pregnancy week 20
20 weeks pregnant.
Halfway there. Many people are offered an anatomy ultrasound this week to check on your baby's growth and organs.
Updated 29 July 2026 · Sources: NHS and ACOG
Your baby this week
Looks like a tiny baby. Head still slightly larger than typical, but proportions are filling in, and fingernails and toenails are visible.
- Halfway point
- Anatomy scan week
- Hair growth picks up
- Movements feel stronger
What may be changing in your body
Your uterus is at the level of your belly button. Distinct kicks are usually felt by now. Some experience hip pain or sciatica from pressure.
Regular, unmistakable kicks
By the halfway mark, most people feel definite daily movement, often strongest in the evening when you finally lie still. Patterns are still forming — formal daily tracking begins around 24 to 28 weeks.
Shortness of breath on exertion
Progesterone changes your breathing drive and the uterus is starting to crowd upward, so stairs may leave you puffing sooner. Mild breathlessness with activity is normal; breathlessness at rest or with chest pain needs urgent review.
Feet growing or widening
The hormone relaxin loosens foot ligaments and fluid adds volume — many people go up half a shoe size, sometimes permanently. Comfortable, supportive shoes stop being optional around now.
Belly button changes
As the uterus reaches navel height, an innie may flatten or begin to pop outward. It is harmless and typically reverts after birth.
Increased appetite and heartburn together
Hunger is up but stomach space is shrinking, a combination that fuels reflux. Little and often remains the winning strategy for the rest of pregnancy.
Pelvic girdle pain
Pain around the pubic bone, groin or one hip when walking or climbing stairs affects a significant minority from mid-pregnancy. It is treatable — ask your midwife for a referral to physiotherapy early rather than pushing through.
Your week 20 checklist
- Complete the anomaly scan and ask about placenta position and growth measurements
- Celebrate the halfway point — photograph the bump and write the baby a short note if that appeals
- Order the big-ticket items now: pram, car seat, cot — delivery times can run to weeks
- Book your whooping cough (pertussis) vaccination, offered from 16 to 32 weeks
- Start planning maternity leave handover notes at work while energy is good
A useful partner move this week
Halfway is a milestone worth marking — plan a small celebration, even just a dinner where you talk about names and the life ahead rather than logistics. Your hands-on era begins now too: kicks are often strong enough to feel from the outside in the evenings, so make the ritual of feeling for them yours. Then channel the momentum into ordering the pram and car seat you researched, because lead times are real.
What comes next
From here on, the baby will mostly focus on growing larger and maturing the brain, lungs, and senses.
Common questions
Is 20 weeks really the halfway point of pregnancy?
Yes, by convention — a full-term pregnancy is counted as 40 weeks from your last period, making week 20 the midpoint. In practice, only about four percent of babies arrive on their due date, and anywhere from 37 to 42 weeks is considered term. So you are halfway through the count, give or take the few weeks of natural variation at the end.
What should my baby's movements feel like at 20 weeks?
By now most people feel definite kicks, pokes, rolls and flutters every day, typically strongest when you are lying quietly in the evening. There is no set number of kicks to count at this stage — what matters later is learning your baby's own pattern, which becomes established between 24 and 28 weeks. From then on, any noticeable reduction in movements means calling your midwife straight away, at any hour.
Can the anomaly scan tell if my baby is healthy?
It is a thorough check of the structures that can be seen — brain, heart, spine, kidneys, limbs — and it detects many significant conditions, but no scan can rule out every problem. Detection rates vary by condition: some are found in nearly all cases, others in only around half. A normal scan is genuinely reassuring; your team will explain clearly if anything needs a closer look.
How many months is 20 weeks pregnant?
Pregnancy months do not divide evenly into weeks, so clinicians date pregnancy in weeks. At 20 weeks, you are in trimester two.