15th week of pregnancy: The 15th week of pregnancy at a glance
From the 15th week of pregnancy, rapid growth has top priority for the fetus, which is about 8.5 centimeters tall and weighs about 45 grams.
From the 15th week of pregnancy is the best period of pregnancy to clarify any risks for your baby or hereditary diseases, for example by anamniocentesisor theDoppler ultrasound. As your belly grows steadily, it’s time to stock up on comfortable maternity wear.
Index
ToggleYour baby’s development in the 15th week of pregnancy
Your baby is 8.5 centimeters tall and weighs 45 grams in the 15th week of pregnancy. As a sign of his individuality, your baby already wears unique grooves on his finger and toe berries, from which the unmistakable fingerprints of your unborn child will develop in a few weeks. The cornea, lens and iris of the eye are now developed and still slumber under closed eyelids. The liver also produces bile and the pancreas begins to produce insulin. The legs are longer than the arms, the fingernails are fully formed and all joints and limbs are mobile.
Even if it seems like it will take forever untilbirth, in the 15th week of pregnancy you can feel the movements of your baby for the first time. Even in the womb, babies are playful creatures. Your child will have already discovered his first toy – theumbilical cord. It likes to reach for it and pull on it. Sometimes it can clasp the cord so tightly that it hinders the supply of oxygen. But don’t worry, your baby won’t hold the cord long enough to harm himself. Otherwise, his circulation and urinary tract are now fully functional and your baby breathes amniotic fluid in and out through his lungs. Your child moves his thumb towards his head and sometimes even starts to suck on it.
Your body in the 15th week of pregnancy
Gradually, your stomach rounds and the feel-good phase takes its course. No wonder that many women from the 15th week of pregnancy are beaming all over their faces. The special radiance is supported by the first water retention under the facial skin. Small wrinkles recede, the face becomes smooth and relaxed. So you look completely healthy and satisfied on your environment. Maybe that’s exactly what some good acquaintances can guess your little secret – because your belly is not yet so big that, unlike your face, it immediately catches the eye. This remains so for a few more weeks, because theweight gain is relatively low until the second half of pregnancy. Also,increased water retention, for example in the legs, is not expected around the 15th week of pregnancy.
How big is the baby in the 15th week of pregnancy?
Questions about the 15th week of pregnancy
Do I need maternity wear?
Around the 15th week of pregnancy, you will certainly notice that your pants no longer fit properly, as your belly has gained in circumference. It’s time to go on an extended shopping spree and buy you some nice maternity pieces. You can find them in many clothing stores.
Do I have to look for a follow-up midwife?
Look for afollow-up midwifefor the time in the puerperium. Especially in large cities, midwives are very busy and often have to cancel if a woman contacts her in a later week of pregnancy. Learn more about the tasks of a midwife in our “Midwife”.
Tips and hints for the 15th week of pregnancy
Amniocentesis
The ideal time for an amniocentesis is from the 15th week of pregnancy. Theoretically, it is already possible from the completed 11th week of pregnancy, but it is very rarely performed due to the increased risk of miscarriage in this early phase of pregnancy. Amniocentesis is a method to determine the fetal chromosome set. 90 to 95 percent of the procedures serve to exclude a fetal chromosomal disorder. This invasive form of prenatal diagnosis is usually only carried out if abnormalities have been detected duringthe ultrasound examinationor thefirst trimester screening, which are to be clarified in more detail with this method. Because it is associated with the risk (albeit a small one) that the child will be injured.
The triple test
In addition to invasive techniques, such as amniocentesis, chromosomal disorders can also be determined by a statistical risk calculation. This happens most frequently in the so-called first trimester screening andnuchal translucency measurement. In rare cases, these examinations are combined with the results of the triple test. Thetripletest is a blood test of the expectant mother. It is performed between the 15th and 20th week of pregnancy and involves the determination of three hormones in the mother’s blood. However, this test has lost importance in recent years, as it often leads to false-positive results and is therefore only used in exceptional cases (e.g. if nuchal translucency measurement is not possible).
Doppler ultrasound
Another possibility of risk assessment is Doppler sonography. In heart defects with heart failure and chromosomal disorders, blood flow is often altered; a Doppler ultrasound measures this. Even with borderline nuchal translucency findings, a Doppler ultrasound can provide additional insights.
Write watch lists
Many women notice an increasing forgetfulness from the 15th week of pregnancy. Doctor’s appointments, shopping lists – everything that used to be reliably stored in the brain now slips through your memory filter. Your hormones are to blame: During pregnancy, your brain performance temporarily decreases. Better write down all the important appointments so that you don’t forget them.