Pregnancy week 18
8 Jan. 2026
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Week 18: Learn about your baby’s development, changes in your body, and useful tips for this special phase.
In order for the foetus to be able to lie in water throughout the pregnancy without damaging the delicate skin, it is protected by foetal fat known as Vernix. It is like a greasy, protective ointment that covers all or parts of the baby’s skin and hair.
If you do an ultrasound this week, you can see that the baby is moving actively with both large movements such as twisting or somersaults, but also less obvious movements such as sucking on a finger.
Starting this week, anomaly ultrasounds begins, but it may take until week 20 before it’s time for you. Regardless, it’s not long until you get to look at the little baby in your belly!
The routine ultrasound mainly focuses on the organs and the anatomy of your baby. The sonographer looks at how many foetuses there are in the womb, what the organs and extremities (arms and legs) look like; If everything cannot be seen or measured, a follow-up appointment is booked to complete the ultrasound examination.
It is also possible to find out the gender of the baby during this ultrasound, but if you are unlucky, the baby lies in a position so that the sonographer cannot see the gender.
However, drinking an ice-cold glass of water or juice usually wakes your baby up and is something you can try if they don’t want to show off. 😃
The symptoms can vary and some get, for example, more sensitive gums that bleed easily, while others can suffer from nasal congestion and get nosebleeds more easily.
Swollen mucous membranes can make you more sensitive during intercourse; then lubricants can help with pain or discomfort. Try yourself and do what feels best! Intimacy can be other things than just penetration too, so if penetration doesn’t feel good right now, there are always other ways to have sex. You may also experience an increased amount of discharge (secretion) from the vagina during pregnancy. As long as the discharge looks and smells like it normally does, there is no cause for concern. Talk to your midwife if you are unsure.
If you have had a vaginal yeast infection in the past, it is not unusual to suffer from this and feel the symptoms in this part of the pregnancy. If you have not had Candida before, it is possible that you will get it for the first time during pregnancy; something you notice through itching in the vagina together with a grainy discharge. Candida can be treated on its own by using a pessary and cream in conjunction with showering. You can also consult your pharmacist about over-the-counter medicines as treatment.
Have you taken out pregnancy insurance if not a UK citazen. Pregnancy insurance is good to take out before your anomaly ultrasound in case something is discovered, so that you have the protection you deserve.
If your partner’s belly hasn’t grown very big yet, it can be hard to accept that there’s a baby the size of a mango inside. Most likely, however, the pregnancy is hard to miss at this point!
When it comes to the pregnant woman’s condition, it can vary just as much – either she feels fine without any particular symptoms, but she can also feel incredibly bad. Remember that a pregnancy is a big stress on the body and even if it doesn’t show very much on the outside, the body goes through big changes and adapts to cope with the stress of carrying a pregnancy and going through a birth. Feel free to talk to your partner about how she feels both mentally and physically and explain that you are there to support.
You and your partner can still have an active sex life as long as it feels good for both of you. However, it may be that your partner is more sensitive during pregnancy, therefore it may help to use a lubricant to avoid pain or discomfort. It is also perfectly possible to focus on other parts of sex than just penetration. If the pregnancy affects you on an emotional level, it is good to talk about it with each other and explain your feelings.
Has your partner started to feel foetal movements? When that happens, you can expect it to take a couple more weeks before you can feel the movements on the outside of her belly – but it will come! Some babies seem a little shy and don’t actually move so that it is felt on the outside of their stomachs for several weeks. But if you look really closely, you can sometimes see small movements coming from the area above the uterus, even if you can’t feel it with your hand yet.
