Your Guide to Being 21 Weeks Pregnant

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21 Weeks Pregnant

21 Weeks Pregnant

How your pregnancy diet can give your baby a taste for fruits and vegetables.

Mom's Tip of the Week

Did you know...?

Focusing on healthful foods may benefit your pregnancy. In a recent study, women who ate a diet that included plenty of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and water had a much lower risk of preterm delivery. Another perk: The flavors of the foods you’re eating will wind up in the amniotic fluid your baby is swallowing. Eating a variety of healthful options today can help your baby develop a taste for them after his birth.

Your Baby at 21 Weeks Pregnant

What's Happening in There

Your baby at 21 weeks is about the size of a long banana—weighing about 11 ounces and measuring seven inches long. He continues to use the nutrients you provide him to gain weight and fill out.
His bones are continuing to harden and lengthen. Cartilage throughout your little one’s body is turning to bone, and those bones are continuing to grow and get stronger each day.
His digestive system is maturing. Your baby is still getting most of his nourishment through the placenta, but he is also able to swallow amniotic fluid, digest it, and pass the waste to his large bowel.
His blood cell formation is taking the next step. Up until this point, your baby’s blood cells were produced by his liver and spleen, but now his bone marrow is ready to contribute. It will be the major production site for his red blood cells—which ensure oxygen gets to every part of his developing body—starting at 21 weeks pregnant and continuing after birth.

Baby Brain Waves

Your Baby’s Brain Development

At 21 weeks pregnant, your baby’s cognitive development is hard at work. Inside your baby’s brain, neurons are connecting to muscle, so your baby is becoming more active—especially since he still has plenty of room to stretch and move.