Pregnancy Week 16

Written by Lone Parenting Advisor

In the sixteeenth week of your pregnancy you should be fully aware that you are expecting a baby and relish the thought of the tiny life growing inside of your tummy.

The sudden nosebleeds or gums bleeding when brushing teeth should have stopped as the levels of the hormone progesterone should have levelled ot within the body now.

Common sense and consideration should be aplied when selecting clothing, tight is uncomfortable and looser is better. The feelings of being fat should be replaced with full awareness of your pregnancy as the sensations and flutterings in your tummy provide gentle reassurance.

Some people still say that it isn't possible to feel the baby until weeks 18 - 22 of pregnancy, I strongly disagree with that statement as every expectant mother is unique in this sense and the very possiblity of detecting the foetus in the sixteenth week of pregnancy is common here in the UK, no matter how tiny sensations happen to be.

Foetal Development

The foetus should be weighing almost 120 grams by now and the measurements could well be up to a good 15cm in length now.

The ongoing growth of the foetus should now mean that head of the foetus is almost a third larger than the size of the body.

The midwife should be able to locate with ease the fundus (top of the uterus), which is now halfway between the naval and pelvic bone.

The umbilical cord has now fully formed. The umbilical cord conists of one vein and two arteries wrapped up in a tough jelly like substance often referred to as Whartons Jelly.

The amniotic fluid continues to slowly surround the foetus allowing agility whilst he or she can explore their sensory enviroment, again the importance of being unrestricted must be relaxing for the foetus.

The foetus can probably now form one or two different facial expressions as the formation of the vocal chords are near to completion during week 16 of pregnancy.

Aswell as having the ability to stretch out tiny fingers and grasp with their hands, the baby can now suck at their thumbs and fingers inbetween their exploration of your uterus. It has been known before that babies can be caught sucking fingers and thumbs during ultrasound scans, which can be amusing.

Ultrasound

The crown to rump length of the foetus could be as much as 10cm in length during the sixteenth week of pregnancy.

The doppler device will be used during visits to the doctors to monitor the heartbeat of the unborn baby with clearly defined results at this stage of pregnancy.