At 22 weeks pregnant (22+0 to 22+6 weeks from the first day of your last period) you are about 5 months and 2 days along, in the 6th month of pregnancy. Your baby's lungs are developing: they are practising breathing in the womb and swallowing small sips of amniotic fluid. This is the last week of the 18 to 22 week window that UpToDate gives for the detailed anomaly scan.
Counted from your last period, 22 weeks pregnant is about 5 months and 2 days, so you are in the 6th month. This week covers days 154 to 160; you are in the second trimester, with about 126 days to your due date.
According to the NHS, your baby is about 27.8 cm long from head to toe. The lungs are developing and your baby is practising breathing in the womb. Your baby swallows small amounts of amniotic fluid, which usually stays in the bowels and comes out after birth as a dark, sticky first poo (meconium). The taste buds are developing and could be influenced by what you eat, so try to include plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Your baby's heartbeat can be heard with a handheld doppler at check-ups from 16 weeks; the Turkish Ministry of Health guideline gives 110 to 160 beats per minute as the normal fetal heart rate.
ACOG adds that during weeks 21 to 24 kicks and turns get stronger, the sucking reflex develops and fat starts to form under the skin.
Stretch marks may start to appear on your tummy, upper thighs or breasts. The NHS says they are common in pregnancy, harmless, and usually fade after the birth.
Piles (haemorrhoids) are also common: swellings inside or around the bottom that can itch, feel sore and hurt when you poo (NHS).
Aches and pains are common, but it can be hard to tell what is serious. The NHS advises calling your midwife or doctor straight away if you have severe pain or vaginal bleeding. Other common symptoms this week (tiredness, heartburn, backache, leg cramps, swollen hands and feet, nosebleeds and bleeding gums) are the same as on the week 21 page.
If you smoke, this is a good time to stop: the NHS says cigarettes starve your baby of oxygen and raise the risk of miscarriage and stillbirth, and your baby's lungs are developing right now. Ask your doctor or midwife for support.
There is no need to eat for two; you do not need extra calories until the third trimester, which starts at week 28 (NHS). The Turkish Ministry of Health guideline suggests gaining no more than 2 kg a month if you started pregnancy underweight or at a healthy weight, and no more than 1 kg a month if you were overweight or obese.
Detailed anomaly scan. Recommended timing differs:
If you have not had it yet, talk to your doctor this week.
What the second visit covers. Under the Turkish guideline, blood pressure, weight, a urine test and a full blood count are repeated; you are counselled about not feeling the baby move, rapid weight gain and danger signs in pregnancy, given oral and dental health advice, and referred to antenatal classes.
Baby's movements. The RCOG says most women first notice movements at 18 to 20 weeks; in a first pregnancy it may be after 20 weeks. Not having felt any movement yet is not an emergency, but tell your doctor. Thresholds differ: the Turkish Ministry of Health guideline lists no movements after 20 weeks as a reason for referral to an obstetrician, while the NHS and RCOG ask you to contact your midwife or maternity unit if you have felt nothing by 24 weeks.
Whooping cough (Tdap) vaccine. The Turkish guideline recommends the first dose between 18 and 24 weeks; if that is missed, one dose can be given until the end of week 32. The NHS says it can be given from week 16 to week 32, and the US recommendation described by UpToDate gives 27 to 36 weeks as the ideal window.
Coming up. Glucose screening is due between 24 and 28 weeks (Turkish Ministry of Health).
The anomaly scan checks your baby's organs and the position of the placenta (NHS, NICE).
According to UpToDate, if no scan has been done by 22+0 weeks the pregnancy is considered suboptimally dated, while a due date set by the earliest scan up to 21+6 weeks is not changed by later measurements.
How much does the baby weigh? In the reference table of the World Health Organization's fetal growth study across 10 countries (2017), the median (50th percentile) estimated weight at 22 weeks is about 476 g; the 10th percentile is 412 g and the 90th percentile 548 g. These are reference values, not your own baby's measurement. The study notes differences between countries, maternal characteristics and the baby's sex, so these charts may need adjusting for local use. The growth trend matters more than a single measurement. According to UpToDate, scans done to estimate the baby's weight are generally not useful before about 24 weeks.
| Symptom | Usually | Seek care if |
|---|---|---|
| Stretch marks on the tummy, upper thighs or breasts | Common in pregnancy, harmless, and usually fade after the birth. | Itching with no obvious cause that is not limited to stretch marks is one of the Turkish Ministry of Health danger signs; tell your doctor. |
| Pulling pain in the groin or sides of the bump | Pain from the womb's ligaments stretching is one of the common symptoms the NHS lists for this week. | Call your midwife or doctor straight away if the pain is severe or comes with bleeding (NHS). |
| Heartburn and indigestion | Caused by your growing baby taking up the space around your stomach; smaller meals and fewer rich, spicy or fatty foods can help. | Pain just below the ribs, especially with a severe headache or vision problems, needs urgent checking for pre-eclampsia (NHS). |
Contact your midwife, doctor or maternity unit straight away if you have:
Most of these are danger signs or emergency referral criteria in the Turkish Ministry of Health Antenatal Care Management Guideline (2026); tightenings, cramps, backache and pelvic pressure are on UpToDate's list of preterm labour signs. Headache, vision problems, facial swelling, pain below the ribs and high blood pressure can be signs of pre-eclampsia (NHS, UpToDate). The NHS says to call if your baby's movements reduce, stop or change, without waiting until the next day, even at night.
The NHS says the sonographer may be able to tell you, but it is sometimes hard to get a proper look, and some hospitals do not reveal the sex before birth. If you do not want to know, say so before the scan starts.
Yes. The Turkish Ministry of Health guideline recommends the fetal anomaly scan between 18 and 24 weeks, and UpToDate gives 18 to 22 weeks as the standard range. On the NICE schedule the scan falls between 18+0 and 20+6 weeks.
Brief pulling pains from the womb's ligaments stretching are common. Severe pain, bleeding, regular tightenings or increasing pelvic pressure are not expected; get help straight away if you have them.
No. The NHS advises calling your midwife or doctor straight away if you bleed. NICE recommends hospital review for unexplained bleeding after 13 weeks, with anti-D for women who are rhesus negative.
In the reference table of the World Health Organization fetal growth study (2017), the median estimated weight at 22 weeks is about 476 g, with the 10th percentile at 412 g and the 90th at 548 g. These are reference values; an ultrasound weight is itself an estimate with a margin of error, so the growth trend matters more than a single measurement.
Last updated: . All sources have been confirmed with their latest versions. This content is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for a doctor's examination.