14 weeks pregnant: baby size, symptoms and what to do

At 14 weeks pregnant, your baby is about the size of a lemon or a small peach — roughly 8.5 to 9 cm from head to bottom and around 43 g. Week 14 is the first week of the second trimester, and your baby can now make tiny facial expressions and may even suck a thumb. All figures are averages.

Welcome to the second trimester. Week 14 is a quietly encouraging week: for many people the worst of the nausea is fading, energy is creeping back, and a small bump may be starting to show. For others none of that has happened yet, and that is equally normal.

How big is your baby at 14 weeks pregnant?

At 14 weeks, average measurements are roughly:

• Length: about 8.5 to 9 cm, measured from the top of the head to the bottom (crown to rump).
• Weight: around 43 g — about the weight of a small bar of chocolate.
• Size comparison: most pregnancy apps and books call this a lemon; you'll also see a peach, a large plum or a nectarine used for the same week.

Treat all of these as approximations. Healthy babies at 14 weeks vary by a surprising amount, and a scan that puts yours a little above or below these numbers is usually just normal variation — growth is judged by your care team against your own dates and your baby's own pattern, not against a fruit.

What "14 weeks pregnant" actually means

Pregnancy is counted in gestational weeks, starting from the first day of your last menstrual period — not from the day you conceived. Conception usually happens about two weeks later, so at 14 weeks pregnant your baby has typically been developing for around 12 weeks. Both numbers are right; they simply start counting from different points, which is also why a dating scan can shift your due date by a few days.

In months, week 14 sits at the start of your fourth month — roughly three and a half months along, with about 26 weeks to go — and it is the first week of the second trimester.

What your baby is doing at 14 weeks

This week is less about new organs and more about practice. Around now, your baby is typically:

• Making facial expressions. The tiny muscles of the face are working, so squinting, frowning and grimacing all happen — reflexes rather than moods.
• Bringing hands to the mouth, and some babies are seen sucking a thumb on a scan.
• Growing lanugo, a layer of fine, soft hair that starts to cover the skin and helps keep the body warm.
• Straightening up. The neck is lengthening and the head sits more upright instead of tucked onto the chest.
• Producing urine. The kidneys are working and passing urine into the amniotic fluid — a normal and important part of how that fluid is refreshed.
• Developing external genitals, which are now formed. Sex is sometimes visible on a scan at this stage, but it is often still unclear, and many services don't look until the mid-pregnancy scan.

Your baby is also moving constantly — stretching, kicking and turning. Almost nobody feels it yet at 14 weeks: there is still plenty of room, and the movements are feather-light.

What you may be feeling at 14 weeks

Second-trimester symptoms are often gentler, but they are also different, and a few new ones appear around now. Common at week 14:

• Nausea easing and appetite returning — for many, though not all. Some people feel sick well into the second trimester, and a smaller number all the way through.
• More energy. The bone-deep first-trimester tiredness often lifts a little.
• A small bump. The uterus is rising out of the pelvis, so your lower abdomen may look rounder — earlier if this isn't your first pregnancy, later for plenty of people. No visible bump at 14 weeks is not a warning sign.
• Round-ligament twinges: short, pulling or stabbing sensations low down on one side when you stand, cough or roll over, as the ligaments supporting the uterus stretch.
• A blocked or stuffy nose, and sometimes nosebleeds, caused by pregnancy hormones and extra blood flow to the lining of the nose.
• Bleeding or tender gums when you brush. A soft brush and gentle flossing help, and dental care in pregnancy is encouraged in most countries.
• Darkening skin: patches on the face, a line down the middle of the belly, or darker nipples. These usually fade after birth.

What to do this week

Antenatal care schedules genuinely differ from country to country, and even between regions. Use this as a prompt to check your own plan rather than as a checklist to follow:

• Make sure your pregnancy is registered. In many countries weeks 12 to 14 are the deadline window for registering with maternity services, a family doctor or a health insurer. Registering late usually just means a slightly different pathway — it's worth a phone call now.
• Tell your employer if you need to. Deadlines for maternity leave, pay and workplace risk assessments vary widely, so check your local rules.
• Ask about first-trimester screening if you haven't had it. Combined screening is usually offered around weeks 11 to 14, and other options are often available slightly later. Your midwife or doctor can explain what still applies to you.
• Book the mid-pregnancy anomaly scan if it isn't already scheduled — typically done between about 18 and 22 weeks, and appointments fill up.
• Take only what your clinician has approved. No supplement, herbal remedy, tea or over-the-counter medicine, however natural it sounds, should be started in pregnancy without checking first with your doctor, midwife or pharmacist.

To see the whole arc rather than just this week, our complete pregnancy week-by-week guide walks through every week from the first missed period to your due date.

Call your doctor or midwife now if you have

Most of what happens at 14 weeks is ordinary. These signs are not, and none of them are ever a bother to phone about:

• Vaginal bleeding, any amount.
• Severe or persistent abdominal pain, or cramping that doesn't settle (brief round-ligament twinges are different).
• Fluid leaking from the vagina.
• Fever, or feeling generally unwell and shivery.
• A severe headache, especially with blurred vision, flashing lights, or sudden swelling of the face, hands or feet.
• Pain or burning when you urinate, or needing to go far more often than usual with discomfort.
• Any sudden, severe symptom — fainting, breathlessness, chest pain, or calf pain and swelling.

On movement: you are not expected to feel or count anything at 14 weeks, and structured kick counting normally starts much later in pregnancy. First movements are usually felt between about 16 and 25 weeks, often later in a first pregnancy. Once movements are well established, though, any reduction or change in the usual pattern is always worth an immediate call, at any hour.

Week 14 is a gentle week: a lemon-sized baby practising expressions, a body often starting to feel more like itself, and a few practical jobs worth ticking off. This page is general information, not medical advice — your own doctor, midwife and national antenatal programme know your history and always come first.