Pregnancy week 12
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Pic: Sparx Media
Article originally in
Parent24
How's the foetus at 12 weeks?
A perfectly-formed human being
Your baby weighs about 14g and is about 5.4cm long from crown to rump. Your uterus is still about the size of a grapefruit, your baby, a lime.
• Your baby now has reflexes.
• She is beginning to move her facial muscles – she can frown, open and close her mouth and suck and swallow amniotic fluid.
• Her heartbeat can clearly be heard. The heart rate is about 160 beats per minute.
• Your placenta has taken over hormone production.
• Her kidneys have started to produce and secrete urine and her liver is making bile
• Her taste buds have formed.
• Her ribs and vertebrae have begun to harden into bone.
• At 12 weeks your baby is already a perfectly formed human being.
What's with my body: Rising uterus, rounder tummy
• Your stomach may begin to round a bit and you might start showing.
• You might find that you have a little more energy than you used to and also are not as nauseous as before.
• The linea nigra (black line running down the centre of your abdomen) may appear.
• Your uterus has probably risen above your pelvis.
• Don’t try to diet if you are worried about gaining weight. Make sure that you follow a healthy, balanced diet. You can listen to your baby’s heartbeat!
Go back to the complete list of Pregnancy week-by-week updates.