what happens to the baby and mother at the seventeenth week

Child’s age – 15th week (fourteen full), pregnancy – 17th obstetric week (sixteen full).

At the 17th week, the uterus of a pregnant woman is located approximately 3.8-5 cm below the level of the navel. The fundus is halfway between the navel and the pubic symphysis… If you do not know exactly where the pubic articulation is, then gently walk your fingers from the navel straight downward and feel for the bone. This is exactly the same pubic articulation.

Midwife week 17 is the 15th week of your baby’s life. If you count as regular months, then you are now 4 months old.

The content of the article:

Feelings in the mother at 17 weeks

Almost half of the waiting period for the baby has passed, the expectant mother completely got used to the new role and realized her position, she constantly listens to herself and thinks about her baby with trepidation.

For many, week 17 is a favorable period when a woman feels good, full of strength and energy. Some have already felt the joy of the first movements of the baby.

It is worth noting that for most women, week 17 is accompanied by the following signs:

• Late toxicosis. It is by week 17 that he can demonstrate his first symptoms. Its manifestations are not nausea and vomiting, but edema. At first they are hidden, but you may notice that some shoes are already uncomfortable for you, narrow shoes cannot be worn at all, fingers become less mobile, and rings are tight. And at the same time, you will begin to gain weight much faster than normal;
• Good appetite and the risk of gaining excess weight… Overeating can have serious consequences. Frequent meals in small portions will help you to cope with the feeling of hunger;
• Growing tummy. Many sensations at week 17 are associated with it. For some, the tummy became noticeable one or several weeks earlier, for some it was only now. In any case, now you are no doubt choosing special clothes for pregnant women, because in everyday clothes you will probably be cramped and uncomfortable;
• Changes in well-being… Now you may be amazed at the changes in your own perception of the world. Your body is now fully attuned to pregnancy, you feel calm and happy. Absent-mindedness, poor concentration are quite normal, you are absorbed in thoughts about the child and your feelings;
• The chest is no longer so sensitive. Small, light colored bumps may appear in the nipple area. This phenomenon is called “Montgomery tubercles” and is the norm. An enhanced venous pattern may appear, do not worry, after the end of pregnancy and breastfeeding, this will go away by itself. Also, the nipples may darken, and a brown strip from the navel to the pubis may appear on the tummy. These are also quite natural changes associated with the expectation of a baby;
• The heart works one and a half times more actively. This is to make it easier for the placenta to nourish the growing fetus. Also, be prepared for minor bleeding from the gums and nose. This may be due to the fact that your increased blood circulation increases the load on small blood vessels, including the capillaries in the sinuses and gums;
• Sweating and vaginal secretions. At week 17, you may notice that sweat from the genital tract has increased. These are just hygienic problems, they are related to hormonal levels, and do not need any treatment. The only thing is, if this worries you very much, then you can subject these phenomena to hygienic correction;
• Crazy, vivid dreams. Many expectant mothers have a variety of picturesque dreams. As a rule, they are associated with the upcoming birth or child. Such dreams sometimes seem so real that they occupy the thoughts of a woman in reality. According to experts, this may be due to the overstrain that your brain is experiencing at this stage. In addition, you get up more often at night, which is why you can remember more dreams than usual.

Studies show that babies can also experience rapid eye movement (in adults, a similar phenomenon indicates dreams).

Some scientists argue that babies can also dream related to their daily activities. Maybe your child is dreaming about how he hears your voice, stretches his legs, or plays.

Fetal development at 17 weeks

Fetal weight becomes more than the weight of the placenta and is approximately 115-160 grams… Growth already reaches 18-20 cm.

The placenta by week 17 is already fully formed, consists of tissues and a network of blood vessels. Through the placenta, the fetus receives all the nutrients necessary for development, and processed products are also excreted.

At 17 weeks, the following changes will occur with the fetus:

• Fat will appear. This is a special, brown fat, which is a source of energy. It is deposited, as a rule, in the area between the shoulder blades and will burn out in the first days after childbirth. Otherwise, the baby’s skin is still very thin, almost transparent, a little wrinkled. This can make the child seem very thin. But it is at 17 weeks that the fetus becomes more and more like a newborn.
• The body of the fetus is covered with lanugo… This is vellus hair. As a rule, by the time of birth, lanugo completely disappears, although there are cases when a baby is born with a little fluff. It will disappear in the first days after childbirth;
• Baby’s heartbeat can be heard… With the help of an obstetric stethoscope, you can already hear how your baby’s heart beats. The heartbeat reaches about 160 beats per minute, now the doctor will listen to your stomach at each visit;
• The baby starts to hear… The seventeenth week is the period when the baby begins to discover the world of sounds. Noises surround him 24 hours a day, because the uterus is a rather loud place: the mother’s heartbeat, the sounds of the intestines, the noise of her breathing, the hum of blood flow in the vessels. In addition, he can now hear various sounds from the outside. You can start communicating with your baby, because if you talk to him, he will remember your voice and will react to it immediately after giving birth;
• Hand and head movements are coordinated, the child touches his face, sucks his fingers for hours, tries to listen to sounds from the outside. His eyes are not yet open, but undoubtedly his world has become much richer.

Photo and ultrasound of the fetus at the 17th week, a photo of the abdomen and a video about the development of the baby

Video: What happens in the seventeenth week of pregnancy?

Video: 3D ultrasound, 17th week of pregnancy

Recommendations and advice for the expectant mother

Continue to follow the general guidelines that you followed in the previous weeks. Do not stop monitoring your diet, sleep and rest.

On the seventeenth week, it is imperative:

• Monitor your weight… Appetite at this time can play out in earnest, so it is important sometimes to limit yourself. Be sure to weigh yourself. This should be done at least once a week, in the morning on an empty stomach and preferably in the same clothes. Write down changes in weight in a special notebook, so it will be easier for you not to miss a sharp jump in weight and monitor your changes;
• Continue to monitor nutrition… Remember that overeating can have serious consequences. As mentioned above, hunger can be dealt with through frequent, small meals. Avoid starchy foods and sweets in large quantities, fried, fatty, spicy and salty foods. Eliminate the use of coffee, strong tea, carbonated water, non-alcoholic beer. From time to time, of course, you can pamper yourself, but healthy eating should now be your obligatory habit;
• Intimate life requires choosing a comfortable position.… At the moment, there are technical restrictions. Be extremely careful and careful;
• Take care of comfortable shoes, it is better to exclude heels altogether, also try to choose shoes without laces, soon you probably will not be able to tie them yourself at all;
• Do not take a hot bath, you do not need to take a steam bath either… Your heart is working much more actively now than it used to be, and it will not need any additional workload. It is unlikely that you will feel good. So give preference to a warm shower;
• Monitor the condition of the urinary system… The kidneys of a pregnant woman literally work for wear and tear, since they now have to filter out from the blood not only the products of her vital activity, but also the baby’s waste, which is excreted into the mother’s blood through the placenta. Sometimes, pregnant women may experience stagnant urine, and this in turn can lead to a number of inflammatory diseases such as cystitis, bacteriuria, pyelonephritis, etc. To prevent the occurrence of any of these diseases, it is necessary to empty the bladder more often, not to drink very strong lingonberry broth and exclude salty and spicy foods from the diet.

Reviews of expectant mothers

All the conversations of women who are at 17 weeks come down to long-awaited movements. For some, they begin literally at the 16th week, it even happens earlier, while others have not experienced such joy. The most important thing is not to worry, everything has its time, girls.

On some forums, pregnant women share intimate secrets. So, some say that sex at this time is unforgettable. However, I myself would not recommend getting carried away with anything like that, you still need to be extremely careful.

Nutrition is a known problem for many pregnant women.… By the way, one of the ladies wrote that by week 17 she weighed 12 kilograms more than before pregnancy. It is clear that if the body requires something, then you need to give it to it, but you still don’t need to stop taking care of yourself. This will not benefit you or your baby.

Many are worried about toxicosis again… Someone’s nausea, unfortunately, is not going to go away. Women also complain of signs of late toxicosis, namely, swelling of the legs, fingers, and face.
As for the mood, then here you can already notice a tendency towards some kind of constancy. If in the first weeks women are characterized by sharp changes, now it becomes easier to cope with emotions. In general, judging by the reviews, this is a more or less calm period. You can check out some of them and see what worries moms-to-be the most in week 17.

Irina:

We have gone 17 weeks, perturbations are already felt very well. If you look directly at your stomach at this time, you can feel how it sticks out and moves a little. I let my husband touch it at such a moment, but says that he feels it too, but of course not as much as I do. The sensations are simply indescribable!

Nata:

I have 17 weeks, this is my first pregnancy. True, the toxicosis has not yet passed. Often there are pains in the lower abdomen, but everything is in order. I’m starting to feel like a future mother. Very often there are tides of joy, and sometimes I start crying if I am upset about something. This is strange to me, because I have never cried at all before.

Evelina:

We have 17 weeks, so far I don’t feel any movements, although from time to time it seems that this is it! The toxicosis passed as soon as the 1st trimester ended. Sometimes the truth is nauseous, but quite a bit, she stopped crying 5 times a day as before. I really look forward to when the baby starts to move, as confirmation that everything is in order with him.

Olya:

My first movements were at 16 weeks, it was even a little sick, but it’s still funny. It feels like the baby in the belly is riding a roller coaster: it will slide down the belly, then up.

Ira:

The 17th week has begun. It pulls the ligaments, but it’s not scary at all, even a little pleasant. And I also felt a slight stirring a couple of days ago! So beautiful!

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