Week 12

Now that you are 12 weeks pregnant, your baby already weights 14 grams, has reflexes and because of muscular development, can even move its limbs! You would now be able to hear you baby’s heart beat with the aid of a Doppler, which your practitioner should have. Your baby’s heart rate will be very fast, at about 160 beats per minute.

HOW DOES MY BABY LOOKS?

Pregnancy weeks 12

ow able to swallow, and its tiny fingernails and toenails are forming.

At this stage of your pregnancy, you should start to feel a little better. You’ll feel less tired and your nausea will begin to subside. Expect compliments on your “pregnancy glow”; the increased blood volume and pregnancy hormones work together to increase oil gland secretion, resulting in flushed, plumper and smoother skin appearance. You’ll also notice the appearance of the line nigra, a dark line drawn from your belly button.

The risk of a miscarriage is now greatly reduced and sits below five per cent. Your placenta is now taking over the production of hormones.

Pregnancy weeks 11

Week 11

You are now 11 weeks pregnant and may already be concerned about weight gain! However, to nourish your baby, you must gain weight. If you are concerned about gaining too much weight, simply follow a balanced healthy diet and exercise.

For most women, it is recommended that they gain somewhere between 25 to 35 pounds during their pregnancy. This is caused by the placenta, an enlarged uterus and expanded breasts – and, of course, the weight of the baby!

HOW MUCH WEIGHT IS TOO MUCH?

During the first trimester, a woman gains around two to five pounds. In the second trimester, this is increased to  13 pounds overall weight gain. And in the third trimester, she gains 11 pounds. If a woman is either overweight or underweight, her doctor may have different expectations for weight gain.

HOW DOES MY BABY LOOK?

This week, your baby weigh around eight grams. Baby’s head takes up half of the baby’s size right now. At this point, your baby’s irises will start to develop and tiny finger nails are visible.

This is a stage of rapid growth. From Week 11 up until Week 20, baby grows in size from around 1.7 to 2.4 inches (that is 44 to 66mm) and 0.3 ounces (8 grams) to just over 6 inches (about 16 centimetres) 10.5 ounces (or 300 grams).

BOY OR GIRL

Baby’s reproductive organs also develop very quickly at this stage, so by the end of this week, the external genitalia are recognisable! Blood vessels in the placenta increase in size and number to accommodate all this growth and to provide your baby with more nutrients.