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Week 18
How Big is the Baby at 18
Weeks Pregnant?
By 18 weeks pregnant your baby is now anywhere
from 5 to approximately 6 inches long at 18 weeks and weighs a little over 5
ounces! In case you are wondering that is about the size of a small can of soup!
Your Baby's Growth and
Development
By pregnancy week 18 your baby's heart is developed
enough to show some signs of defects. Ultrasound may be used to help detect any
structural abnormalities that might exist. Most babies will be born without any
congenital abnormalities. If an early ultrasound does detect something abnormal,
you can plan ahead for any interventions or surgeries that may be necessary to
support your newborn baby after birth.
At pregnancy week 18 your baby is
now starting to produce a protective covering along the nerves, called Myelin.
This substance will be produced through the ninth month. By now your baby's
genitals should be distinguishable, though you may not yet have the opportunity
to view them at your health care practitioner's office.
Your Growth and Development
You should
be able to feel your uterus now just below your bellybutton. You should
definitely be showing a bit by now. Most women will have gained anywhere from 10
to 15 pounds at this point in time, though some will have gained less and some
more. Your uterus is the size of a small melon by this point in time.
Changes in You
Sleeping
might start to get a bit more uncomfortable as your belly continues to expand
during pregnancy 18 weeks and beyond. One of the best things you can do during
your pregnancy is lie on your left side, particularly during the third
trimester. This will help prevent your uterus from compressing a vein in your
body called the inferior vena cava. This vein helps return blood back to your
heart. If you haven't invested in a whole body pillow at this point, you might
consider one soon.
Most women will undergo an ultrasound sometime
between 18 weeks pregnant and 20 weeks pregnant. An ultrasound is typically
ordered to help detect birth defects and ensure that the baby is growing
properly. Your healthcare provider will examine your baby's placenta and
umbilical cord and also determine whether or not the due date you have estimated
is likely to be correct.
Many women have their husband join them during
their ultrasound visit so they can enjoy the experience of seeing their
miniature newborn baby together.
Determining Your Baby's Sex
Should you
find out what the sex of your baby is ahead of time? You might be able to if you
are in pregnancy at 18 weeks or higher. Most parents are split on this issue.
Some can't wait to find out what the sex of their baby is, and others prefer to
be surprised at birth. The decision you make should be yours entirely.
Keep in mind that while typically very accurate, ultrasound can
sometimes be misleading. There is a small chance that your technician might
believe your boy is a girl, when in reality your baby is a boy! More than one
parent has been surprised in the past by a slightly inaccurate ultrasound.
However, by and large by this point in time most ultrasounds are more than 99
percent accurate. Just be sure you don't decorate the nursery entirely if your
technician isn't 100 percent sure of the sex of your baby. An amniocentesis is
the only foolproof way to determine the sex of your baby, other than delivery!
There are some fun old wives tales techniques for determining the sex of
your baby. Some people for example believe that you can predict the sex of the
baby based on the way you are carrying. Others believe that you can predict the
sex of the baby based on their heart rate. By and large though most of these
methods are fun, they are not any more accurate than simply guessing.
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