At 25 weeks pregnant, you’re near the end of your second trimester, and both your body and your baby are changing fast. Your baby now weighs about 1.5 pounds (660 grams) and measures roughly 13.6 inches (34.6 cm) from head to heel, about the length of an ear of corn. This is a milestone week for several reasons: your baby’s lungs are developing rapidly, you may be due for a glucose screening test, and you’re likely noticing new physical symptoms as your belly grows.
Your Baby at 25 Weeks
Your baby’s skin is becoming less translucent as fat deposits build underneath. Those fat layers will help regulate body temperature after birth. The lungs are forming the tiny air sacs that will eventually allow breathing outside the womb, though they still need several more weeks to mature fully.
Your baby is also getting more active. You’re probably feeling regular kicks, rolls, and flutters by now, and they may respond to loud sounds or your voice. While formal kick counting is typically recommended starting at 28 weeks, paying attention to your baby’s movement patterns now helps you learn what’s normal for them. When you do start counting later, the goal is to feel 10 movements within two hours.
Common Physical Symptoms
The late second trimester brings a mix of symptoms driven by your growing uterus, increased blood volume, and shifting center of gravity.
Braxton Hicks contractions may start showing up if they haven’t already. These feel like a mild tightening across your belly that comes and goes. They tend to happen more in the afternoon or evening, after physical activity, or after sex. They’re irregular, don’t get progressively stronger, and usually stop when you change position or rest.
Leg cramps become increasingly common around this stage, especially at night. Stretching your calf muscles before bed, staying physically active during the day, and drinking plenty of fluids can help prevent them. If a cramp hits, straighten your leg and flex your foot toward your shin. A warm bath or ice massage on the muscle can also bring relief.
Tingling or numbness in your hands is another symptom that often surfaces now. Fluid retention during pregnancy can put pressure on the nerve that runs through your wrist, causing symptoms similar to carpal tunnel syndrome. For most people, this resolves after delivery.
You might also notice increased swelling in your feet and ankles, more frequent heartburn as your uterus pushes against your stomach, and shortness of breath during everyday activities. These are all typical at this stage.
The Glucose Screening Test
If your provider hasn’t already scheduled it, you’ll likely have your glucose challenge test sometime between now and 28 weeks. This one-hour screening checks for gestational diabetes, a condition where your body can’t regulate blood sugar effectively during pregnancy.
The test is straightforward: you drink a sugary solution, wait an hour, and then have your blood drawn. A blood sugar level below 140 mg/dL is considered normal, though some clinics use a lower cutoff of 130 mg/dL. If your result falls between 140 and 190 mg/dL, you’ll need a longer three-hour follow-up test to confirm or rule out gestational diabetes. A result of 190 mg/dL or higher typically indicates gestational diabetes without needing the second test.
If you’re diagnosed with gestational diabetes, it’s usually manageable through dietary changes, blood sugar monitoring, and sometimes medication. Left unmanaged, it can lead to complications for both you and your baby, so the screening matters even if you feel perfectly fine.
Nutrition and Energy Needs
During the second trimester, most pregnant people need roughly 2,200 calories per day, which works out to about 300 extra calories beyond what you ate before pregnancy. That’s not a dramatic increase. Think a handful of nuts with a piece of fruit, or a cup of yogurt with granola.
What matters more than calorie counting is the quality of what you eat. Iron needs increase significantly during this stretch because your blood volume is expanding. Calcium supports your baby’s rapidly hardening bones. Fiber helps combat the constipation that plagues most pregnancies by now. Staying well hydrated is equally important, as dehydration can trigger Braxton Hicks contractions and worsen leg cramps.
Sleep and Comfort
Getting comfortable at night is becoming harder. Side sleeping is generally recommended during pregnancy because lying flat on your back allows the weight of your uterus to compress major blood vessels, potentially reducing blood flow to you and your baby. Researchers have hypothesized that this compression of the aorta and the vein returning blood from your lower body could contribute to complications like reduced fetal growth.
That said, an NIH-funded study found that sleep position during early and mid-pregnancy (up to 30 weeks) did not significantly affect the risk of complications. The concern becomes more relevant in late pregnancy as the uterus gets heavier. For now, sleeping on your side is a good habit to build. A pillow between your knees and another supporting your belly can make side sleeping more comfortable. If you wake up on your back, simply roll over. There’s no need to stress about it.
Warning Signs to Watch For
Most of what you’re feeling at 25 weeks is normal, but some symptoms warrant immediate attention.
Preeclampsia can develop from the second trimester onward. Its hallmark is high blood pressure, but the symptoms you’d notice at home include severe headaches that don’t respond to rest, vision changes like blurriness or light sensitivity, pain under your ribs on the right side, sudden swelling of your face and hands, and nausea or vomiting that seems unrelated to typical morning sickness. Your provider checks your blood pressure and urine at every prenatal visit partly to catch this early.
Signs of preterm labor are different from Braxton Hicks in important ways. Preterm contractions come at regular intervals, get stronger over time, and don’t stop when you rest or change position. Other warning signs include a change in vaginal discharge (becoming watery, mucousy, or bloody), any spotting, or leaking of fluid from your vagina. Leaking fluid can indicate your water has broken early, which requires prompt medical evaluation.
Viability at 25 Weeks
One thing many parents think about around this time is what would happen if their baby arrived early. At 25 weeks, a baby who receives intensive care has roughly an 80% chance of survival. Of 20 babies born at this gestational age, about 14 survive without serious long-term disability. Around 1 in 10 survivors develops cerebral palsy, and about 1 in 15 has a severe learning disability.
These numbers reflect the reality that 25 weeks is a critical threshold in fetal development. Every additional week in the womb significantly improves outcomes. The lungs, brain, and immune system all undergo rapid maturation over the coming weeks, which is why the remaining stretch of pregnancy carries so much weight for long-term health.