Week 12 of Pregnancy

One third of the way through the pregnancy. You have made it through the first hurdle, what are you to expect now in the next two thirds of your pregnancy?

picture of ...

By week 12 of pregnancy most women have been seen by their midwife or doctor. If you have not yet been seen then it is time that you make an appointment to see either the midwife or doctor. If your pregnancy is a normal pregnancy with no complications then you will probably see your midwife for an average of twelve appointments throughout the duration of the pregnancy.

The video shown below is one we had when we went for our Nuchal Scan at 12 weeks. It is of our son Caleb.

The fetus now assumes a more human shape as the lower body rapidly develops. By this week the fetus has all its organs, muscles, limbs, bones and sex organs. The fetus will start to move about spontaneously but it is still too small for you to be able to feel it. The eyelids cover the eyes and will remain shut until around the seventh month.

The pancreas is functioning and producing insulin. The kidneys are now working and secreting urine. The fetus will start to get fingernails and toenails. He/She will be able to suck their thumb and get hiccups at this stage.

You should be able to hear the baby's heartbeat through a Doppler monitor placed on your tummy. The baby's heartbeat will be at least double that of a normal adult.

It is important that the Mother increases her intake of protein, minerals and vitamins from this week on to support the growth of the baby.

Your hormones may start to calm down and you may experience less mood swings and the morning sickness may start to go away. You may have an ultrascan this week and see your baby for the first time.

I felt a lot better this week and quite excited. This week was the first time we had seen our little baby. We got to hear his little heartbeat and see him in all different positions. It was still too early for them to tell us the sex but we would be having another scan at around the 20 week mark and we would find out then.

Everything seemed more real after seeing the scan. Our scan was a nuchal scan to check for Downs Syndrome. If you would like more information on this please read our article on nuchal scan.

A realization dawned on me the day of the scan, I was in charge of looking after another human life that depended solely on me and although I already took care of myself it was important to keep that up.

I thought I was excited before I went for the scan but after spending 20 -30 minutes looking at our little baby it made me eager for the months ahead and meeting the little one in person for the first time when the time arrived.

Week 11
Week 13
pregnancy calculator