Week 24 is a threshold week. From around here a baby born early may survive with specialist neonatal care, which is why services treat this week as a line. It is also the week movement stops being a curiosity and starts being information.
Your body this week
Hunger often increases now, and the NHS is direct about it: no extra food is needed until the third trimester begins at week 28.
Weight is going on, and bump size continues to be a poor guide to anything. Some women are barely showing at 24 weeks and their pregnancies are entirely ordinary.
Aches turn up in new places — ribs, back, breasts, hips, tummy — as ligaments loosen and the pregnancy presses on things. That is the ordinary version. Pain that is severe, one-sided, or comes with bleeding or fever is not the ordinary version.
What you may notice
Tiredness and sleep problems, stretch marks, sore gums, round ligament pains, piles, headaches, backache, nosebleeds, indigestion and heartburn, bloating and constipation, leg cramps, feeling hot, dizziness, swollen hands and feet, urine infections, vaginal infections, and skin and hair changes.
Movements should now be something you can recognise. RCOG guidance is that there is no set number of movements to expect, and that what matters is a change from what has become usual for you. If that happens, contact the maternity unit — at any hour, on any day. They expect those calls and would rather have them.
Your baby this week
Around week 24, the figure given is about 30cm from head to heel, which the NHS compares to a corn on the cob. Population averages once again, and never a statement about one pregnancy.
Everything is in proportion, with growth still to come. From around this point, a baby born early may survive with the support of a neonatal unit, which can help with breathing, feeding, warmth and infection.
What care usually happens around now
In the UK, women expecting a first baby are usually offered an antenatal appointment at around 25 weeks; women who have had a baby before have a slightly different schedule. The appointment covers blood pressure, urine and the size of the bump.
From around 24 weeks, bump measurement becomes a routine part of appointments as a rough check on growth. ACOG's guidance on preterm labour is worth knowing from this week: regular tightenings, low backache, pelvic pressure, or a change in discharge before 37 weeks are all reasons to call. Schedules and thresholds differ between countries.
This week's tip
Save your maternity unit's 24-hour number in your phone this week, under a name you would find in a panic. Not the GP, not the antenatal clinic — the unit that answers at three in the morning. It is the number that reduced movement, leaking fluid and early tightenings all lead to, and looking for it while frightened is how time is lost.
When to see a doctor
Contact your maternity service the same day for any reduction or change in movement. Call for regular tightenings, leaking fluid, low backache with pressure, bleeding, or a fever. Pregnancy warning signs has the full list.
Seek care now: Contact your local emergency services or go to your nearest emergency department if you have heavy bleeding, severe or one-sided tummy pain, a severe headache with vision changes, sudden swelling of the face or hands, a fever, fluid leaking from the vagina, chest pain, trouble breathing, fainting, or a seizure. Contact your maternity service the same day for any reduction in your baby's usual pattern of movement. Femio cannot assess a pregnancy.
Frequently asked questions
Should I be counting kicks?
No. Guidance from RCOG is explicitly against fixed counts, because the meaningful signal is a change from your own usual pattern rather than a number.
What does viability at 24 weeks actually mean?
That from around this point survival is possible with specialist neonatal care. It is a threshold in how care is provided, not a promise. Week 25 covers the next appointment, and week 23 covers learning your pattern.