Pregnancy week 16

You

The middle months of your pregnancy are probably when you feel at your best. Your skin retains fluid, making it firmer and smoother and an increase of blood flow can make your skin glow. Your heart rate increases by about 20 per cent to cope with an increased flow of blood throughout your body. With all that increased circulation, nails and hair will grow faster.

You may feel the first movements of your baby inside you, a slight 'butterfly' feeling in your abdomen. However most women don't start feeling movements until several weeks later. You may become constipated as the hormone progesterone, which maintains the pregnancy slows your digestion down and your growing uterus pushes on your bladder and bowel. Try drinking at least two litres of plain, still water each day. You may be offered blood-screening tests for spina bifida or Down?s syndrome this week.

Your baby

Your baby's eyebrows and eyelashes are starting to grow. If you could gently stroke your baby's cheek she would respond as if searching for a nipple to latch on to. Until now her head has grown quicker than anything. Now your baby's body accelerates to catch up and she begins to look more in proportion. Your baby will look thin because she hasn't developed a layer of fat, and her skin is so thin you can see the blood vessels below.

Your baby has a firm handgrip and can suck her thumb and make a fist. Her eyelids are still closed and will stay that way until about the 25th week, although your baby can detect changes in light through her thin eyelids. A fine covering of thicker, darker hair starts to sprout on your baby's body. This is languo and keeps your baby's body at a constant temperature in the absence of fat. Bones start hardening, including the tiny ones in your baby's ears, and your baby can hear some sounds for the first time.