Inside Your Body

Your precious one looks more and more like a baby now at 7g and 4.5-6cm long (size of a fig).  He/she will begin to move and explore his/her hands, opening and closing them and making fists.  The bones are now hardening, and the tooth buds and gums are forming.  Nail and toe nail beds are starting to form.  You probably can hear your baby’s heartbeat from a Doppler sound-wave stethoscope if you could not last week. Your baby is swallowing and kicking but you may still not be able to feel it.

Your Signs And Symptoms

You may now be suffering from some discomfort, such as heartburn and constipation. You may feel that your hair, skin and nails are either improving or worsening and they should also be growing faster.  Your uterus can be felt below your abdomen. Your gums may bleed more due to hormones and increased amount of blood.

What Tests To Expect

Your gynaecologist may have you go through a nuchal translucency x-ray to examine any physical abnormalities in your baby.

If you are at risk of giving birth to a baby with physical abnormalities because of your family history or exposure to teratogens, and you have chosen to perform chorionic villus sampling (CVS) tests to detect genetic defects (e.g. sickle cell anemia, cystic fibrosis, Down syndrome, and Tay-Sachs), then you are likely to be performing these tests between this week and week 13.  It is an intrusive testing that involves taking a sample of fluid around the placenta.  However, this may increase the risk of abortion to 5%.