Around the 16th week of pregnancy there is a sudden spurt in fetal development and growth that will cause the baby’s weight to almost double. Now the fetus will probably measure almost four and a half inches in total length from its head to its toes. The baby’s legs now will have developed a great deal and also its head will now start to get even more erect as compared to the previous months. The baby’s ears also will begin to move much closer to where they will be finally placed and similarly the baby’s eyes will begin to move closer to the front of the head. The baby in the week 16 of its fetal development will even start to grow toenails.
Fetal development in week 16 will also include the baby’s heart beginning to pump almost 25 quarts of the blood on a regular basis. This quantity will continue to rise during the time the baby is in its developing phase. By around now the uterus of the pregnant mother will have just about reached halfway in between her navel and her pubic bone.
Those ligaments which are helping to support the uterus will have begun to stretch and similarly thicken as her uterus keeps on growing. Now in the week 16 the pregnancy will start to get easier for most women. During this period in their pregnancy the breast tenderness reduces, as does the nausea and the fatigue. The woman will be able to move around a lot more and will feel even more energetic as compared to the initial months of her pregnancy. The mood swings that she feels are also likely to be a lot lesser during this period and her skin will acquire a nice glow to it.
Around this 16th week of the pregnancy most of the mothers will be able to feel their baby move around. The initial feeling tends to be more like butterflies in one’s stomach and at times a new mother may possibly not be able to tell the difference between hunger pangs and a nudge from the baby. For some other mothers, these movements may not be apparent till somewhere around the 18th week of the pregnancy. Some women may start to gain weight fairly quickly around this time. With the reduction in her nausea levels and also morning sickness comes the return of her appetite. The mother should refrain from putting on too much weight to avoid issues of gestational diabetes. Which can pose problems with fetal development and also create otherwise avoidable pregnancy complications.
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