August 27th, 2011 by Hasham

Pregnancy Week 13

Welcome to the pregnancy week 13, the beginning of the 2nd trimester – the best pregnancy time ever (so called)! You are already in pregnancy week 13, which you can expect your early pregnancy symptoms (morning sickness and so on) will gradually disappear and you find yourself with more energy. It is because you are starting to catch up with your body’s increased workload and your body itself start to get used of being pregnant.

If you are feeling tired, do not worry so much. Just listen to your body and get REST! You have to make sure that you have enough rest as your body is working very hard right now.

It is also a good time if you are going to tell the good news to others especially your family before your tummy gets bigger.

“I heard that I’m safe from miscarriage if I can reach 2nd trimester, is that right?”. Yes, you are right, but partly. Your risk for miscarriage drops substantially starting from pregnancy week 13, but the possibility is still there. In some cases, miscarriage can happen up to 20 weeks, especially for those who have incompetent cervix – cervix is too weak to stay closed during pregnancy. Consult your doctor if you think you are one of them and take extra precautions if it’s true you are the one.

By this pregnancy 13 weeks, you may start thinking of wearing loose fitting clothes as your favorite pair of jeans are no longer fit.

You might want to know the other changes happening to you as well as your fetal development in this pregnancy 13 weeks:

Expectant mother:

* In this pregnancy week 13, your uterus is continuously and now is about the size of grapefruit.
* You may start feeling some ache or discomfort in your abdomen in this 13 weeks pregnancy.
* Your breasts continue to change during your 13 weeks pregnant – besides your nipples and areolas become even darker, you might noticing the veins in your breasts are more prominent.
* Some women may also start developing larger benign bumps on their breasts during pregnancy. How about you?
* You may also start feeling some discomfort around your lower abdomen, which is normally called round ligament pain – due to the stretch of your ligaments that surround your uterus stretch to accommodate your baby growing.

Fetus development:

week 13 fetus development>

* During 13th weeks of pregnancy, your baby will grow around 1.5 to 3 in (35 to 75 mm) length and weighs around 1/2 to 3/4 oz (14 to 21 grams).
* Your baby is more and more looks like human as its body is catching up the size of its head
* His or her eyes start to move closer together and ears are beginning to move to their final positions.
* By now, your baby’s hands and feet are fully formed.
* Inside of his or her belly, the liver begins to secrete bile while the pancreas is starting to produce insulin.
* His or her intestines are moving from the umbilical cord into his or her own abdomen
* All 20 milk teeth have formed and waiting under the gums, while your baby has begun to practice swallowing by taking in the surrounding amniotic fluid and passing it back in his or her urine
* Your baby can smile and his or her vocal cords are quick developing.
* By 13 weeks pregnancy, your baby has as many nerve endings as you do! The connections are being made between brain, muscles and nervous system.

Pregnancy Ultrasound week by week

Pregnancy Related Links

The sound waves whose frequency is greater than 20 kHz are called ultrasound. Ultrasound waves are used in many fields.

Sonography is the most well known application of ultrasound. It is comparatively cheaper than MRI scan (magnetic resonance imaging) and CT scan (computed tomography). It is use to scan and generate the images of tissues, muscles and other organs of the body. Sonography is widely used in pregnancy related diagnosis. It is used to scan and produce the images of the fetus in the uterus.

In ultrasound scan, a high frequency wave is transmitted through the uterus. The hard tissue and bones of the fetus reflects these sound waves. The receiver receives these reflected sound waves and the computer converts this information into an image. The image is a mixture of white, gray and black shades, depending on the intensity of reflected wave. Many scanners today generate colored 3D images.

Ultrasounds are mostly done by trained professionals like sonographers, radiologists and obstetricians. The procedures involved in ultrasound are

* Experts will ask you to drink plenty of water particularly in early stages of pregnancy before coming for an ultrasound scan as it helps in generating clear images of uterus.
* There is a bed beside the machine. You will be asked to lie on the bed. The arrangement is such that you can view the image on the monitor.
* Sonographers will apply gel on your stomach. It helps in smooth movement of transducer over stomach.
* Now, the sonographers move the transducer smoothly over the stomach. The transducer transmits and receives the sound waves and generates the image.
* The whole process takes 15 to 20 minutes and is safe for the mother and the baby.

Ultrasounds can be used for the detection of

* Ectopic pregnancy.
* Single or Twins or multiple pregnancies.
* Heartbeat of the baby.
* Reasons for any kind of bleeding during pregnancy.
* Whether all the organs of the baby have developed or not.
* Whether all the organs are functioning properly or not.
* Determining the accurate date of delivery.
* Amount of amniotic fluid, the condition and position of placenta.
* Can be used to detect certain abnormalities.
* It can also be used to measure the rate of growth of the fetus.

There are different ways in which the ultrasound technology can be used in pregnancy related diagnosis. They are

* Abdominal ultrasound
* Vaginal ultrasound
* Doppler ultrasound

Abdominal ultrasound

Abdominal ultrasound is the most common used in pregnancy related diagnosis. In this ultrasound the sonographers moves the transducer over the belly to scan the uterus and examine the development of the baby and several other conditions of the uterus.

Vaginal ultrasound

In vaginal ultrasound, a sterilized probe is gently placed in the vagina but outside the cervix. The probe is covered with a thin plastic sheath. This technique helps sonographers to minutely observe the woman’s uterus. It also helps in detecting low lying placenta.

Doppler ultrasound

Doppler ultrasound is use to examine the blood flow in the vessels. It also helps in detecting condition of the blood flow between the uterus and the placenta which in turn helps in determining the functioning of the placenta for the baby. This technique is performed in the same way as abdominal ultrasound.