Your Pregnancy: Weeks 17-20

Week 17

Baby:Your baby, now about in its 15th week of development, measures about 4.4 to 4.8 inches from crown to rump and has doubled in weight in the last two weeks to about 3.5 ounces. Fat begins to form, helping your baby's heat production and metabolism. The lungs are beginning to exhale amniotic fluid, and the circulatory and urinary systems are working. Hair on head, eyebrows and eyelashes is filling in.

Mom-to-be: You're showing more now, with an obvious swelling in your lower abdomen. A five- to 10-pound weight gain is typical by now. You also may be noticing an increase in appetite.

If you are newly pregnant, or trying to conceive, you have many questions about what to expect. How will your body change? What's happening inside you? Here's what to expect week by week.

• Weeks 1-4
• Weeks 5-8
• Weeks 9-12
• Weeks 13-16
• Weeks 17-20
• Weeks 21-25
• Weeks 26-30
• Weeks 31-34
• Weeks 35-40

Tip of the Week: Change positions slowly, especially when you move from a lying down position to sitting or from a sitting position to standing to avoid feeling dizzy or faint. If you feel lightheaded, sit down and lower your head, or lie down for a moment.

Week 18

Baby: Your baby measures 5 to 5.6 inches from crown to rump and weighs about 5.25 ounces. The rapid growth spurt is tapering off, but reflexes are kicking in. It can yawn, stretch and make facial expressions, even frown. Taste buds are beginning to develop and can distinguish sweet from bitter tastes. The baby will suck if its lips are stroked and it can swallow, and even get the hiccups. The retinas have become sensitive to light, so if a bright light is shined on your abdomen, baby will probably move to shield its eyes.

Mom-to-be: Your uterus, about the size of a cantaloupe, can probably be felt just below your navel. You're most likely feeling the baby move by now. A mid-pregnancy ultrasound may be performed between now and 22 weeks to assess fetal growth and development and to verify the due date. If the baby is in the right position, the ultrasound may even be able to determine whether it's a boy or a girl. Your heart has to work 40 percent to 50 percent harder now to support your pregnancy.

Tip for the Week: Suggest that your partner go with you for the ultrasound. It's a chance to catch the first glimpse of your baby together, as well as provide a snapshot to show friends and family later. Sonograms still don't guarantee a healthy baby, but they can provide reassurance and spot some problems.

Week 19

Baby: Your baby measures about 5.2 to 6 inches from crown to rump and weighs about 7 ounces. Skin is developing and transparent, appearing red because blood vessels are visible through it. Creamy white protective coating, called vernix, begins to develop.

Mom-to-be: As your baby continues to grow, you may be feeling some mid-pregnancy aches and pains by now -- lower abdominal achiness, dizziness, heartburn, constipation, leg cramps, mild swelling of ankles and feet, and a backache. Dilated blood vessels might cause tiny, temporary red marks (called spider nevi) on your face, shoulders and arms.

Tip of the Week: Take care not to get overtired since rapid growth of the baby can compound the burden on your heart, lungs and kidneys.

3 Effective Ways How to Get Pregnant With a Girl

The desire to want to know how to get pregnant with a girl (should be your wife) has become an immensely popular topic in recent years for couples around the world. While some couples resort to medical procedures such as artificial insemination, the costly treatments prevent many from doing so. Fortunately, there are natural methods that are just as effective and the following are 3 tips to getting you started.

1. Make love several days before ovulation

Perhaps one of the most effective methods of getting pregnant with a girl is to time intercourse a few days prior to ovulation. The female sperm will then stay inside the woman's body for a few days until the egg is ready to be fertilized while the male sperm will be eliminated in the process. Prediction kits are invaluable tools to have and those that use saliva are generally more accurate.

2. Monitor pH levels of the reproductive environment

The sperm carrying the female gene are able to survive in acidic environment where the male sperm would not even stand a chance. This can easily be used to your advantage by using vaginal test strips while increasing the pH levels. This can be done through consuming foods rich in magnesium and calcium or by douching using specialty recipes that can be bought at health clinics.

3. Make love with shallow penetration positions

The next factor is to only have the male partner ejaculate while in a shallow penetration position. The entrance to the woman's vagina is naturally more acidic which is favorable to the female sperm. Positions such as missionary work best to deposit the sperm closest to the entrance in addition to the woman lying on her side.

Following these methods should be used in combination with each other for maximum benefit rather than relying on one method alone. These factors alone have been able to successfully produce a daughter for thousands of couples around the world.

Your Pregnancy: Weeks 13-16

Week 13

Baby: Your fully formed fetus, now in about its 11th week of development, measures 2.6 to 3.1 inches from crown to rump and weighs between half an ounce and seven-tenths of an ounce -- about the size of a peach. The head is still disproportionately bigger than the body, but the rest of the body is starting to catch up. In fact, your baby is growing rapidly these days. The face is starting to look more human, with eyes moving closer together. Toes and fingers are clearly separate, and ankles and wrists have formed. External genitalia are becoming visible. Intestines are shifting into their proper place, too.

Mom-to-be: Your uterus has grown a lot. It's filling your pelvis now and starting to grow upward into your abdomen. It probably feels like a soft, smooth ball. If you haven't put on any weight yet because of morning sickness, you'll begin to now as you start to feel better.

Tip for the Week: It's easy for your partner to feel left out of the pregnancy since he isn't feeling the same physical changes that you are. Both of you should share your excitement about having a child, your dreams, worries and your partner's level of involvement. Suggest that your partner goes to a check-up with you to hear the baby's heartbeat.

Week 14

Baby: Your baby measures about 3.2 to 4.1 inches from crown to rump now and weighs almost an ounce. The ears are shifting from the neck to the sides of the head, and the neck is getting longer and chin more prominent. Facial features and unique fingerprints are all there. Your baby is beginning to respond to outside stimuli. If your abdomen is poked, the fetus will try to wriggle away.

 Mom-to-be: You're probably wearing maternity clothes now. Your skin and muscles are starting to stretch to accommodate your growing baby. You may notice some constipation because pregnancy hormones relax the bowel.

Tip of the Week: Try to alleviate constipation with moderate exercise, and by drinking plenty of fluids and eating lots of fruit and vegetables, preferably raw.

Week 15

Baby: Your 13-week-old fetus now measures about 4.1 to 4.5 inches from crown to rump and weighs about 1.75 ounces. Its body is covered by an ultrafine hair, called lanugo, which is usually shed by birth. Eyebrows and hair on the top of the head are beginning to grow. He may even be sucking his thumb by now. Bones are getting harder.

Mom-to-be: Your uterus can probably be felt about 3 to 4 inches below your navel. Sometime in the next five weeks you'll be offered a quadruple marker screening test, which measures four chemicals in your blood -- alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), inhibin A, and estrogen produced by the placenta. The test is a more accurate predictor of Down syndrome than AFP testing alone. Amniocentesis, which tests a small sample of amniotic fluid withdrawn by an ultrasound-guided needle, is usually performed between now and 18 weeks. It may be recommended if you're 35 or older or if your AFP or quadruple marker screen test results were suspicious.

Tip of the Week: Start learning to sleep on your left side because circulation is best that way. Lying on your back or stomach after about the fourth or fifth month can put extra pressure on your growing uterus and decrease circulation to your baby. You can try tucking pillows behind you and between your legs. Some manufacturers make a pregnancy pillow that supports your entire body.

Week 16

Baby: Your baby now measures about 4.3 to 4.6 inches from crown to rump and weighs about 2.8 ounces. Fingernails are well-formed and the fine hair, lanugo, may be growing on the head. Arms and legs are moving. The nervous system is functioning and muscles are responding to stimulation from your baby's brain. You may be able to hear the baby's heartbeat in the doctor's office.

Mom-to-be: Your uterus has grown significantly by now and weighs about 8.75 ounces. Within the next few weeks you may start to feel your baby move, called "quickening." It's often like a gas bubble or subtle fluttering movement. As it happens more regularly, you'll know it's your baby. There are other physiological changes happening in your body. Increased blood volume to support your growing fetus may produce nosebleeds, and leg veins may become more apparent. Your uterus is shifting so you may not have to urinate so much.

Tip of the Week: If veins in your legs are beginning to bulge, you may want to use support stockings, elevate your feet when you can and exercise to improve blood flow.

What's Happening Inside You?

Your baby's fingers and toes are well-defined; eyelids, eyebrows, eyelashes, nails and hair are formed. Teeth and bones become denser. Your baby can even suck his or her thumb, yawn, stretch and make faces.

The nervous system is starting to function. The reproductive organs and genitalia are now fully developed, and your health care provider can see on ultrasound if you are having a boy or a girl. Your baby's heartbeat may now be audible through an instrument called a Doppler.

By the end of the fourth month, your baby is about 6 inches long and weighs about 4 ounces.

Your Pregnancy: Weeks 9-12

Week 9

Baby: The embryo measures about 0.9 inches to 1.2 inches from crown to rump, or the size of a strawberry. The arms and legs are longer, and the fingers might be a little swollen where the touch pads are forming. The head is more erect and neck is more developed. Your baby now moves its body and limbs, and this movement can be visible during an ultrasound, but you won't be able to feel it yet.

Mom-to-be: Your uterus is continuing to grow, and you may begin to see your waistline thickening. But unless you tell people the good news, your pregnancy still won't be noticeable to others. Weight gain is still small, if at all, since you could be experiencing food aversions, cravings, heartburn, indigestion, nausea and bloating. Mood swings and weepiness similar to PMS symptoms are common, too.

Week 10

Baby: Congratulations! Your baby is now officially called a "fetus." It looks a little like a medium shrimp, measuring 1.25 to 1.68 inches from crown to rump, and weighing a little less than two-tenths of an ounce. You might be reassured to know that most physical malformations, when they occur, have occurred by the end of this week, so the most critical part of your baby's development is safely behind you. But other developmental processes, such as those affecting behavior and intelligence, will continue throughout pregnancy. Eyes are covered by skin that will eventually split to form eyelids.

Mom-to-be: You still probably don't show, but you may be wearing looser clothes. You may even be starting to eye maternity clothes, although you probably still don't need them. You may continue to feel tired and moody, but take heart: These symptoms shouldn't last too much longer.

Tip of the Week: If you're going to have chorionic villus sampling (CVS), a prenatal test used to detect genetic defects such as Tay-Sachs, sickle cell anemia, most types of cystic fibrosis and Down syndrome, it will probably be scheduled between now and 12 weeks.

Week 11

Baby: Your fetus, about the size of a large lime, measures about 1.75 to 2.4 inches from crown to rump and weighs about three-tenths of an ounce. About now the rapid "swooshing" noises of the heartbeat can be heard through a Doppler sound-wave stethoscope. Fingernails and external genitalia are showing distinguishing characteristics, and the baby is swallowing and kicking, although you still won't feel it.

Mom-to-be: Your uterus is almost big enough to fill your pelvis and may be felt in your lower abdomen. You may also experience changes in hair, skin, fingernails or toenails.

Tip of the Week: Don't ignore your dental hygiene during pregnancy. Floss and brush regularly, and make sure you see your dentist at least once in these nine months. Your gums may bleed more because of hormones during pregnancy and because of increased blood volume.

Week 12

Baby: The fetus now measures about 2.5 inches from crown to rump and weighs between three-tenths of an ounce and half an ounce. It is fully formed, from tooth buds to toenails, and your baby's job now is to continue getting larger and stronger for the rest of your pregnancy. With the most critical development behind the fetus, the chance of miscarriage drops considerably after this week.

Mom-to-be: Nausea and energy start to improve. You may be experiencing occasional headaches, dizziness and fatigue from hormonal changes. If it's your first baby, you still could be wearing loose-fitting clothes, but if you've had other pregnancies, you'll probably start to show earlier and may be in maternity clothes. The typical weight gain by now is about three to five pounds. Fathers-to-be might also experience pregnancy symptoms, called couvade or "hatching," during the third month and at delivery, including nausea, abdominal pain, appetite changes and weight gain.

Tip of the Week: Most women develop stretch marks on their abdomen, breasts, hips or buttocks sometime during their pregnancy. They won't go away, but they'll usually fade after pregnancy. Despite claims from manufacturers, creams and oils don't minimize them. It depends on your skin's natural elasticity. Gradual rather than rapid weight gain may help, as well as avoiding excessive weight gain during pregnancy.

What's Happening Inside You?

By the end of the third month, your baby is fully formed. Your baby has arms, hands, fingers, feet and toes and can open and close its fists and mouth. Fingernails and toenails are beginning to develop and the external ears are formed. The beginnings of teeth are forming. Your baby's reproductive organs also develop, but the baby's gender is difficult to distinguish on ultrasound. The circulatory and urinary systems are working and the liver produces bile.

At the end of the third month, your baby is about 4 inches long and weighs about 1 ounce.

Since your baby's most critical development has taken place, your chance of miscarriage drops considerably after three months.

Your Pregnancy: Weeks 5-8

Week 5

Baby: Your embryo still hasn't grown much. It's about 0.05 inches long. Heart, brain, spinal cord, muscle and bones are beginning to develop. The placenta, which will nourish your baby, and the amniotic sac, which provides a warm and safe environment where the baby can move easily, are still forming, too.

Mom-to-be: Still no big changes to notice in yourself, although you might suspect by now that you're pregnant. Some early pregnancy symptoms include nausea (called "morning sickness," although it can happen at any time of day), a tingling or soreness in your breasts and darkening of the areola, the need to urinate more frequently and feeling more tired than usual.

Tip for the Week: You'll want to schedule a visit to your OB-Gyn as soon as you suspect you're pregnant. Good prenatal care is one of the best assurances of a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby.

Week 6

Baby: The embryo is starting to look like a tadpole. It's about 0.08 inches to 0.16 inches -- the size of a BB pellet -- from the top of the head to buttocks. (This crown-to-rump length is used more often than crown-to-heel length because the baby's legs are most often bent and hard to measure). The eyes and limb buds also are forming. A heartbeat can sometimes be detected by an ultrasound around now. This is also an extremely important time in the development of your baby, since between 17 and 56 days the embryo is most susceptible to factors that can interfere with its normal growth.

Mom-to-be: You may have gained a few pounds by now, but if you're experiencing morning sickness you may have lost weight, which is also normal. You're starting to notice some changes in your body: clothes getting a little tighter around the waist, weight gain in your legs and breasts. With a pelvic exam, your practitioner will be able to notice a change in the size of your uterus.

Tip for the Week: Make sure you're following good prenatal habits, like eating right and taking your prenatal vitamins. Since the neural tube (which is the beginning of the central nervous system) has formed by now, taking folic acid to prevent spinal cord defects such as spina bifida, has been crucial. If you haven't already, stop smoking and drinking.

Week 7

Baby: Your embryo makes great strides in size this week, growing to between 0.44 inches and 0.52 inches from crown to rump by the end of the week, or about the size of a small raspberry. Leg buds are starting to look like short fins, and hands and feet have a digital plate where fingers and toes will develop. The heart and lungs are becoming more developed, as are the eyes and nostrils, intestines and appendix. By now the brain and spinal cord are growing from the neural tube.

Mom-to-be: You're still not "showing," but by now you're really feeling the changes in your body. You still may be experiencing morning sickness and the other symptoms of early pregnancy. Breasts will probably be tingly and tender.

Tip for the Week: To settle a queasy stomach, never let your stomach get empty. Keep snacks on hand around the clock, and eat lots of little meals rather than three big ones. To prevent a drop in blood sugar, include some protein like adding some cheese on crackers.

Week 8

Baby: Your embryo, now about in its sixth week of development, is about the size of a grape -- 0.56 to 0.8 inches from crown to rump. Eyelid folds and ears are forming and even the tip of the nose is visible. The arms have grown longer and bend at the elbows. Places where fingers and toes eventually will grow are becoming notched.

Mom-to-be: Your uterus, once the size of your fist, is now about the size of a grapefruit. You may feel some cramping or pain in your lower abdomen or sides, but that's because your uterus typically tightens or contracts throughout pregnancy. Consult your doctor if contractions are accompanied by vaginal bleeding.

Tip for the Week: Good breast support during pregnancy will help you feel more comfortable and prevent future sagging. Exercises to keep your chest muscles toned can be useful, too.

What's Happening Inside You?

Your baby's facial features continue to develop. Each ear begins as a little fold of skin at the side of the head. Tiny buds that eventually grow into arms and legs are forming. Fingers, toes and eyes are also forming.

       

The neural tube (brain, spinal cord and other neural tissue of the central nervous system) is well formed. The digestive tract and sensory organs begin to develop. Bone starts to replace cartilage.

By the end of the second month, your baby, now a fetus, is about 1 inch long, weighs about 1/3 ounce, and is virtually all head (1/3 of its body is head).

Your Pregnancy: Weeks 1-4

If you are newly pregnant girl, of course you are, you have many questions about what to expect. How will your body change? What's happening inside you? We can guide you, week by week, through the nine months of pregnancy. Each week offers information about your body and baby's, as well as invaluable tips. Let's start peeking inside the womb.

Weeks 1 and 2

Baby: Your baby is still just a glimmer in your eye. Although it's confusing to think about a pregnancy starting before your child is even conceived, doctors calculate your due date from the beginning of your last cycle since it's hard to know exactly when conception occurred.

Mom-to-be: At the beginning of a cycle, about 20 eggs called ova begin to ripen and occupy fluid-filled sacs called follicles. One of these follicles matures and ruptures, releasing an egg that will travel down the fallopian tube, where it awaits fertilization. This all takes place about 14 days before the end of your cycle. This is the time you're most fertile, so light some candles, take the phone off the hook, and set aside some intimate time. An egg can be fertilized for only about 12 to 24 hours once the ovum is released. Don't be disappointed if it doesn't work the first time. You have only about a 20% chance of getting pregnant each month.

Tip for the Week: Make sure you've scheduled a preconception visit with your ob-gyn to determine risks of genetic diseases, environmental hazards, and lifestyle changes necessary to ensure a healthy pregnancy and baby. Most important, make sure you've started taking 0.4 milligrams, or 400 micrograms, of folic acid a day. Folic acid taken a few months before conception has been shown to dramatically reduce the likelihood of neural tube defects, such as spina bifida.

Week 3

Baby: Congratulations! If your egg and your partner's sperm have joined successfully, your embryo is really there, although it's very small -- about the size of the head of a pin. It doesn't look like a fetus or baby; it's just a group of about 100 cells multiplying and growing rapidly. The outer layer of cells will become the placenta, and the inner layer will become the embryo.

Mom-to-be: You won't notice any changes. It's too soon. Remember, you haven't even missed your period yet.

Tip for the Week: Home pregnancy tests are about as reliable as a urine test or blood test done in the doctor's office and can give you more immediate results than waiting for a doctor's visit. To ensure accuracy, make sure you've read the directions carefully and that all equipment being used is clean.

Week 4

Baby: Your baby is still very small, only about 0.014 inches to 0.04 inches in length. The embryo, probably in about its second week of development, has multiplied to about 150 cells. Your baby is being nourished by secretions from the uterine lining. Layers of cells already are specialized according to functions. The outer layer will become the nervous system, skin and hair; the inner layer will be the breathing and digestive organs; and the middle layer will become the skeleton, bones, cartilage, muscles, circulatory system, kidneys, and sex organs.

Mom-to-be: You're probably expecting your period this week, and if it doesn't occur it might be one of the first signs that you're pregnant. You may also notice light spotting as the embryo implants itself in your uterus. You might not feel any different yet, but the amniotic cavity, which will be filled with fluid, and the placenta, which will bring oxygen and nutrients to nourish your baby, are forming in your uterus.

Tip for the Week: Try to eat healthfully, which means choosing a variety of foods from the recommended food groups and drinking at least six to eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day. But you don't really need to "eat for two." You need only an extra 300 calories per day during pregnancy. And don't worry if your food intake drops a little in the beginning because of morning sickness. If you've been eating right already, your baby will get what it needs.

What's Happening Inside You?

As the fertilized egg grows, a water-tight sac forms around it, gradually filling with fluid. This is called the amniotic sac, and it helps cushion the growing embryo.

The placenta also develops. The placenta is a round, flat organ that transfers nutrients from the mother to the baby, and transfers wastes from the baby.

A primitive face takes form with large dark circles for eyes. The mouth, lower jaw, and throat are developing. Blood cells are taking shape, and circulation will begin.

By the end of the first month, your baby is about 1/4 inch long - smaller than a grain of rice!

Tell Parent that you are pregnant

Confused? You're Not Alone

If you've just learned you're pregnant, you're not alone.

You might feel confused, scared, or shocked by the news. You might think, "This can't really be happening." You promise yourself you'll be so much more careful in the future. And you know you'll probably have to tell your parents.

Preparing to Talk to Parents about your pregnancy

No matter how close you are to your parents, you're going to wonder how they'll react. It's one thing if your parents realize you're having sex and they're OK with that. But it's another thing if they've forbidden you to date or if having premarital sex is completely against their values and beliefs.

Most parents fall somewhere in the middle. For example, some parents have pretty liberal values but they're still shocked to learn their teen had sex. Even parents who know their teens are having sex can still be disappointed or worried about their future.

Your parents' personalities also play a part in how they'll react. Some parents are easy to talk to or calmer in a crisis. Some are more emotional, more easily stressed out, more likely to get upset or angry, to yell or cry, or express themselves loudly.

Most parents want to be supportive of a daughter who is pregnant (or a son who got a girl pregnant), even if they are angry or upset at first. But a few may react violently to the news and let anger get out of control. If you think your parents might fall into this category — for example, if they have a history of physical violence — read the section on "Protecting Yourself" at the end of this article.

Some parents don't show how they feel at first. They may take time to absorb the news. Others react quickly and there's no mistaking how they feel. Some will listen and be sensitive to your feelings. Some parents will spring into action, taking charge and telling you what to do.

Think about how your parents have reacted to other situations. Try to imagine how they might respond — but remember it's impossible to really know for sure. Still, thinking about what to expect can help you feel prepared for the conversation you plan to have.

Shocking News: Your Girl is Pregnant!

As a parent, yes you should be shock!
But dont get angry. Its no use. Its better for a parent to get ready for the next 9 months. And prepare your young  pregnant girls to get ready when her child is born.