Continuing with the pregnancy section week by week we arrive at week 16 of pregnancy , in the second trimester of pregnancy.
This week many women have already left behind the hardest symptoms of the first months and it is, therefore, a good time to start doing some exercise, going for a walk and ultimately taking advantage of the good weather leaving home.
As we have already done in the other posts, we are going to take a look at the most important changes that happen to the mother and the baby in this 16th week of gestation .
Changes in the baby at week 16 of pregnancy
By week 16 he is already between 10 and 11 cm. The legs are already longer than the arms and some joints are beginning to differentiate, such as the knees, ankles, elbows and wrists. In addition to moving, as it did last week, now it also kicks, although it is a bit early to notice them, since it barely weighs 80 grams. Let’s say that at most it can be noticed as a bubbling sensation, like a tingling that may well be confused with other physical sensations of its own.
To learn more about his measurements, tell you that his femur now measures about 2.1 cm and that the circumference of his head measures about 12.7 cm.
About this time he begins to open the fingers of his hands and also begins to close them, in what seems to be the beginning of the grasp reflex . Thanks to him she begins to hold her feet, the umbilical cord, or her hands with each other. Fingernails also appear on the hands and feet.
He has more strength in his neck and now he supports it better, being able to stand more upright. The facial muscles begin to develop, being able to make some expressions already. At the chest level, it seems that it begins to make some movements that could be precursors of the exercise that it will do to breathe once it is born.
Changes in a woman at week 16 of pregnancy
As we have mentioned above, some women begin to notice the movements of their babies, although do not despair if they do not, because it is still too early and because the sensations can still be confusing.
At the level of changes, it is usually the time when moms are most beautiful . By increasing the blood flow to the skin, pregnant women appear to be more dazzling than ever (between the skin glistening more and the hair falling less, it is normal for people to see pregnant women very beautiful).
Some women may notice increased salivation, which is secondary to increased estrogen levels and can be treated if it is a very uncomfortable sensation. It may be interesting to go for a dental check-up so that the dentist assesses the existence or not of infections or alterations in the gums: by reducing the levels of some vitamins, the food stays longer in the teeth and the risk of cavities and infections is older.
Possible diagnostic tests: triple screening
It is possible that by now you have already had the triple screening test. If not, it could be now when they do it, because so much can be done at the beginning of the second trimester as now, between weeks 16 and 18 (although at this point it is a little less reliable).
It is a blood test in which the values of certain hormones and of a protein that the fetus generates, alpha-fetoprotein are determined, the objective of which is to determine the risk that the baby suffers from a neural tube defect (the most typical and known is spina bifida) or some chromosopathy, the best known being Down syndrome .
Not all women do it, since the results tend to show many false negatives that end up creating anxiety in future parents (of every thousand women who take the test, 50 obtain positive results, but of those 50 women only one or two have really a troubled baby). Other women decide not to do it of their own accord, knowing that even if they are positive they would not abort. It is definitely an optional test and each mother must be informed of what it consists of in order to make a responsible decision.
Next week: week 17 of pregnancy
Photos | devinf, Kurt Häusler on Flickr In Babies and more | Pregnancy week by week: from conception to birth
