Week 24 of Pregnancy: What's Going On Inside

Topic Overview

By week 24, you may have noticed some jerking movements inside your belly—or even seen them on the outside! Repetitive, jerky movements usually mean your baby has the hiccups. Hiccups are perfectly normal and can last anywhere from a minute to an hour.

Wondering what your baby looks like now? As you enter your seventh month of pregnancy, your baby is about the size of a cantaloupe. Average baby length is 210 mm (8.3 in.). And average baby weight is 630 g (1.4 lb).

How your baby is changing

Here are some of the important facts and developments around 24 weeks.

• This month, the fetus is still building up body fat and starting to put on a lot of weight.
• At this size, a fetus is still small enough to change position a lot—from head-down to feet-down, or even sideways. You will feel more movement or less movement at certain times of the day and night.
• At 23 weeks of pregnancy, the eyes show rapid eye movement.
• In rare cases, babies survive birth at 22 weeks, but generally, the lungs cannot yet breathe air.