Pregnancy Week By Week A resource dedicated to women during pregnancy! |
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Your Baby
Changes In Your Growing Baby As you continue your pregnancy week by week your baby's legs start lengthening.
Your Body's Development By this time you might start needing some maternity clothes. While you may not fill them out entirely for a couple more weeks, you may still be more comfortable wearing something that gives you room to grow. Most of the time your maternity size corresponds to your pre-pregnancy size. Most maternity clothes come in small, medium, large and extra large sizes.
Changes In Your Body Between pregnancy week 16 and pregnancy week 18 you will undergo certain tests at your doctors office, including the alpha-fetoprotein test or AFP test. This is a test that measures the protein coming from fetal urine. This test can indicate if a potential problem may exist with your baby. A higher level of AFP for example may suggest that your baby is at an elevated risk for certain central nervous system or spinal cord problems. Some baby's with an elevated AFP are more at risk for Down Syndrome. If you do have an elevated AFP don't panic. It may be nothing. There are many false positives. In many cases however your doctor will recommend an amniocentesis or ultrasound to confirm whether or not a problem may exist. An amniocentesis is a test that looks for chromosomal problems or genetic birth defects in babies. During this test a health care provider passes a thin need through the uterus to withdraw amniotic fluid for testing. There is some risk for miscarriage, leaking or complications from this test. You should talk with your doctor thoroughly before deciding whether you want this test as it is somewhat risky.
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