemorrhoids
- Stress
- Headaches and backaches
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
It may help turn breech babies and can be used in labor to boost energy and relieve pain. Use a registered practitioner experienced in treating pregnant women.
Appointments and key dates around now
- 20-week screening scanBetween 18 and 21 weeks
Read the full 18 weeks pregnant guide
This is general information based on NHS guidance, not medical advice, and every pregnancy is different. Talk to your midwife or GP about anything that worries you. If your baby's movements slow down or change, or you have bleeding, severe pain or leaking fluid, call your maternity unit straight away. In an emergency, call 999.