What to Expect in Week 14 of Pregnancy?

What To Expect Pregnancy Week 14

In week 14 of pregnancy, the baby that is developing in a woman’s uterus, will now have grown to measure about 8 cm lengthwise from its crown all the way till its toes. The weight of the fetus will have also increased from the previous months to now measure somewhere between 38 to 41 grams. The child’s head will have also developed, however the baby’s body grows and develops even faster. By around week 14 the child’s skin that is parchment thin will now start to cover the entire fetus with hair that is downy and fine in texture.  This special hair is termed as lanugo. This lanugo hair will start to fall off prior to the birth of the child. Hair will start to grow over the baby’s scalp and also where the eyebrows will form. However this growth of hair on the child’s head and also near the eyebrow region will start to change in texture and color post the child’s birth. But around this period in time the child will be able to squint, hold on, to grimace and will also be able to frown. The child will also now be able to hold, grasp and may even be able suck on his own thumb. Around this 14th week of pregnancy the doctors usually conduct 2 ultrasounds, one of which is done to help in dating the time of birth and growth of the baby and the other scan is called as the nuchal translucency scan which is done with aim of ascertaining if the child might be suffering from a chromosomal disorder called as Down’s syndrome. This is a possibility especially in mother’s that get pregnant lat in life, usually above the age of 35. In fact for these mothers, conducting this scan is compulsory. The scan is also done to check for genetic disorders.

In week 14 of a woman’s pregnancy, the baby’s facial muscles now will have started to function, thus a scan may show the baby grimacing, frowning, and smiling. This occurs due to the brain impulses working that send the signals to the child. The child’s kidneys now will have also started to function and will start to produce the urine that is released. This gets released into the amniotic fluid which is surrounding the child. The process continues till the time the child is born. The baby’s size will have grown such that the mother’s abdomen will now look visibly like it is pregnant.

Submitted by P T on July 7, 2010 at 03:45

Read more questions in Pregnancy Week By Week