For the first time in your pregnancy your baby looks like a small human being.
From this stage forward it will continue to grow over the following two trimesters, constantly maturing until it can sustain itself outside of the uterus on its own.
Your baby has entered a period of rapid growth. You have probably noticed the increase in size from the Growing Baby! box at right. Soon you will feel it, and your baby will double in size by week fourteen. Your baby's head now accounts for about half of your baby's body size.
Your baby's testicles or ovaries have formed by now. All of your baby's organs are formed and will continue to grow for the rest of the trimester. The intestines are developing and can perform peristaltic movements that constrict and push food through them, although there is nothing to push through at this stage. The intestines are too big to fit entirely in your baby's abdomen. They project into the umbilical cordA flexible structure that connects the fetus to the placenta during pregnancy. It carries blood, oxygen, nourishment and waste to the placenta. It is first formed during the fifth week of pregnancy and contains the yolk sac and body stalk.
Visit our comprehensive glossary for more pregnancy terms and definitions. and will return to the abdomen later in your pregnancy.
You might notice some changes in your body. Your metabolism, the basal metabolic rate, has increased by up to twenty five percent. You might also notice changes to your nails. Some women notice an increase in hair and nail growth while others notice a decrease. Both are normal and doctors are unsure whether the changes are due to the increased circulation or hormonal changes occurring in your body.
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