How does my baby grow at 24 weeks?

Your baby is now 30cm long, about the size of an ear of corn. They weigh approximately 500 grams, equivalent to a tub of cottage cheese.

This is an important milestone to reach because, at around 24 weeks, your baby becomes known as ‘viable’, which means that if they were born now, there’s a chance they could survive outside the womb with help from the neonatal specialist doctors.

What do I need to know about being 24 weeks pregnant?

Make sure you’re consuming a healthy diet with a variety of different vitamins and minerals, as each one will have a different effect on your baby. Calcium and Vitamin D are essential for making their bones and teeth grow strong; iron helps your baby’s body reduce red blood cells; and zinc improves the development of their organs.

To get a suitable number of vitamins and minerals, it’s essential to eat a balanced diet. Choose foods from the four main food groups: fruit and vegetables, starchy food (ideally wholemeal or brown bread, rice, or cereals), dairy products, and protein (fish, meat, pulses/eggs).

Also, consider getting the whooping cough vaccine, which is given between 16 and 32 weeks. If you’re not sure how to get this or what it’s for, speak to your midwife for more information.

Treat yourself to some lovely maternity clothes, as this can help relax you and your body. Remember, it’s not just the added weight of your baby, but their amniotic fluid and placenta that’s adding some numbers to the scales! Add that to the extra blood pumping around your body, the increase in breast size, and the extra muscle around your womb, and it’s no wonder you’ve gained a little weight! Just remember, if your bump isn’t showing clearly just yet, every pregnancy is different.

What Does My Pregnancy Look Like at Twenty-Four Weeks?

Symptoms, baby growth and what you need to know about being 24 weeks pregnant.