Pregnancy week by week

12 Weeks Pregnant: What To Expect?

12 weeks pregnant

12 Weeks Pregnant: What To Expect?

You’re finishing the first trimester and that’s exciting ladies! 12 weeks pregnant is a milestone as you have been pregnant for three months now.

For most of you, your berserk-running hormones may have begun to return to normal. Also, if you kept this happy news under wraps, it’s time for the beans to spill.

You may still be barely showing, as in the last couple of weeks, but some of you may show at least a small baby bump.

Baby’s Growth During Pregnancy – Week 12

In addition to the development of the baby’s organs, the sex organs of your baby may already appear externally or may show any minute depending on the hormonal activity.

Your baby will start acting on reflexes like sucking, more importantly. The kidneys of your baby will also work as they can start producing urine now. What was previously just a finger bed may also appear at the end of the 12th week as fingernails.

What is the Baby’s Size?

After finding out about your baby’s growth, it’s only natural for you to know about the size of the 12 weeks, pregnant baby.

Your baby would have the size of an apricot or a plum by this time. This means that at the end of the 12th week it grew about 3-3.5 inches from a mere 2 inches. It’s also worth knowing that the weight of your baby is about 28-29 grams or just an ounce. More importantly, the body of your baby has developed a digestive system and white blood cells have already been produced by the bone marrow.

12-week Symptoms of Pregnancy

Here’s the good news about 12 weeks pregnant symptoms: morning sickness and tiredness may begin to fade as your hormones begin to calm down. The bad thing? They may be replaced by headaches and dizziness. We’re going to take the trade-off. Here’s more information about what’s going on at 12 weeks pregnant with your body:

  • Increased discharge: This clear discharge may seem strange, but it is normal and has a major purpose: to protect your vagina against infection. But if during 12 weeks pregnant you have yellow, greenish, pink, or brown discharge, call your doctor immediately. These colors may be a sign of infection or premature labor.
  • Spotting: It could be worrisome to spot or bleed at 12 weeks during pregnancy— or it could be nothing at all. Your cervix, for example, is more sensitive during pregnancy, so having sex simply could cause harmless light bleeding. If you spot or bleed, tell your doctor for sure. It is an urgent call if the bleeding is accompanied by cramping or if the flow is heavy.
  • Headaches: These may begin to intensify around pregnancy week 12. Hormone shifts drop in blood sugar, dehydration, lack of sleep, or stress can cause headaches. Be careful what might trigger your headaches to deal with and try to avoid those guilty. If you notice a drastic increase in headaches or a type of headache you have never experienced before (such as migraine), or if your headaches are accompanied by other strange symptoms, let your OB know.
  • Dizziness: Whoa! Changes in hormone and blood pressure may cause dizzy spells around week 12 of pregnancy. By snacking regularly and drinking plenty of water, you can help prevent dizziness. If you feel dizzy or lightheaded, sit down or lie down and let your doc know about any serious bouts.

NOTE: If you are pregnant with twins for 12 weeks, you may still experience morning sickness, while at the end of the nausea tunnel your singleton mom – to – be counterparts are likely to start seeing the light. Know that things are likely to get better soon.

12 weeks pregnant belly

12 weeks, an official bump is your pregnant belly! In other words, now it is likely to become noticeable. That’s one reason that many moms-to-be starts telling others about 12 weeks they’re expecting. (Of course, if you’re pregnant with twins for 12 weeks, you might have shown up for weeks now, obviously because you’ve got a double baby in there!)

12 Weeks Ultrasound

Your fetus develops the important systems and parts of his or her body at 12 weeks, which means it’s all about getting bigger and more mature from now on. Yep, a baby is about to enter the stage of growth and maturation, where organs and tissues are rapidly growing and developing.

At 12 weeks, the baby opens and closes his fingers and curls his or her toes. And the brain of the baby develops quickly

Baby’s developing reflexes now— if you’re poking your pregnant belly for 12 weeks while looking at an ultrasound baby, you’ll probably see movement. If you are pregnant with twins for 12 weeks, your twosome develops at 12 weeks at a rate similar to singleton babies. They will have a slightly slower growth rate later on.

Before the end of your first trimester, you may have another prenatal checkup. Whether or not you have an ultrasound lasting 12 weeks may depend on the preference of your doctor and perhaps also on what your insurance covers. If you’re getting an ultrasound at this time, you’ll notice that this time around you can see your pregnant fetus for 12 weeks, which may make you want to start spreading the news you’re expecting.

Itching to find out whether it’s a girl or a boy? We hate to be the bearers of bad news, but usually, gender is not revealed on an ultrasound pregnant for 12 weeks. A boy or girl could possibly be seen on ultrasound between 12 and 13 weeks, and the anatomy is still hard to determine with any certainty. Your OB or technician will be much more likely to see the gender of the baby in the mid-pregnancy anatomy scan, which will occur around week 20. However, if you have received chromosomal disorder blood testing for DNA, you may find out the gender of the baby when you get those results— if you want to know, that’s it!

You may want to learn more about baby’s health around week 12, so you may have genetic testing done to determine the risk of birth defects or other issues. This can be a little scary—and confusing—so be sure to ask your OB a lot of questions, and know that the A-OK of the baby is much more likely than anything else.

PREGNANCY CHECKLIST AT 12-WEEKS PREGNANCY

Reminders for the week:

  • Plan your prenatal visit for 16 weeks
  • Store baby food for pregnancy
  • Tell your friends and family about your news

Also Read: 11 Weeks Pregnant: What To Expect?

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