Normal 17 week baby Ultrasound.

 

You are quickly approaching to the middle of your pregnancy, congrats. Today’s topic will be your “ Normal 17 week baby ultrasound”. As usual, ultrasound images of what you are expected to see are going to be in the middle of the article. Please pay attention to this post because am going to be talking about the anatomy scan, which is the most important ultrasound on the entire pregnancy, so let’s begin.

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How Big Is a Baby at 17 Weeks Pregnant?

At 17 weeks pregnant, the baby is as big as a pomegranate. The average 17 week fetus weighs 5.9 ounces and measures 11.2 to 12 cm or about 5.1  inches long.

Remember you’re at week 17 of your pregnancy, that’s almost halfway through and there’s so much to do, it can be overwhelming at times. My best advice to you, don’t stress out, enjoy the ride, time flies, ask for help if you can and at the end, everything will be fine.

17 Weeks Pregnant Symptoms.

Stretch marks: As your uterus continues to expand and your belly keeps growing getting some stretch marks might be inevitable. Especially if you are expecting twins. a piece of good advice to you again is to drink lots of water to stay hydrated and use a good quality skin moisturizer to try to combat them.

Weird dreams: Having strange dreams might be caused by your hormones, but it might also be the result of your nerves and anxiety.

More rapid weight gain: You may have gained about 5 to 10 pounds by now. It’s normal to gain about 1 to 2 pounds per week in the second trimester. Sudden or excessive weight gain could be a sign of a problem, so the best idea will be to talk to your doctor if you gaining more than that.

Itchy boobs and belly: As baby’s growing, your skin is stretching thinner and can be more sensitive. Resist the urge to scratch, and find a soothing skin cream that eases the itch.

Other Symptoms like Forgetfulness, Backaches, Constipation, Bleeding gums, and Increased vaginal discharge might be still strong, try to be patient, everything will go back to normal in about five months.

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Fetal development at 17 weeks.

• The umbilical cord is becoming thicker and stronger. This is to provide nutrition to your growing fetus.
• Your baby is growing a layer of fat, known as the adipose layer. This is a crucial part of the metabolic system that helps the fetus gain weight and fills out its features.
• The bones in the ears of the fetus will be changing and growing daily, and the fetus will hear and respond to conversation and music. The fetus is growing eyelashes and eyebrows, and its eyes can move even though they will remain shut.
• The fingers have developed the lines that form your child’s fingerprint, and they will also be moving more.
• Your baby is also practicing his sucking and swallowing skills in preparation to suckle at your breast or the bottle when he/she is born. In fact, most of the survival reflexes your baby will have at birth are being perfected in utero right at this moment.

 

Related posts:

Normal 18 week ultrasound.

The ultimate guide for your 19 week Fetal ultrasound.

How to prevent preterm labor naturally.

Baby essentials, checklist for the registry included.

Newborn developmental milestones, first 3 months.

Good Tips for You This Week.

Hormones and milk-producing glands are developing to prepare your breasts for nursing. All of this activity, plus an increase in blood flow, can boost breast size up to a few cups.

If you feel intermittent pain in your legs, it’s likely due to baby placing pressure on the sciatic nerve that runs under the uterus to the legs. Try a heating pad or back stretches to ease the pain.

17 week Ultrasound is performed Transabdominally, and here is a glimpse of what you can expect to see, remember this is the anatomy scan.

Due to fetal position and size, some of the views at 17 weeks can be suboptimal, that means that they are not 100% clear, if this is the case a follow up Ultrasound will be recommended at week 20.

THIS ULTRASOUND IS KNOWN AS THE FETAL ANATOMY SCAN, Normal 17 week baby ultrasound.

Main objectives of the Normal 17 week baby ultrasound.

Fetal biometry: also know as antenatal ultrasound measurements that are used to assess the growth and well being of the fetus changes at this time.

The measurements taken at this time are as follow:

• Biparietal Diameter( BPD )
• Head circumference( HC )
• Abdominal circumference( AC )
• Femur length( FL )

After the CRL( measurement done on the first trimester) the Femur length is the most accurate measurement throughout the entire pregnancy.

Measurements on the Amniotic Fluid are also done.

Checking out Placenta LOCATION is also crucial on this scan, Anterior or Posterior Placenta is fine as long as the placenta isn’t Previa ( covering cervical canal ).

In this ultrasound we also check the 4 chambers of the heart and the position of the great vessels ( Aorta and IVC ), we check the stomach, urinary bladder, kidneys, diaphragm, and Spine.

So here is a summary about the Anatomy scan and what we check:

• Fetal position. ( vertex, breech etc.)
• Heartbeat. (average 120 to 160 bpm)
• Amniotic fluid index. ( normal levels from 8 cm to 22 cm )
• Placenta location ( no previa )
• Fetal Biometry. ( measurements of BPD, HC, AC, and FL )
• All fetal major organs. ( heart chambers, great vessels, stomach, kidneys, spine, and bladder)
• Fetal limbs. ( hands and feet)
• Intracranial Structures and measurements.
• Fetal gender confirmation.

Remember, as usual you’ll have a urine test on your OB visit. Checking your urine for signs of gestational diabetes and preeclampsia is very important.

On my next post I will be talking about 18 week ultrasound. Thanks for visiting my blog today, don’t  forget to check my other categories for mom/women health and parenting.

Zadi. xo

Disclaimer: Due to HIPPA compliance and regulations all patient information is protected on this site. 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.