Pregnancy Week By Week

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Pregnancy Week 17		(–) Pregnancy Week 16		(+) Pregnancy Week 18
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Your Baby

Changes In Your Growing Baby
During pregnancy week 17 your baby concerns herself with swimming gleefully about her home. As you continue your pregnancy week by week your baby will start converting her cartilage skeleton into bone. This will require ample calcium consumption on mom's part so be sure to drink your milk! By pregnancy at 17 weeks most babies can hear outside of the womb. Now is a good time to start reading to your baby or putting on nice, soothing music during the day.

Your Body's Development
During 17 weeks pregnant your uterus continues to grow and expand, changing shape by now to resemble a large oval rather than a ball. Soon your uterus will completely inhabit your abdomen and pelvis. When this happens a woman's organs start getting pushed here and there, but not so severely as to cause you any distress.

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By pregnancy week 17 your uterus is probably about 2 inches below your navel, so you should have a little bit of a tummy to show off to friends and family.

Changes In Your Body
Most women start steadily gaining weight if they haven't already by 17 weeks pregnant. You may welcome the first fluttering of your baby's kicks and consider that just compensation for the few pounds you will add in the upcoming weeks.

Some women start experiencing more vaginal discharge during pregnancy. Provided vaginal discharge is odorless and clear or milky, you are probably perfect fine. Most women produce more vaginal fluid as a result of increasing estrogen production in the body accompanied with greater blood flow in the genital region.

During the last few weeks of pregnancy your discharge will increase even more. Some women have a hard time distinguishing normal vaginal fluids from amniotic fluid. Amniotic fluid is usually clear and much more abundant however than vaginal discharge. If for example you are soaking a pad or more in a few hours you may be leaking amniotic fluid and not having excessive vaginal discharge. This could be a sign that you are in pre-term labor, and you should contact your healthcare provider immediately. If you do have excessive vaginal discharge a simple panty liner should solve the problem. You should never wear tampons or douche during pregnancy as this could introduce bacteria or air into the vagina. If vaginal discharge comes with itching, burning or an unpleasant odor you might have an infection such as a yeast infection that you'll need to be treated for. Be sure you check in with your healthcare provider for recommendations on the best treatment choices. Most infections can be easily cleared in a week or so with proper treatments.

If up until this point of time you have experienced a stressful environment you should consider taking steps to reduce your level of stress and enjoy your pregnancy. Stress can have a negative impact on babies in utero and your pregnancy. Some studies suggest that too much stress can contribute to pre-term labor or higher levels of stress hormones in the body which can affect baby negatively. While you can't avoid all stressors, consider taking small steps to help you cope better, such as exercising when you can and getting enough sleep at night. Enlist your partner's help in reducing your stress level. Your body and your baby will thank you for your efforts!

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