Week 16: This may be your scan time

Fetal development in pregnancy week 16:



fetus in fourth month
Over the past three weeks your astounding growing baby has managed to
stretch yet another 2 full inches (totaling about 4.5 inches) and
weighs around 3.5 ounces. Yessireee, that’s some pretty serious
growth... and with it comes several physical developments! For
starters, their head to body ratio is finally starting to even out a
bit as the rest of the body is actually growing faster than the head at
this point. Yes, your little light bulb is not so top-heavy. Their
adorable little limbs have lengthened, almost reaching their normal
proportions which they will have at birth. Their eyes are still closed
but moving and if you had an ultrasound, which many doctors recommend
you have at about this time, you may even see your little one sucking
on a thumb, not to mention the necessary signifiers to let you know
whether you’ve got a wee lad or lassie.

And how's mom doing?
Along with an ultrasound, many
practitioners recommend administering the “Multiple Marker Test (MMT)”,
which is also known as the “Triple Screen Test”. This very common
procedure checks your blood (not your baby’s) for specific protein and
hormone levels as well as informing you about any potential Before
you start breathing in that strained fearful way or furrowing your brow
in concern, you should know that even if you do get a positive test
this hardly means your little trooper is in trouble. Only about 3 to 5
percent of women yield positive results risks of genetic or
birth defects. Before you start breathing in that strained fearful way
or furrowing your brow in concern, you should know that even if you do
get a positive test this hardly means your little trooper is in
trouble. Only about 3 to 5 percent of women yield positive results and
of those women, only 10 percent actually have any sort of complication
to report. Obviously, a positive test from the MMT will mean further
testing for you, including amniocentesis and more ultrasounds. Although
this test sounds like a bit of a dud with the high percentage of false
positives coming back, it's popular because it has and can effectively
identify a majority of all neural tube defects as well as babies with
Down Syndrome. So despite its obvious drawbacks, you’ll still want to
arrange to take the test to better prepare you and your family for the
fact that anything is possible.