You are just over half way through your pregnancy and your baby is taking on the proportions of a little child.
You will feel your baby moving more now, and it is still small enough to cartwheel and float in your uterus as if in space. You may feel your baby hiccup as it swallows amniotic fluidThe liquid, which is produced by both the fetal membranes and the fetus that surrounds the baby during pregnancy. The liter of fluid at term serves to protect the fetus during pregnancy and also provide active chemical exchange.
The amniotic fluid consists of maternal and fetal plasma in varying concentrations. The pH of the fluid is almost neutral and clear, although lipids and desquamated fetal cells can make it cloudy.
Visit our comprehensive glossary for more pregnancy terms and definitions..
For the last couple of weeks your baby has been rapidly depositing fat. Your baby's skin is turning opaque with a red appearance resulting from the pigmentationAn organic coloring material produced in the body such as melanin.
Visit our comprehensive glossary for more pregnancy terms and definitions. deposits.
Small lines, which mark the beginning of fingerprints, are being formed on your baby's fingers and palms. You may have noticed your baby putting it thumb in its mouth on ultrasound, but now your baby can suck on it for real.
Through ultrasound or fetoscopy you will be able to see your baby exploring its world. Watch it as it grabs 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 enjoys the feeling of runnning its hands along the amnionA membrane that surrounds the amniotic cavity, covering the fetal side of the placenta and the outer surface of the umbilical cord. It also becomes the outermost layer of skin on the developing fetus.
Visit our comprehensive glossary for more pregnancy terms and definitions., the membrane surrounding the amniotic fluidThe liquid, which is produced by both the fetal membranes and the fetus that surrounds the baby during pregnancy. The liter of fluid at term serves to protect the fetus during pregnancy and also provide active chemical exchange.
The amniotic fluid consists of maternal and fetal plasma in varying concentrations. The pH of the fluid is almost neutral and clear, although lipids and desquamated fetal cells can make it cloudy.
Visit our comprehensive glossary for more pregnancy terms and definitions..
Your family might be able to hear baby's heart beat by placing their ear against your stomach. Don't feel left out, ask your doctor for a stethoscopeA medical instrument, which usually consists of a metal cone shaped diaphragm connected by rubber tubing to earpieces, thus allowing physicians to hear the sound of the heart and lungs.
The modern instrument was developed by New York physician G.P. Cammann and the process of ausculation or listening to the sounds made in the upper body forms an important part of medical diagnosis.
Visit our comprehensive glossary for more pregnancy terms and definitions. so that you can hear it too.
You can also feel your baby's shape palpatedAn examination technique used by doctors that uses the hands to feel the texture, size, consistency and location of certain parts of the body.
Visit our comprehensive glossary for more pregnancy terms and definitions. through the abdominal wall. As the uterine muscle stretches you will probably feel cramp-like pains along the side of your stomach. Resting helps it relax.
You may feel the Braxton Hicks contractions more distinctly now. The contractions help grab and massage the baby, but don't worry about it becoming harmed as it floats in the amniotic fluidThe liquid, which is produced by both the fetal membranes and the fetus that surrounds the baby during pregnancy. The liter of fluid at term serves to protect the fetus during pregnancy and also provide active chemical exchange.
The amniotic fluid consists of maternal and fetal plasma in varying concentrations. The pH of the fluid is almost neutral and clear, although lipids and desquamated fetal cells can make it cloudy.
Visit our comprehensive glossary for more pregnancy terms and definitions..
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