Skip to content
mam.al

Second trimester

Week 17 of pregnancy

Your baby is the size of a pear. Fat starts to build up under the skin, and unique fingerprints form on the fingertips.

Your baby is the size of a pear

Length, head to bottom
≈ 13 cm
Weight
≈ 140 g

Your baby this week

  • Fat starts to build up under the skin; it will help the baby keep warm after birth.
  • Fingerprints form on the fingertips, unique to your baby.
  • Cartilage in the skeleton keeps turning into bone.

Your body this week

  • Your appetite may grow noticeably.
  • You may get heartburn, because progesterone relaxes the muscle at the top of the stomach.
  • As your bump grows your centre of gravity shifts and your balance changes a little.

Follow your own pregnancy week by week

Enter your due date and we will show you your week every time you visit, and email you each new week as it arrives. Free.

Not sure of your due date? Work it out Already have an account? Sign in

Read more for this stage

General information written by the mam.al editors. Every pregnancy is different and sizes are averages; it does not replace advice from your doctor or midwife. Sources include the NHS week-by-week guide to pregnancy. NHS. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.