Pregnancy Week 17 - Time To Feel Baby’s Movements Inside You

During this period, you can feel your baby’s movements inside you. If you are a first time mother, then there is a chance that you do not recognize the movements inside your body. For first time mothers, there is a tendency to ignore the initial movements.

Some of the overweight mothers can also unable to recognize their child’s movements during the early stages. Some of the thinner mothers can feel these movements even earlier than pregnancy week 17.

Not only the movements, but also you will observe various changes during the 17th week of pregnancy.

What are the physical changes that occur in your body during pregnancy week 17?

During pregnancy week 17, your uterus starts to change its shape as your pregnancy progresses and looks like a large egg rather than a small ball. Gradually, the egg occupies most of your pelvis and abdomen. During this process, the organs along with your intestines get pressed to the sides.

By pregnancy week 17, your uterus should be about 1.5-2 inches below the bellybutton.

Changes during pregnancy week 17:

• By this week, gradually, you are about to gain some more weight.
• During this week, you will notice more vaginal discharge. But, the increased level of discharge from your vagina is referred to as leucorrhoea. Usually, this discharge is milky in color and odorless and is completely normal during your pregnancy.

If you experience more vaginal discharge and you suspect it as amniotic fluid, then immediately you need to contact your health care provider. Sometimes this is a sign of pre-term labor.

Care you need to take during pregnancy week 17:

• The best thing to recognize excessive vaginal discharge is by wearing the panty liners to absorb the discharge. But, don’t use tampons as they are not safe during the pregnancy.
• Also, avoid douching. Douching can cause air to enter into the vagina thus making your pregnancy more complicated [Pregnancy complications]. Also, douching increases the risk of vaginitis or vaginal infections.
• If you are working in a stressful environment, it is important that you need to take some precautionary measures to reduce your stress levels. Stress causes an overwhelming effect on your pregnancy. Sometimes, stress can lead to preterm labor. Exposing to high stress levels during 17-20 weeks of pregnancy can result in the production of hormone called corticotrophin in higher levels. [Stress during pregnancy]

What are the changes that occur in the fetus during pregnancy week 17?

• By this week, your baby is about the size of 5 inches long and weighs about five ounces.
• Your baby’s little limbs reach to their relative proportions and they continue their development after this week.
• Even though your baby’s ears are not structurally completed and fully functional, they can hear actively.
• Various parts of the baby’s brain start to develop in order to progress the hearing and other senses.
• If the baby inside you is a girl, her ovaries start the production of millions of primordial egg cells, which will be developed into actual eggs within few weeks.
• Unique finger prints and toe prints begin to develop.
• The baby’s first bowel movements called meconium is stored in the colon. Your baby is able to digest the amniotic fluid and deposits the fat under the skin and this process continues for the up coming weeks. This fat helps to regulate their body’s temperature after the birth.
• The umbilical cord becomes long and thick in reply to the increased needs of your baby.

Fact for pregnancy week 17:

90% of all pregnant women will get stretch marks. For some women, they become into silvery white after the pregnancy. To avoid them, don’t gain too much weight during the pregnancy. Keep weight gaining steady so that you can avoid excessive stretching of the skin.

Eat a well balanced diet and do workouts during the pregnancy to avoid stretch marks.