Fifteenth week of Pregnancy
Development of the baby
By this week your baby is about 4 inches in length and weights almost 1.75 ounces. Although each baby has a different development cycle, usually babies at this stage develop fine hair that covers the wrinkled and somewhat reddish skin. The fine hair is also called as lanugo and it helps maintain a consistent body temperature. This hair usually vanishes when the baby is due to be born.
Your baby can now hear you and any surrounding sounds as well. Although not profound, but you may start to feel your baby’s activities while in your stomach. You may start to feel a slight fluttering movement as he moves around or kicks about or you may notice lack of activity when he sleeps or rests.
By the 15th week, your baby is able to swallow food, frown, and suck his thumb, grasp, grimace and squint! The baby’s skin is quite thin and transparent and blood vessels can be seen beneath the skin layer. The legs get longer as compared to the arms and the head of the baby is no longer bigger than the body.
Changes in a mother’s body
Women usually gain about 5 pounds by this week; this is not much as compared to the weight they are likely to gain by the end of their term, which could be about 25 to 30 pounds. You could weigh a bit more or slightly less than the amount mentioned, however if your weight is considerably high or low, you should check with your doctor.
You will now be able to feel the uterus’s top about 4-5 inches lower than your belly button. At you next appointment your doctor will begin to measure the fundal height. This measurement is done to access the development and growth of the baby. The measurement is made in centimeters and is made from the top of the uterus to the top of the pubic bone.
As your uterus expands and the ligaments stretch, you may get cramps or pains on both or either sides of the abdomen. You could soak your body in warm water and have a relaxing bath to sooth the pains.
What to expect
Infections such as bacterial vaginosis, urinary tract infection and yeast infections are common during pregnancy. All these can be treated without any problems by your doctor. And on your part you could stop wearing tight fitted or unclean undergarments and clothes, have plenty of water and avoid holding your urine for long.
In order to avoid aches and pains in the later stages of pregnancy, you should maintain the right posture while sleeping, sitting, standing or walking. Instead of lying on your stomach you could start lying sideways. In fact, the most healthy and comfortable position for both your baby and you is to sleep on your left side. As the size of your stomach increases, you could prop pillows around you to make yourself comfortable.
As your baby can now hear sounds, you can begin to talk to him gently or play some nice soothing music; you will begin to form a bond between each other as you continue to do this.