What’s Happening With Mom?
This can be a nervous week for some moms. In the fourth month of pregnancy, various prenatal screening tests to check on the health of your baby can be performed.
Because the tests are for serious and life-threatening conditions, having your doctor advise that you should consider prenatal screening is a stressful time. Awaiting the results is nerve wracking, and if the tests do indicate a problem, you can face heart rending decisions.
Exactly what prenatal tests you’ll have will depend on this pregnancy, and your medical history. The two most common tests done around 17 weeks are the triple test, and amniocentesis.
The triple test is a blood test that can indicate if your baby is at risk from certain chromosome problems, like Trisomy 18, or Down Syndrome, or brain/spine defects, such as Spina Bifida.
In amniocentesis, a small sample of amniotic fluid is taken from your uterus using a very thin needle. The amniotic fluid is tested for genetic disorders or a chromosomal abnormalities, such as Down Syndrome. This test carries a small risk of miscarriage, so is only done when the information gained from the test results outweigh the risk.
Most pregnancies are complication free and most moms don’t have either of these tests. But if your doctor does recommend either test, during the time when you are waiting for the results, and if you receive bad news from the results, have people who care about you – friends, family, spiritual advisors – around you.
What’s Happening With Baby?
Will your baby grow up to have a mullet, afro, bangs or beehive? What about arched eyebrows, or a unibrow? The possibilities begin here as baby’s eyebrows grow in and more hair covers baby’s head. All babies grow hair in the uterus, but not every baby is born with that hair. It often falls out before baby are born and your bald baby will need a natty little hat or two.
Unborn babies hiccup a lot, and this week, maybe, just maybe, you’ll be able to feel the hiccups, especially if this isn’t your first baby.
When baby exits the warm, climate controlled, uterus for the outside world, it will feel like running out of a sauna and rolling in the snow. So this week, a special type of super-insulating fat forms under baby’s skin this week that will help keep baby warm after birth.
Tags: amniocentesis, Down Syndrome, Hair development, hiccups, prenatal screening tests, Spina Bifida, triple test, Trisomy 18
