-Know Your Baby’s Sex!
When you are 16 weeks pregnant, this is possibly the best time to join the pregnancy clubs, meetings and chat with other women who are under similar conditions. This will greatly help you.
In these meetings, you might commonly come across few concepts, which you have heard of but you are not very clear about.
Control your weight gain
You will come across various changes when you are 16 weeks pregnant. It is a good idea to control your weight growth especially because this is the time when you tend to accumulate around 450 grams/week.
Being a beautiful mommy
The risk of miscarriage is gone and being free of this worry will make your pregnancy glow even more obvious; so there is no wonder that everybody will be amazed of how beautiful you are.
Week 16 pregnancy symptoms and physical changes that occur in your body
Nasal congestion and nose bleeds
Some women experience nasal congestion and nose bleeds in the 16th week of pregnancy. This is due to altered levels of pregnancy hormones and leads to the swelling of mucus membrane in the nose.
Softening of the tissues and increased blood levels can also cause this condition. Unfortunately, this condition can continue throughout pregnancy.
Increased blood volume makes your heart work harder in order to support the pregnancy.
You should know that the deficiency of vitamin C can also lead to nose bleeds, so increase the intake of vitamin C rich foods. Avoid the usage of nose drops except saline, unless your doctor suggests.
How to handle uterus growth
By this week, you gain 5-10 pounds and you can feel the uterus below the belly button. It is better to sleep on the side.
Lying on your back places your uterus on various major blood vessels, thus leading to decreased blood circulation to your baby. Also, don’t lie on your stomach because it puts pressure on your growing baby. So, it is better to buy a pregnancy pillow for better support.
Now that you are 16 weeks pregnant, you are starting to look more and more pregnant and more and more radiant.
Still your ligaments continue to stretch and there is a chance to feel pain or a dull ache in your abdomen. If you want to plan for amniocentesis, it is better to plan between 16-18 weeks.
AFP test
Also, the period between weeks 16-18 is the best time to undergo an alpha-fetoprotein test (AFP). This is a protein produced by the fetus and the pregnancy hormone HCG and estriol in your blood.
This pregnancy test is useful to tell whether your baby is at risk of neural tube defects like spina bifida and chromosomal abnormalities like Down syndrome.
Butterflies in your stomach
There are slight movements inside your stomach now and this is a beautiful feeling. These light movements are called butterfly movements or butterfly touches. You will remember this feeling for the rest of your life to come.
You really need not worry too much if you are still not feeling these movements as you might experience them by week 20.
Fetal Development in 16 Weeks Pregnancy
Care to take when you are in 16th week of pregnancy
Make sure you monitor what you eat and also how much weight you gain. The vegetables and fruits and also the dairy must be part of the pregnancy diet.
Back pain and fatigue
The back pain you are experiencing is 50% related to the pregnancy weight; so it is better to do pregnancy workouts that will be able to alleviate the condition.
You may experience abrupt moments of fatigue and also feel like faint especially if you stand very long. These 16 weeks pregnant symptoms are perfectly normal, however you should avoid extreme high and low temperature and try to rest your feet in an elevated position as much as possible.
Changes that occur in the fetus when you are 16 weeks pregnant
In pregnancy 16 weeks, your baby is about the size of 4.5 inches in length and weighs about 3.5 ounces. Here are some other changes that take place during this week:
- The eyes and ears of 16 week fetus are fully grown and are in proper place now.
- Your baby’s tiny heart has started pumping more blood now.
- The umbilical cord is firmly attached to your baby’s tummy now and it is receiving all the necessary nutrients through this.
- Your baby’s little limbs become longer and they come into the normal levels that the baby will have at the time of birth.
- Your little one’s eyes start having slight movements, but they are still closed. They come closer together so that they can face forward.
- Your baby’s head is held high and movements of the limbs happen in a synchronized fashion.
- You will know the gender of the baby if you have 16 weeks pregnant ultrasound examination.
- The facial muscles are well developed and your baby is making faces like frowning and squinting.
- Your baby focuses his/her attention on complicated movements and crunches.
- During this week your baby focused of depositing calcium inside its little bones. The bones are strengthening and the baby’s movements are better coordinated because of this.
- If you have a baby girl, by this time her little ovaries are creating millions of eggs.
The baby experiences hiccups and cough and this happens because of the fact that the breathing process is evolving as the pulmonary alveolus are developing further this week.
Tests to undergo in 16 weeks pregnancy
MASFP test
The period between 15-20 weeks is the time to get Maternal Serum Alpha-Fetoprotein Test (MSAFP). Any abnormal levels in this test during 16 week pregnancy indicate a greater risk of the baby to be born with neural tube defects or other chromosomal abnormalities.
To find or not to find out the baby’s sex
If you managed to have an ultrasound and you could not find the sex of the baby because of the position, you may be sure that you will have other opportunities; so you should not worry.
There are people who would rather keep the baby’s sex a surprise. However if this is not your first child, it is better to know in order to prepare the siblings for the arrival of a new baby brother or sister.
Get more information on what to expect when you are 17 weeks pregnant.
Image source: iampregnant
I’m 16 weeks pregnant and my next ultrasound is in two weeks.