Your week 14 guide

Fine downy hair called lanugo begins to cover the skin. It grows over the whole body, helps hold the protective vernix coating in place, and plays a part in keeping your baby warm before there is enough body fat to do the job. Most of it is shed again before or shortly after birth.

The thyroid gland is mature enough to make its own hormones. Until now your baby has depended entirely on thyroid hormone crossing the placenta from you, and even now your contribution remains important. This is one reason a known thyroid condition needs monitoring in pregnancy and why medication doses are often adjusted.

Reproductive structures and other organs are continuing to develop. In boys the prostate is forming, and in girls the ovaries are moving down from the abdomen into the pelvis and already contain their lifetime supply of immature eggs. Much of this is happening on a scale too small to be visible on a scan for several more weeks.

Energy and appetite often rise while breast tenderness eases. This is the point where many women feel recognisably themselves again, and it is worth using rather than filling entirely with postponed tasks. If you still feel exhausted, that is common too and worth mentioning, since anaemia and thyroid problems can both present this way.

Round ligament discomfort can appear as the uterus expands. The ligaments supporting the uterus are stretching, which can produce a sharp pulling sensation low on one or both sides when you stand up quickly, cough or roll over. It typically lasts seconds; pain that is severe, constant, or comes with bleeding or fever needs assessing.

Hair may feel thicker and your libido can change in either direction. Pregnancy slows the normal cycle of hair shedding, so hair seems fuller for a while and then sheds noticeably after birth. Desire may return strongly, disappear entirely, or fluctuate, and sex is usually safe in an uncomplicated pregnancy unless your team has advised otherwise.

Book a routine dental check and tell the practice you are pregnant. Pregnancy hormones make gums more prone to inflammation and bleeding, and gum disease is worth treating rather than tolerating. Dental care is free during pregnancy and for a period afterwards in some countries, so it is worth asking what applies where you live. InshaAllah, a little planning can make appointments easier to fit into your week.

Ask which vaccines are recommended for you and when. Whooping cough and influenza vaccination are advised in pregnancy in many countries, timed to specific weeks so that antibodies pass to your baby before birth. Your midwife can tell you what is offered locally and answer concerns directly rather than leaving you to search.

Keep up movement your clinician has approved and eat regularly now that appetite has returned. Walking, swimming and pregnancy-specific classes suit most people, and the aim is maintaining strength rather than building it. If you feel dizzy, breathless in a way that stops you talking, or have any pain, stop and check in.

Focus on iron: Your blood volume expands considerably during pregnancy, which raises your need for iron. Iron is used to make haemoglobin, the protein that carries oxygen around your body.

Food sources include beans, lentils, chickpeas, leafy green vegetables, fortified cereals, eggs, well-cooked meat, poultry and suitable fish. A varied selection is more useful than relying on one particular food, and iron needs are best judged by a blood test rather than by how tired you feel.