Your Nutrition Tips of This Week^1,2

Get your fats right
Fats are an essential part of your baby’s growth and development around the 19th week of pregnancy. Choosing the right fats is the trick.

Your Wellness Tips This Week³

It might get tough to move around but trying out non-vigorous exercises keep you active and on your feet.

Switch up the routine
Have you tried something new lately? Look into pregnancy classes at your local gym or a recreation centre. Or consider trying one of these low-impact activities:

• Aerobics
• Bicycling
• Bowling
• Cross-country skiing
• Golfing
• Jogging
• Pilates for pregnant women
• Swimming
• Walking
• Water aerobics
• Water exercises
• Weight training (Use light weights and do not overexert yourself)
• Yoga for pregnant women

Your Baby's Development at Week 19⁴

During the weeks before, during, and after your 19th week of pregnancy, your baby’s brain develops at a phenomenal rate. Other systems continue to grow.

• Your baby now measures about 15 cm, or the length of a summer squash.
• When you are 19 weeks pregnant, your baby’s brain develops millions of motor neurons. Neurons are nerves that help muscles in the brain communicate. This new and ongoing development means your baby can make purposeful and involuntary movements. She can suck her thumb, move her head, or make other moves that you might start to feel.⁵
• Your baby’s hearing is even more developed when you are 19 weeks pregnant. She can probably hear external sounds and conversation by this time, or will very soon. Your voice is the most pronounced. She can hear you talk, hum, and sing!
• Your baby’s skin is covered in a white, waxy, protective coating called vernix.
• Under the vernix, the fine hair called lanugo continues to cover her skin.
• By your 19th week of pregnancy, your baby’s kidneys function. Her urine is excreted into your amniotic sac, the bag of fluid in your uterus that contains your baby and amniotic fluid. Your placenta then removes the waste.⁶

Your Changing Body at Week 19⁴

During your 19th week of pregnancy and the weeks surrounding this time, your body continues to change and adapt to accommodate your baby’s current growth and future needs.

• Your body makes more blood.
• Your circulatory system expands and keeps blood pressure lower than normal. As a result, you might get dizzy, lightheaded, nauseated, or faint if you stand or rise too quickly.
• Around your 19th week of pregnancy, you might experience nasal congestion, nosebleeds, and headaches due to increased blood flow.
• You also might encounter tender or bleeding gums.
• At 19 weeks pregnant, your lung capacity continues to increase. You might breathe faster or experience shortness of breath.
• Your breast cup size increases around your 19th week of pregnancy due to enlarged milk-duct glands and increased blood flow.

References:

¹ Patro-Golab B. Ann Nutr Metab. 23 Aug 2023. doi.org/10.1159/000533757
² ACOG. Nutrition during pregnancy. Available [Online] at: https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/nutrition-during-pregnancy. Accessed on 24 August 2023.
³ ACOG. Exercise during pregnancy. Available [Online] at: https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/exercise-during-pregnancy. Accessed on 24 August 2023.
⁴ Verwellfamily. Week 19 of your pregnancy. Available [Online] at: https://www.verywellfamily.com/19-weeks-pregnant-4159012. Accessed on 24 August 2023.
⁵ Ackerman S. Discovering the Brain. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 1992. 6, The Development and Shaping of the Brain. Available [Online] at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK234146/. Accessed on 24 August 2023.
⁶ Rosenblum S et al. Seminars in fetal & neonatal medicine.2017; 22(2): 58–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.siny.2017.01.001
* Comparison among all maternal milk in Singapore as of January 2022, as declared on the label.

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