Week 25 of Your Pregnancy

At 25 weeks pregnant, your baby is continuing to grow and gain weight. Those baby kicks are certainly getting stronger and likely more noticeable. Meanwhile, your growing belly might be getting itchy.

Your Baby's Development at 25 Weeks

At 25 weeks pregnant, the baby is over 8 3/4 inches (22.4 centimeters) from the top of the head to the bottom of the buttocks (known as the crown-rump length), and the baby's height is about 12 1/2 inches (31.8 centimeters) from the top of the head to the heel (crown-heel length). This week, baby weighs a little more than 27 ounces or 1 3/4 pounds (778 grams).

Hair

The hair on baby's head is growing. The lanugo or soft, fine hair that covers the baby's body is well-established by now.

Making Blood Cells

Earlier in development, baby's liver made blood cells. By week 21, the bone marrow became a major contributor. After the 24th week, the bone marrow is the main site of blood cell production in your baby's body.

Sense of Smell

The part of the nose that can sense smell is now functioning. The baby can now smell odors and scents in the amniotic fluid.

Lungs

There are four stages of fetal lung development. This week, the second stage (the canalicular stage) is complete. The branches of the lungs, the small passageways, and the capillaries (which are the smallest blood vessels) have formed. There are still two more stages of development to go, though the last stage continues into childhood.

Survival Outside the Womb

With each passing week, the chances of survival outside the uterus get better. However, a baby born at 25 weeks is still extremely premature. Premature babies face many health challenges and require specialized care in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for several months. Of babies born at 25 weeks, 67% to 76% survive to go home with their families.

Explore a few of your baby's week 25 milestones in this interactive experience.

Your Common Symptoms This Week

While many pregnant women have been feeling baby kicks for weeks, they may finally become more noticeable to first-time moms this week. You may also be experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions, leg cramps, heartburn, nasal congestion, and vision changes. Other symptoms you may notice are a pounding in your chest or an itchy rash.

Heart Palpitations

During pregnancy, your heart pumps up to 50% more blood than before you became pregnant. Your heart is also pumping that blood about 15% faster. Some expecting moms don't notice any changes, but others can feel a difference.

Heart palpitations are a common complaint during pregnancy. It may feel like a fluttering, pounding, racing, extra beats, or skipping beats. It can be scary, but it's usually not dangerous. But if the racing seems to last long, happen often, or you’re also experiencing shortness of breath or chest pains, call your healthcare provider.

Belly and Breast Itch

Itchiness is a symptom in 20% to 40% of pregnancies that tends to start around the 25th week. It is mainly experienced on the abdomen and breasts, but it can appear in other parts of the body as well. The cause isn't completely understood, but hormone changes along with stretching and skin dryness may play a role.

Self-Care Tips

Drinking enough healthy fluids each day can help you stay hydrated. Good hydration can help combat some common pregnancy symptoms, including heart palpitations and dry, itchy skin.

Heart Palpitations

Most of the time, a faster heartbeat and the occasional feeling of a pounding heart are not a cause for concern. To deal with this issue, you can:

• Stop what you're doing and take a rest.
• If you were resting, get up and move around.
• Have a snack.
• Drink some water.
• Try relaxation techniques, mediation, or prenatal yoga.
• Limit your intake of caffeine.

Even though occasional flutters or pounding are normal, you should always tell your doctor about all your pregnancy symptoms. Sometimes heartbeat issues can have a medical cause such as a heart condition, anemia, anxiety, or a thyroid problem. If your symptoms are a cause for concern, your healthcare provider can diagnose and treat the cause to relieve your symptoms.

Dealing With Itchy Skin

Itchy skin is uncomfortable, annoying, and can interfere with your daily life, especially sleep. To deal with mild itching of the belly and breasts, you can try:

• Drinking plenty of water to stay hydrated
• Applying a moisturizer or hydrating body oil to your skin
• Staying away from harsh soaps that dry out your skin
• Avoiding clothing detergents that might be irritating to your skin
• Taking showers with cool water instead of hot

If the itching becomes severe or you develop a rash, call your doctor. Some rashes and skin conditions require treatment. Your doctor may also be able to prescribe a safe medication to help ease the itch.

Advice for Partners

If you’re the policyholder for your family's health insurance, now is a good time to learn how to add your newborn to your health plan after birth. Typically, you’ll need to add the baby to your policy within 30 days of the child's birth.

Depending on your healthcare plan and income, you can contact your employer, the insurance company, your state Medicaid agency, or the Health Insurance Marketplace. However, you don’t have to simply tack your baby onto the policy you currently have. Having a baby qualifies you for a special enrollment period, so you can either re-enroll in what you now have or change your policy to better suit your growing needs.

You may also want to learn more about enrolling in or changing your contribution to a tax-advantaged flexible spending account (FSA) that can be used for healthcare or childcare.

At Your Doctor’s Office

You may have a routine prenatal visit this week. You may also be scheduled for your gestational diabetes screening, which typically takes place between last week and 28 weeks.

3-Hour Glucose Tolerance Test

If the result of your initial 1-hour glucose screening is high, which screens for possible signs of gestational diabetes, you will have to return for step two of gestation diabetes testing: the 3-hour oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT).

• For this diagnostic test, you cannot eat for eight to 14 hours before the test or during the test.
• Your blood will be taken before you start the test.
• You will drink a sugary solution that contains 100 grams of glucose.
• After you drink the glucose, you will have your blood drawn every hour for three hours (3 times).

You will have a total of four blood draws (one before and three after the glucose drink). If all the results are within the expected limits, you do not have gestational diabetes. If one result is over the limit, your doctor may ask you to change your diet and test you again. If two or more results show a higher than expected result, your doctor will diagnose you with gestational diabetes.

Special Considerations

One common infection that can develop during pregnancy is a urinary tract infection. It's important to know the signs and symptoms so you can watch for it. You may also want to learn some of the ways to prevent this infection.

Urinary Tract Infection

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a common pregnancy complication that occurs in up to 13% of expecting mothers. You can have a UTI and not have any symptoms, but in many caes, you may notice:

• A need to pee more often
• Feeling like you have to go again right after you went
• Burning or pain when you urinate
• Bloody, cloudy, or smelly urine
• A fever

If you notice any symptoms of a urinary tract infection, notify your healthcare provider. Your doctor can easily diagnose and treat a urinary tract infection. But, an untreated UTI can lead to a more serious infection and pregnancy complications.

Urinary tract infections can sometimes come back after treatment. To try to prevent a UTI you can:

• Drink plenty of fluids throughout the day, including cranberry juice.
• Don't hold it—go when you have to go.
• Wash your hands before and after you use the bathroom.
• Try to empty your bladder fully each time you go.
• Lean forward when you pee to help empty your bladder.
• Wipe from front to back after using the bathroom.
• Pee after sex to clear any bacteria that may have entered your urethra.
• Wash your perineal area thoroughly.
• Wear cotton underwear and avoid tight clothing.

A Word From Verywell

You are nearing the end of your second trimester. This week, your baby developed a functioning sense of smell and completed an important stage of lung development. Next week, your baby hits another weight milestone.