16 week of pregnancy from conception

What happens to the baby at 16 weeks

At the 16th week of pregnancy, numerous changes take place with the baby, his bones harden, and the heart works more and more intensively. His fingers and toes have formed, they now have a characteristic unique pattern.

The face of the crumbs becomes more prominent, its features appear more noticeable than before. If the mother is rather slender, she can feel the baby swarming in the tummy as early as 16 weeks, although movements usually become noticeable at 18-20 weeks.

Even if a woman does not feel this, the child in the womb actively waves her arms and legs, touches the umbilical cord with her fingers, touches her face and legs with them.

From time to time, the baby swallows some of the amniotic fluid in which he swims. Once in the digestive tract, this liquid helps the child’s digestive system to develop. Thanks to such exercises, the baby after birth can absorb colostrum and milk. Further, the liquid is filtered by the kidneys, and then returns to the cavity in the form of urine.

At this time, the child’s cerebral cortex develops intensively, furrows and convolutions appear on it. In parallel, the organs of the endocrine system begin to function: the adrenal glands and the thymus gland.

Fetal ultrasound

At the 16th week of pregnancy from conception, you can undergo an ultrasound screening of the second trimester. Although, as a rule, doctors send mothers for such an examination closer to the 18th week.

With an ultrasound of the fetus at week 16, specialists study not only possible pathologies, but also try to obtain information about the thickness of the placenta and its location, the degree of maturity (normal 0-1), the amount of amniotic fluid in order to determine oligohydramnios or polyhydramnios.

The doctor looks at the cervix with a vaginal probe, it should not be less than 30 mm, and the internal os should be closed.

In addition, an ultrasound of the fetus at week 16 will allow doctors to determine the weight of the child, the circumference of his head and tummy, the length of the thigh and humerus, as well as the number of heartbeats (the norm is 120-160 at any time).

Photo life

By the 16th week of pregnancy from conception, the weight of the baby can already reach 150 grams, and the growth will be about 12,5–14 cm. The baby is close to a pomegranate in size.

A photo of your 16 week belly is a good way to capture the history of how your baby’s life began. In slender girls at this time, the tummy already slightly protrudes forward, so it becomes difficult to hide the position. Moms with more rounded shapes may not worry about the belts on their trousers yet, but in the next couple of weeks they will feel an increase in the waist area.

What happens to mom at 16 weeks

Since the beginning of pregnancy, the mother has most likely gained weight from 4,5 to 5,8 kg. Such changes do not go unnoticed, so that a woman may face inconvenience. Sleeping, and just lying on your back, becomes more and more difficult, as the growing uterus begins to put pressure on the inferior vena cava, interfering with blood flow.

The cardiovascular system of a pregnant woman is subjected to a serious load at such a time, so blood pressure may be lower than usual, shortness of breath may occur. It should be borne in mind that any sudden movements, such as getting out of bed, can result in dizziness and weakness in the legs.

At the 16th week of pregnancy, some mothers notice that the discharge of whites from the vagina has increased. There is nothing to worry about, just try to wash yourself more often and wear cotton underwear.

In the second trimester, doctors recommend sticking to a diet with a minimum amount of simple sugar. It attracts microbes, and as a result, the woman has to be treated for infections.

What sensations can you experience in 16 week

1. At this time, many women feel the movement of the fetus for the first time. The timing is indicative, and if your baby is not fidgeting in the stomach yet, wait a couple of weeks. Sometimes being overweight prevents you from feeling your baby’s movements, so control the amount of food and follow your feelings. Most of all, the baby’s movements resemble the fluttering of wings, sometimes light blows. Some mothers admit that this is more like the process of gas formation in the intestines or stomach rumbling.
2. A brutal appetite often replaces toxicosis, so in the second trimester of pregnancy you need to monitor your diet. Try to lean on healthy food, have three large meals a day and two snacks.
3. Frequent urination, which will be with you until the end of the term. In no case should you endure, you need to empty your bladder at every opportunity, because otherwise there is a risk of developing cystitis, which will have to be treated.
4. Back pain, someone like an ache, someone has real acute attacks. These sensations arise from the growing uterus, which shifts the center of gravity, and the woman has to bend over. The load on the muscles of the sacrum increases, hence the pain. If it is difficult to cope with it, you can consult a doctor for analgesics. In addition, warmth and peace help, as well as special shoes and bandages for pregnant women.

There are a number of sensations at the 16th week of pregnancy, which you should definitely inform your doctor about, as they can signal problems:

• persistent or severe headache;
• blurred vision or flickering “flies” before the eyes;
• rapidly growing edema;
• bloody discharge from the genital tract;
• severe unrelenting abdominal pain;
• constant vomiting;
• copious watery discharge from the vagina – the outflow of amniotic fluid.

Monthly

Menstruation during pregnancy is something outside the norm. In reality, this is nothing more than bleeding, which may indicate a threat.

Causes of bleeding in the second trimester can be:

• pathology of the cervix – ectopia, polyp, dysplasia;
• bleeding disorders (thrombophilia) or taking blood thinners;
• abruption or placenta previa.

“Losing time in such a situation can be deadly,” doctors warn. – If there is blood discharge of different volumes from brown spotting, pink to bright scarlet, you should urgently see a doctor and do an ultrasound.

Stomach ache

At different times, pregnant women experience sipping pains in the abdomen on the sides. Some mothers are worried: what if this is a danger signal. However, often such pain is normal, because the baby is growing and the uterus is growing with it. It is attached to the walls of the bone pelvis by ligaments, they are stretched – and there is a pulling pain.

How to distinguish “normal” pain from a threat?

• if the pain is only on one side, this is a good sign;
• put your hand on your stomach, if the uterus is calm – everything is in order, but if it is like a stone, we call the hospital;
• if the pain is not periodic, there is nothing to be afraid of, it is another matter if it occurs every 10-15 minutes – such sensations can be an alarming sign.

Brown discharge

– At this time, not as often as in earlier periods (up to 12 weeks), there are bloody, brownish discharge from the genital tract. This is a serious complication and in this period requires urgent hospitalization in a hospital in the gynecological department for diagnosis and choice of treatment tactics! Such a complication, as a rule, occurs with marginal or complete placenta previa, as well as in the case of its partial detachment, warns obstetrician-gynecologist Tatyana Mikhailova.

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