Your baby

Your baby’s tadpole-like tail has now disappeared, instead your baby now has arms and legs, and even tiny fingers and toes. Their ankles, wrists, knees and elbows are all still forming.

Your baby’s face is also beginning to look more recognisable. This is because their jawbone is developing more and is already home to their tiny baby teeth (their adult teeth will develop at around 20 weeks).

Your baby has internal sex organs, their ovaries or testicles, but the external sex organs still haven’t developed. Their brain is active and has brain waves. The heart has 4 separate chambers and is beating at about 150 -180 beats per minute, 3 times faster than an adult heart. This is necessary to help them keep up with the demands of life inside your uterus.

Your body

Your uterus is now about the size of an orange. You may find your clothes are tighter and your stomach may be sticking out, this can also sometimes be due to changes in your bowel rather than your pregnancy. The pregnancy hormone, progesterone, can cause your gut to work less efficiently and your food to move more slowly through your intestines, increasing your chance of constipation.

Many women feel emotional when they are pregnant. While its normal to experience ups and downs during pregnancy, it’s time to seek advice from a health professional if you feel consistently bad (for example, if you feel sad or worried) for longer than 2 weeks. It’s important to seek help early.

Things to remember

You may have already had an ultrasound scan to confirm your due date, but another scan is often recommended at around 12 weeks.

This may be especially important if you are thinking about prenatal screening. One screening test you can have is called a non-invasive prenatal test, or NIPT. Another is the combined first trimester screening. These screening tests are offered to assess your babies risk of being affected by a chromosomal difference, like Down syndrome. These tests are optional although you may find it useful to talk to a genetic counsellor, your midwife or doctor or use a decision aid tool to decide if this is right for you.

Resources and support

Speak to your doctor, midwife or obstetrician if you have questions about your pregnancy.

Pregnancy, Birth and Baby also has more information on:

• maternity care in Australia
• having a healthy pregnancy
• exploring the anatomy of pregnancy and birth
• checkups, screenings, scans and tests you can have during your pregnancy
• common conditions you might experience during your pregnancy
• looking after your mental health and wellbeing

Speak to a maternal child health nurse

Call Pregnancy, Birth and Baby to speak to a maternal child health nurse on 1800 882 436 or video call. Available 7am to midnight (AET), 7 days a week.