Baby Developing inside you

Fetal Development


Baby developing inside you
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 baby inside

 

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Week Seventeen: Fat accumulates

  
You are 17 weeks pregnant. (fetal age 15 weeks)
  • The umbilical cord is growing thicker and stronger.
  • Fetus weight is just over 5 ounces (150g).
  • Baby is about 5 inches (14cm) long crown to rump.
  • and would be about 9 inches (23cm) head to toe, if it could stretch out.
  • The retina has become sensitive to light.
  • The first stools (meconium) are now beginning to accumulate.
17 weeksThey recycle the amniotic fluid by swallowing up to a litre a day. Meconium (composed of products of cell loss, digestive secretion and swallowed amniotic fluid), is accumulating in the bowel. Fat stores begin to develop under your baby's skin this week. The fat will provide energy and help keep your baby warm after birth.

Baby's eyes are looking forward now, but they are still firmly closed. The skeleton is tranforming from cartilage to bone. The bones remain flexible to make the journey through the birth canal easier. You can feel your uterus just below your bellybutton. If you put your fingers sideways and measure, it is about two finger-widths (1 inch) below your bellybutton. Your uterus is the size of a cantaloupe.

The crown to rump length of your growing baby is 5 to 5.6 inches (12.5 to 14cm) by this week. Weight of the fetus is about 5.25 ounces (150g).

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Week By Week Pregnancy Calendar

 
First Trimester
Week 1   Week 2   Week 3   Week 4   Week 5   Week 6   Week 7  
Week 8   Week 9   Week 10   Week 11   Week 12   Week 13
Second Trimester
Week 14   Week 15   Week 16   Week 17   Week 18   Week 19   Week 20  
Week 21   Week 22   Week 23   Week 24   Week 25   Week 26
Third Trimester
Week 27   Week 28   Week 29   Week 30   Week 31   Week 32   Week 33  
Week 34   Week 35   Week 36   Week 37   Week 38   Week 39   Week 40