Week 17 - What's Going On

Week Seventeen: Fat accumulates

You are 17 weeks pregnant. (fetal age 15 weeks) The umbilical cord is growing thicker and stronger. Fetus weight is just over 5 ounces (150g). Baby is about 5 inches (14cm) long crown to rump. and would be about 9 inches (23cm) head to toe, if it could stretch out. The retina has become sensitive to light. The first stools (meconium) are now beginning to accumulate. They recycle the amniotic fluid by swallowing up to a litre a day. Meconium (composed of products of cell loss, digestive secretion and swallowed amniotic fluid), is accumulating in the bowel. Fat stores begin to develop under your baby's skin this week. The fat will provide energy and help keep your baby warm after birth. Baby's eyes are looking forward now, but they are still firmly closed. The skeleton is tranforming from cartilage to bone. The bones remain flexible to make the journey through the birth canal easier. You can feel your uterus just below your bellybutton. If you put your fingers sideways and measure, it is about two finger-widths (1 inch) below your bellybutton. Your uterus is the size of a cantaloupe. The crown to rump length of your growing baby is 5 to 5.6 inches (12.5 to 14cm) by this week. Weight of the fetus is about 5.25 ounces (150g).