The sixteenth week of pregnancy
Your changing body
At week 16, your heart is pumping about 20% more blood resulting in increased circulation throughout your body and working hard to supply oxygen to your baby.
This increase in blood volume may give your face a brighter look and also make you more prone to a stuffy nose or even nose bleeds on occasions. As your baby grows, your Ligaments continue to stretch and you may experience pain in your abdomen. Your Uterus is now about half-way between your pubic bone and navel.
Your growing baby
At around week 16th of pregnancy, development of fat in your little one’s body will help her to regulate her temperature. The head and neck are growing stronger each day and by around this week, they will appear more erect than they were last week.
Sometimes, it might even look like your baby is sitting straight up. The legs are curled and pulled up to the chest, but the head and neck can be erect at times throughout the day. Now your little one looks like a butter fruit weighing around 100 g and 11.6 cm long.
Your baby’s little heart has the capacity to pump blood through the circulatory system and is working overtime right now pumping twice the amount of blood than you! While moving freely inside your womb, your baby, may at times even cling on to the Umbilical Cord playfully.
Tips for the sixteenth week of pregnancy
As your little one’s hearing is in the process of developing, he will begin to hear the sound of your voice and your heartbeat. Listening to good music, singing and talking to your little one may make him/her learn to relax once he is born. It is essential that you decrease your stress levels. To read more on relaxing and coping with stress, click here.
Unless your obstetrician suggests otherwise, now till week 28 is considered to be the most suitable time for travel. Click here to read more on traveling during pregnancy.
Activities for the sixteenth week of pregnancy
De-stress yourself. Take time off for a facial, manicure or pedicure and go out shopping (for yourself and your baby). It’s a good time to pamper yourself and indulge in some baby-free time, which will be quite impossible to have after the birth of your child.
Supplements to be taken during the sixteenth week of pregnancy
Folic acid, iron and calcium supplements.
Common problems in the sixteenth week of pregnancy
Mishaps like miscarriages are very rare in the second trimester, but can still happen due to various reasons. These can occur due to Chromosomal defects in your baby, problems with the uterus, weakened Cervix that opens very soon (also known as incompetent cervix) and even due to some maternal infections.
Seek medical referral immediately if you observe any of the following: heavy or persistent bleeding with abdominal pain or cramps, passing out fetal tissue, sudden flow of fluid from vaginal opening not accompanied by pain or bleeding.
Common tests in the sixteenth week of pregnancy
Besides the Ultrasound scan as scheduled by your obstetrician, a quadruple marker screening test or alpha-fetoprotein test is also performed at around any time between 15 and 20 weeks of pregnancy.
In this blood test, four parameters are tested. This includes Alfa-fetoprotein, human chorionic gonadotropin Hormone (hCG), inhibin A and Estrogen Hormone. This test is considered to be a more accurate predictor of Down syndrome than AFP alone.
An amniocentesis may be suggested any time between 15th and 20th week of pregnancy. This test basically involves withdrawing and testing of a small amount of Amniotic Fluid surrounding the Fetus for genetic abnormalities such as Down syndrome and Neural tube defects like spina bifida.
It is specifically suggested for expectant mums over the age of 35 and those who have a genetic history of such abnormalities or when the quadruple marker screening results are suspicious. It is believed that the ability to detect the cases of Down syndrome is greater when results from the first as well as the second Trimester screening tests are jointly taken into consideration.
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