Pregnancy week 13: Week by week pregnancy guide

Congratulations on crossing the first trimester. You are officially in the honeymoon period of your pregnancy: the second trimester and pregnancy week 13!

At 13 weeks, your baby is as big as a star apple. He/she is around 7.4cm and weighs 22.9gm.

Image courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

In this week by week pregnancy guide, you’ll learn that:

• So far, the growth of your baby’s head has been outpacing his/her body. But now his/her body is growing faster. His/her legs continue to lengthen, but this week, his/her arms will catch up to be proportionate with his/her body.
• He now also has small fingerprints and a beautiful set of well-defined eyes and ears.
• You might even spot him sticking his/her thumb in his/her mouth and start sucking away during the ultrasounds. This is probably the first few encounters when your baby is discovering this motion, a survival skill he will need when he’s delivered in a few months’ time.
• All of your baby’s essential organs and systems are formed and fully functioning.
• Your baby’s testes or ovaries are fully developed now at pregnancy week 13.
• The genitals are forming outside his/her body, though it’s still early to be a hundred percent sure about the gender unless the Harmony Prenatal test and  Non-invasive Prenatal test are done.
• Your little one can probably hear you speak to him from the outside. So whisper all those loving words!
• His/her heart beats are loud and clear.
• Here’s an interesting fact in this week by week pregnancy guide: If you’re bearing a female baby, she now has about two million eggs in her ovaries which will reduce to half that upon birth. By the age of 17, the number of eggs would have dropped to an average of about 700,000!

• You are probably feeling better than before. Pregnancy discomfort such as nausea and fatigue should be greatly reduced by now, and you may even find that you have a renewed sense of energy. (These are, indeed, the best news in this week by week pregnancy guide.)
• To make space for your growing baby, your uterus expands. This forces other internal organs to shift their position upward to accommodate the new being. You may experience some discomfort around your ribcage area which, sorry to say, may worsen as your bump expands.

• Pregnancy gingivitis may strike, especially if oral care is not in place. If you’ve been throwing up quite a bit, keep cavities at bay by brushing and flossing regularly. 

• Usually, Asian families hold this best-kept secret until the pregnancy reaches the second trimester. Now is when you may want to find a creative way to announce your pregnancy to family and friends.
• An important reminder in this week by week pregnancy guide is: schedule an OSCAR test if you wish to screen for fetal abnormalities. Tests can only be done till week 14.

Your next week: 14 weeks pregnant

Your previous week: 12 weeks pregnant

Do you have questions on this week by week pregnancy guide? What are your current concerns, mums? Leave us a comment below!