16th Week of Pregnancy: What Happens?

16th week of pregnancy is one of the most important periods of a baby's development. By the way, it is at this time that most of the tests are performed that help determine the presence of a genetic disease or congenital pathologies of the child.

16th week of pregnancy: what happens to the baby? The 16th week of pregnancy is the period of active development of the nervous system, bones and muscles.

The child has an active growth of bones, and limbs begin to stretch, fingers are formed. By the way, at this time, the growth of nails on the toddler's fingers also begins.

The development of muscles continues. The baby can already move, you can observe the bending and movement of the legs and handles. Most mothers do not yet feel the baby's movements, because they are too weak. The fetus on the 16th week of pregnancy weighs an average of 80 to 110 grams. The size of his body is on average 12 - 16 centimeters from the crown to the sacrum.

Mimic facial muscles also develop , which sometimes involuntarily contract, which means that the baby can already make funny faces and even smile. In addition, his face has eyelashes and eyebrows, and all the rest of the skin is covered with a thin fluff.

The child can already hold his head evenly, his neck line appears. The auricles, which were located closer to the neck, were already tightened and occupied the corresponding place. Other organs - kidneys and liver are actively developing. The liver has already begun to produce bile acids, while the kidneys partially removed the excretory functions from the placenta. Therefore, the baby empties his bladder into the amniotic fluid approximately every 45 minutes.

If you have a girl, then at this stage the formation of the genital organs is completed, since the ovaries are released from the abdominal cavity into the pelvis. The heart of your child often beats, and soon the doctor will be able to listen to his heartbeat without special equipment. By the way, ultrasound 16 weeks of pregnancy can already tell about the future child's field.

16 Week of Pregnancy: What Happens to Mommy? At this stage, your tummy starts to round off, and the waist line just blurs. No external manifestations of pregnancy yet, so you do not need special clothes.

Since this moment, in pregnant women begins intensive development of mammary glands, as a result of which the breast swells and becomes extremely sensitive. On the skin, the venous pattern intensifies, the nipples and skin areolar darken. It is very important to observe the hygiene of the breast and the whole body.

A lot of women in this period are faced with problems of constipation. The fact is that the hormone relaxing the uterus affects the intestine, reducing its peristalsis. Be careful and do not take any laxatives without first consulting a gynecologist. Better try to adjust your diet a little. Eat plenty of fresh vegetables, fruits, prunes, lactic acid foods, boiled beets.

16 week of pregnancy: what tests and research should I do? Perhaps this week the doctor will assign you some tests, the results of which will help determine whether there is a genetic disorder or pathology in the development of the child. Such tests are performed by women in the period from 15 to 20 weeks. These are tests for the content of alfa-fetoprotein and chorionic gonadotropin.

In addition, for pregnant women, whose age exceeds 35 years, or those whose relatives suffered from congenital genetic diseases, prescribe amniocentesis. During such a study, the doctor punctures the abdominal wall with a syringe and takes a small amount of amniotic fluid (amniotic fluid) for analysis . Such a study will allow for the presence of more than 40 congenital diseases. It is worth noting that there is a risk of miscarriage, but it is minimal and leaves only 1 - 2%.