Week 20: Halfway there

You’ve reached the halfway mark — a real moment to pause and notice how far you and your baby have come. About the size of a banana now, your baby is measured from head to heel for the first time. They can hear loud sounds and will startle at them, their taste buds are picking up the flavours of your meals, and your antibodies are beginning to cross the placenta to build their immune system.

For you, the top of the uterus has reached your navel, kicks should be noticeable most days, and the marks of pregnancy — stretch marks, the linea nigra — may be more visible. If you haven’t felt clear movement yet, try not to worry; it often comes a little later in a first pregnancy.

The morphology scan (also called the 20-week or anatomy scan) usually happens around now if it hasn’t already, and it’s a big one. Over about 30 to 45 minutes, the sonographer carefully checks your baby’s growth and anatomy — the brain, heart, spine, kidneys, limbs and more — along with the position of your placenta and the level of amniotic fluid. If you’d like to know your baby’s sex and it’s visible, this is usually when you can find out. It’s a lovely chance to see them, though try to remember its main job is a detailed health check.

Movement-wise, if this is your first baby you may only just be feeling those first flutters (often described as bubbles or popcorn), while second-time mums often notice them earlier. There’s no set pattern to rely on yet — a more regular routine of movements develops later in pregnancy — so for now, simply enjoy them as they come.

Hitting the halfway point is worth marking — you’re closer to meeting your baby than not. If you’re up to it, mid-pregnancy is often the comfortable window for the nicer jobs: a babymoon or short break, starting a registry, or simply enjoying the bump before the heavier final months. Keep moving gently, stay hydrated, and don’t ignore aches — a women’s-health physio is brilliant for back and pelvic niggles.

It’s also a nice moment for the practical and the joyful: chatting through birth preferences with your partner, looking into antenatal classes, perhaps booking a maternity photoshoot. In Australia, around this point is also when you can check your eligibility for Family Tax Benefit with Services Australia.