22 weeks pregnant

What happens at 22 weeks pregnant?

At 22 weeks a baby is around 27.8 cm long, from head to heel, about the size of a birthday cake, eleven inches. That is roughly 5 months, in the second trimester, with about 18 weeks to go until 40.

Published length

27.8 cm long, from head to heel

In months

Roughly 5 months

Trimester

second · 18 weeks to go

What is developing at 22 weeks

Touch, taste and hearing are all sharpening. The baby has a working grip and will take hold of the umbilical cord. The lips and eyebrows are more distinct, and the skin is still wrinkled and translucent with blood vessels visible beneath it.

The size comparison above is a birthday cake, eleven inches, which measures 28 cm across. Every comparison on this site is a real object with a real measurement, checked against the published length. The same week is drawn in seven other sets below, from Australian animals to fast food, if this one means nothing to you.

22 weeks, in eight rulers

Every other pregnancy tool measures a baby in fruit. This one offers eight sets to choose from, and each object below carries its real measurement, checked against the 27.8 cm the NHS publishes for week 22. Pick whichever ruler you actually have a feel for. Why not fruit.

  • Sweet treats

    a birthday cake, eleven inches

    28 cm across

  • Australian animals

    a bandicoot

    29 cm head and body

  • The 90s

    a Sega Mega Drive

    28 cm side to side

  • Sport

    a rugby ball

    29 cm point to point

  • Things you already own

    a frying pan

    28 cm across

  • Gaming

    a Steam Deck

    29.8 cm side to side

  • Fast food

    a family chicken bucket

    28 cm across the lid

  • Toys

    an Action Man

    30 cm head to boots

Your dates, from 22 weeks

Set to someone who is exactly 22 weeks today, so the due date below is the one that implies. Change the date to your own and everything follows from it — nothing is saved unless you do.

How far along am I?

Measure your baby in

The lolly aisle, scaled up week by week.

Do not know your due date yet? The due date calculator estimates one from your last period. A dating ultrasound is more accurate than any calendar method — if your pregnancy care team has given you a date, use theirs.

Questions about 22 weeks

How many months is 22 weeks pregnant?
22 weeks is roughly 5 months. Months are an awkward unit in pregnancy because they do not divide evenly into weeks — a calendar month averages about 4.3 weeks, which is why 40 weeks works out a little over nine months rather than ten. Appointments and scans are always booked in weeks, so weeks are the figure worth carrying.
How big is a baby at 22 weeks?
The NHS publishes around 27.8 cm long, from head to heel for week 22. Rather than one fruit, that length is offered here against eight rulers, each object carrying its own measurement: a birthday cake, eleven inches (28 cm across), a bandicoot (29 cm head and body), a Sega Mega Drive (28 cm side to side), a rugby ball (29 cm point to point), and four more. Published lengths are averages across many babies, not a measurement of any particular one, and a scan estimate that differs is a normal thing rather than a finding.
What trimester is 22 weeks?
Week 22 is in the second trimester, on the commonly published split of weeks 1–12, 13–26 and 27 onward. The boundaries are conventions for talking about pregnancy rather than biological switches — nothing changes overnight at week 13 or week 27.

Where these numbers come from

Stop doing this maths in your head

Once the counting turns into feeds, sleeps and nappies, BubSync keeps that record shared across everyone caring for your baby.

Cream and peach BubSync graphic reading “Weeks pregnant calculator,” with text about counting weeks and days from a due date, a progress bar illustration and a note that sizes are compared to everyday objects.

Save this for later

Pin this page to a board and it will be waiting when you need it — at 3 am, or at the next appointment.

Save to Pinterest