The baby begins to form fat cells.

Your Baby

This week fat will begin to form under the baby’s skin.  It is likely that a sonographer with enough experience will be able to predict the baby’s gender at this point or in the following weeks.  Some couples choose to find out at a later stage in the pregnancy or not at all.  Be aware however that gender predictions using an ultrasound are not 100% accurate, and some women are told they are having a boy, and end up giving birth to a girl!  Keep this in mind when deciding to find out the baby’s gender.  

Your baby is breathing under water.  As the amniotic fluid is breathed in and out, the baby’s lungs and chest muscles are developing to accommodate regular breathing after birth.

This week your baby will grow to about 4.6 inches.

Changes in your Body

As the blood volume in your body increases, you may begin to experience nose bleeds.  Your heart must work harder as well to move the extra blood throughout your body.  If you have a healthy heart, this is not a problem.  Women who develop high blood pressure or irregular heartbeat may need to be monitored by a cardiologist during and after pregnancy.  It is estimated that about 50 percent of pregnant women experience irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) during pregnancy.  Most of these cases are harmless and are not lasting.  Keeping this in mind, it is still best to have a check up done by a cardiologist to make sure that there are no underlying problems.

Further reading

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