25 weeks pregnant: your baby hears you, and planning your leave

At 25 weeks pregnant your baby may respond with movement to your voice, HealthXchange says, and is taking practice breaths in the fluid around them. The third trimester is close. This is a good week to pin down your leave dates, because MOM's notice rules count back from the day your leave starts.

Your baby at 25 weeks

The lungs have started making surfactant, a substance they'll need to breathe air, but they're still immature, KKH says. The nostrils, plugged until recently, are opening, which lets your baby practise breathing movements. Hair is growing on the head.

Planning your maternity leave

For a Singapore citizen child, with at least 3 months' service with your employer, you get 16 weeks of Government-Paid Maternity Leave (GPML). MOM sets out how it can run:

MOM's example: with a due date of 7 July, you could start your leave any day between 9 June and 7 July. To start on 9 June, you'd tell your employer by 12 May. The maternity leave calculator does this for your dates.

Your employer pays you and claims back from the Government. At the 2026 National Day Rally, the Government said it will cover the cost of all child-related leave for every child, up to the limit, with details to come.

Planning your partner's leave

• Government-Paid Paternity Leave is 4 weeks if your due date is on or after 1 April 2025. Your partner must give 4 weeks' notice. By default it's taken as 4 continuous weeks within 16 weeks of the birth; with the employer's agreement it can be spread over 12 months.
• Shared parental leave is 10 weeks for children born from 1 April 2026, split between you as you agree, also with 4 weeks' notice.

Work out the split with the paternity leave calculator and shared parental leave calculator, and see maternity and paternity leave in Singapore for the details.

What's due in Singapore at 25 weeks

When to go to the hospital

Tightening that becomes regular or painful, leaking fluid, bleeding, or a severe headache with blurred vision or sudden swelling need the hospital now.

From 22 weeks, KKH asks you to go straight to its Delivery Suite, at Level 2 of the Women's Tower, for water-bag leakage, vaginal bleeding or signs of labour. At NUH, the Delivery Suite is Ward 22, on Level 2 of the Main Building. Booked somewhere else? Go to your own hospital's delivery suite, or call its O&G clinic if you're unsure.

Frequently asked questions

When must I tell my employer about maternity leave?

At least 4 weeks before Government-Paid Maternity Leave starts, MOM says, or 1 week for the 12 weeks under the Employment Act.

Can I start maternity leave earlier than 4 weeks before the birth?

Not as GPML. MOM's default start is 4 weeks before the birth, and by agreement you can start any time within those 4 weeks.

Can my baby hear me at 25 weeks?

HealthXchange says that by week 25 your baby may respond with movement to your voice.

25 weeks pregnant is how many months?

Nearly six months, counted from the first day of your last period.

Week by week. Previous week: 24 weeks pregnant. Next week: 26 weeks pregnant. Every week from 4 to 40: pregnancy week by week.