Fetal Development
An ultrasound of a 16 week-old baby
The Second Trimester - Months 4-6
- Week 14 - Mom's clothes are probably feeling a bit snug and hormonal changes are becoming apparent. Your baby is now producing urine and also practices "breathing" the amniotic fluid in and out of its lungs.
- Week 16 - The child can grasp with his hands, kick, or even somersault. Maternal blood screening for neural tube defects, called the Alpha-fetoprotein Test (AFP) is most accurate during 15-17th weeks. If you have this test, be aware this screening has a high false positive rate.
- Week 18 - The fetus is about 5-7 inches long. Hair grows on the head and body. The mother will should regularly feel the flutters of the unborn child kicking and moving within.
- Week 20 - The child can hear and recognize her mother's voice. Though still small and fragile, the baby is growing rapidly. Fingernails and fingerprints appear. Sex organs are visible. This is half wasy through the pregnancy. It's time to sign up for childbirth classes.
- Week 22 - The fetus is about 10 inches long and weighs 1/2 lb. which is about how much a cup of coffee weighs. The external skin is turning from transparent to opaque.
- Week 24 - You may actually feel Braxton Hicks contractions or you might just happen to notice with your hand a slight tensing of your abdomen. This is just your uterine muscle preparing for birth. Your baby is almost completely formed, and is beginning to deposit brown fat on his or her body which retains body heat.
- Week 26 - Around this time it may become possible for others to begin feeling the baby's movement from the outside. The baby is about 12 inches long and weighs a little less than 2 lbs. Under intensive medical care the fetus has a over a 50% chance of surviving outside the womb.
1st Trimester - Months 4-6
3rd Trimester - Months 7-9
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