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Baby’s 17st week of pregnancy
Our baby measures between 13 and 16 centimeters from head to tailbone, and weighs around 250 grams.
Baby’s development during week 17 of pregnancy
The fetus is covered with a white, greasy substance, vernix caseosa, which makes the skin waterproof. Until then, the amniotic fluid could infiltrate the translucent skin. Now the fluid is swallowed and then urinated by the fetus. It shows that his kidneys are working. His blood vessels are now visible. As for our baby’s heart, it beats twice as fast as ours, at nearly 160 beats per minute!
The 17th week of pregnancy for pregnant women
Our morphology changes considerably: our size has almost disappeared, our belly is rounded, but above all, we start to store fat on the hips, buttocks and upper thighs (we do not forget to apply a cream against stretch marks!). These are reserves for breastfeeding the baby. All the elimination functions are in fact slowed down. Including transit, because progesterone acts on the muscles to make them less contractile (and thus prevent the uterus from contracting), which leads to real intestinal laziness. In addition, iron supplementation, often prescribed during pregnancy, does not help and on the contrary promotes constipation, which can itself cause hemorrhoids, a common disorder in pregnant women..
Our advice
If you are constipated, you eat more fruit (well washed), cooked vegetables and fiber (brown rice, bran bread). We also drink water rich in magnesium (Hepar type, for example). And better to avoid white rice, carrots and bananas.
Our memo
If you have a vacation to take, now is a good time to plan for it within a month or two. Later, fatigue, specific to the third trimester of pregnancy, will return. Mode of transport (car, plane or train), destination … before going to relax, we do not hesitate to consult our doctor who can give us some advice on how to travel and leave with greater peace of mind.