Normal 16 week baby ultrasound.

 

At 16 weeks, you’re officially 4 months pregnant! As your second trimester hums along, your baby’s growing rapidly, and you might start seeing changes happening to your own body as well. In today’s post the topic will be normal 16 week baby ultrasound. Ultrasound images of what you are expected to see are going to be on the middle of the post, so let’s begin..

How Big Is a Baby at 16 Weeks Pregnant?

At 16 weeks pregnant, baby is as big as an Avocado. The average 16 week fetus weighs 3.5 ounces and measures 10.2 to 11 cm or about 4.6 inches long. Rapidly your baby looks more like a human being as the weeks progresses.

16 Weeks Pregnant Symptoms.

Glowing skin: Finally you are not only feeling a lot better but you are also looking better, you are glowing at this point, enjoy you deserve it.

Forgetfulness: This is also known as Pregnancy Brain, Multiple things can cause this change however no one knows for sure why. Hormonal changes, anxiety, emotional trauma etc., can be the reason why don’t worry too much about it, you will get better after having your baby.

Backaches: Your aching back is a side effect of pregnancy hormones and your growing uterus. To ease backaches, make some time for low-impact exercise. Sit and stand up straight and regularly stretch your body.

Constipation: Your uterus starting to press on your intestines. Load up on fiber-rich foods and drink lots of water to keep things moving down properly.

Dry, itchy, sensitive eyes: Blame the hormones once again! You could try over the counter eye drops, but be sure to consult your OB before choosing one.

Increased vaginal discharge: This vaginal discharge protects the birth canal from infection, it may not feel comfortable but is helpful. please stay away from vaginal douches or feminine wipes because they can irritate your genital area and actually cause infections.

Bleeding gums: Pregnancy hormones are causing gum inflammation, making them more susceptible to bacteria, irritation and bleeding, while this is normal, its important to floss, brush regularly and visit frequently your dentist to avoid gum disease, which can cause pregnancy complications if untreated.

If you’re sixteen weeks pregnant with twins, your symptoms probably won’t be much different. You definitely want to keep your doctor posted on all your symptoms.

What is happening with your baby at 16 weeks?

• Your baby at this time is able to hold his/her neck straight, he has learned to turn the head around.
• The liver has begun to perform its digestive function.
• Your baby pisses every 45 minutes to an hour, at this time it is important to start visualizing the fetal stomach and urinary bladder on the ultrasounds, this will help to make the diagnosis of esophageal abnormalities later on.
• During this period the circulatory system of your baby is also clearly seen.
• Blood composition has been completely formed: a blood type and factor can be already determined.

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16 Weeks Pregnancy testing.

Around this time all women under the age of 35 should be offered a triple screen test. This is also sometimes called “multiple marker screening” and “AFP plus.” During this test, the mother’s blood is tested for three substances. These are:

AFP, which is a protein produced by the fetus
HCG, which is a hormone that’s produced in the placenta
Estriol, which is a type of estrogen produced by both placenta and fetus.

The triple screen tests can detect fetal abnormalities like Down syndrome, trisomy 18, and spina bifida.

Abnormal triple screen tests don’t mean there is an abnormality in the fetus. Instead, it could indicate a higher risk, further testing should be done. In some cases, amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling might be done. These tests are more precise than the triple screen test, but have an increased risk of complications.

 

Read related topic posts:

Ultimate guide for your 14 week ultrasound.

Guide for your normal 15 week Ultrasound.

Baby essentials, checklist for the registry included.

Images of a normal 16 week baby ultrasound.

Under certain circumstances, the gender of the baby can be seen at this time, here is what you can expect to see…

Ultrasound image of the doppler on the heart. The heartbeat expected today is between 130 to 165 bpm.

Final words about normal 16 week baby ultrasound.

By now you’ll probably have a four month prenatal visit. As usual, you’ll probably have a urine test. Your OB will be checking your urine for signs of gestational diabetes and preeclampsia. You may have a 16 weeks pregnant ultrasound at your appointment too.

The good news at this time is that, if all the tests are normal, including the ultrasound, your chance of miscarriage drops to only 1 percent. You can breathe relieved now!

Thanks for staying with me until the end. On my next post I will be talking about 17 week ultrasound. check out my other categories for mom/women health and parenting.
If you like my post and learn something new today show me some love, a like and a follow will be highly appreciated.

Zadi. XO

Disclaimer: Due to HIPPA compliance and regulations all patient information is protected on this site, the majority of the Ultrasound images are my own. Also, the information provided on my blog is designed to provide helpful information about the topic and are made with the best of my knowledge, therefore, is not intended to diagnose or treat any medical condition, For diagnosis or treatments on any medical problems consult your own physician. The author is not responsible or liable for any mistreated pathologies or wrong treatments.