✓ Fourteenth week of pregnancy

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Fourteenth week of pregnancy

The baby feeds through the placenta while breasts and belly rise. With the scientific advice of the gynecologist Elisabetta Canitano, president of the non-profit association Vita di donna, let's see what happens to the woman's body and that of the baby during the fourteenth week of pregnancy.

Symptoms of the fourteenth week

First trimester ailments and ailments should be behind us by now, however hormonal changes they inevitably affect the daily life of a woman in the fourteenth week of pregnancy.

In addition to swelling and accentuated fatigue (the child becomes increasingly bulky and heavy), some frequent symptoms are:

headache
dizziness
cramps in the lower limbs
more intense vaginal secretions
hot flashes
foot pains
nosebleed
stomach ache

During this phase it is also very important to take care of your own Personal care and keep under control any symptoms (itching, burning, etc.) attributable to urinary tract infections, such as cystitis.

From the end of the thirteenth week of pregnancy, however, the risk of miscarriage is much diminished.

Read also: Infections in pregnancy: cystitis and candidiasis

Health advice in the fourteenth week of pregnancy

Risk of infections and food poisoning

Some foods can carry dangerous microorganisms, because they can cause diseases directly, or through the production of toxins. In pregnancy, some of these infections, such as toxoplasmosis, listeriosi, salmonellosis, can impair fetal development or lead to miscarriage or premature birth.

Advice: enough to prevent, avoiding foods that carry the greatest risks. Here is the list of foods no:

Raw or undercooked meat, including cold cuts (no to raw ham, bresaola, salami, coppa, yes to raw salami, but in moderation, such as cooked ham, mortadella, cotechino);
Raw seafood (mussels, oysters);
Raw milk (purchased in bulk at the farmhouse or in distributors);
Soft cheeses prepared from raw milk and with molds (gorgonzola, brie, camembert);
Raw or undercooked eggs (also pay attention to sweet creams, if prepared with fresh, unpasteurized eggs);
Raw vegetables and fresh fruit if eaten away from home. At home it is possible to consume them after a thorough washing.

Weight in pregnancy

It is very important during pregnancy to follow a varied, healthy and balanced diet, possibly Mediterranean. And don't overdo it with weight gain.

Advice: As an indication, here is a small outline of the calories that can be introduced in the three trimesters of pregnancy

If you have become pregnant underweight, every day you should take from 1900 to 2100 kcal in the first quarter, from 2070 to 2370 kcal in the second quarter and from 2300 to 2600 in the third quarter.
If you have become pregnant normal weight, every day you should take from 1870 to 2070 kcal in the first quarter, from 2070 to 2250 kcal in the second quarter and from 2200 to 2500 in the third quarter.
If you are pregnant in overweight, every day you should take from 1850 to 2150 kcal in the first quarter, from 1900 to 2200 kcal in the second quarter and from 1950 to 2250 in the third quarter.

Read also: Feeding during pregnancy, allowed and forbidden foods

What to do in the fourteenth week of pregnancy

Fetal DNA test

From the end of the tenth week you can also submit to non-invasive screening test: the Fetal DNA test. This examination is carried out with a simplification blood collection and serves to identify early the risk that the fetus is affected by chromosomal abnormalities such as trisomy 21 (down syndrome) 13 e 18.

Non-invasive screening tests

Today there are several options that allow you to make one Down syndrome risk screening. It means that in this case a certain result is not obtained, but an estimate (actually more and more accurate and precise) of the risk that the fetus is affected. Possible options include:

Translucenza nucale Ultrasound measurement of the thickness of the nape of the fetus;
Bit test o duo test. Maternal blood analysis to measure the level of two substances, Beta HCG and PAPP-A, altered in babies affected by Down syndrome;
Combined test It consists of a combination of bitest and nuchal translucency;
Fetal DNA test on maternal blood.

Toxoplasmosis

Toxoplasmosis is an infection caused by the microorganism Toxoplasma gondii. In the vast majority of cases it is a trivial infection, which often goes unnoticed. However, if it is contracted during pregnancy, it can cause (although not necessarily) very serious damage to the baby, including mental retardation, blindness, neurological alterations.

To test the risk of contracting the infection it is possible to undergo the Toxo test, examination (provided by the National Health Service for pregnant women) that allows you to check whether the woman has already come into contact with the parasite, and therefore has developed antibodies against it. Once contracted, in fact, the infection leaves a permanent immunity and there is no more risk of getting sick.

If the test is negative, it means that the woman has never caught the disease and could therefore contract it during the nine months of gestation, exposing her baby to all the risks involved. In case of a negative first test, the examination is prescribed several times in the course of pregnancy.
If, on the other hand, the test is positive, there are two situations (which are discriminated by the test itself): the woman may have contracted the infection in the past and no longer be at risk of transmitting it to the fetus, or she may have an infection in progress. In this case, there is a possibility that she will pass on to her child. However, it must be said that the overall risk of transmitting the disease to the child is between 18% and 44% o: it is lower if the mother develops the infection within 15 weeks of pregnancy and higher if she contracts it later. It is also known, however, that the earlier the period of pregnancy in which the infection is contracted, the greater the damage to the baby.

How to prevent it

Since it is not yet clear whether the available therapies (these are antibiotics) are actually effective in preventing the transmission of the infection to the baby in utero, it is very important to focus on prevention. Just follow some very simple rules to significantly reduce the possibility of getting sick:

Wash your hands thoroughly before preparing food
Wash fruit and vegetables with extreme care before eating them (if cooked there are no problems)
Consume only and exclusively well cooked meat and cold cuts
Use gloves when touching the ground (for example, for gardening)
Avoid direct contact with cat feces (but not with cats in an absolute sense)

Read also: Cats and toxoplasmosis: a myth to dispel

Sex in pregnancy: can it be done?

If pregnancy is physiological, that is, there are no particular problems, sexual activity can continue as before, even if it is very frequent. In fact, it has never been shown that sex can harm the baby in any way or bring about an earlier date of delivery. Sexual activity may be advised against, however, in some cases. For example, if the pregnancy has begun after previous repeated miscarriages, if cerclage was applied because the cervix tended to dilate, and, in the last weeks of pregnancy, if they are expecting twins. However, it is up to the doctor advise against intercourse or even suggest avoiding them. In the latter eventuality, it should be remembered that intimacy can still be made desirable and engaging even when penetration is to be avoided. Read also: Sex in pregnancy

The fetus in the fourteenth week of pregnancy

The child grows at a rapid pace, has reached the size of a large lemon (7,5-8 cm), moves, has the reflection of sucking (the action of "sucking your finger") and of swallow thanks to which it cleverly swallows amniotic fluid. Now the genitals are evident so during the ultrasound it may already be possible to identify them to find out if it is a baby or a girl.

In addition, from the fourteenth week has now appeared the lanugo, a thin layer of hair that covers the child's body. Also hair e eyebrows begin to make their timid appearance.

Movements of the fetus

Are the movements of the fetus perceived in the fourteenth week? It depends from pregnancy to pregnancy. On average we begin to hear them around 20 weeks, but more generally between 16 and 24 weeks. That said, there are mothers who from the sixteenth week have the sensation of feeling something, others who until the twenty-fifth week feel practically nothing.

What does the baby feel in the belly?

Mother's tastes are learned from the amniotic fluid. The taste buds on the tongue begin to form around 8 weeks, and continue their development until birth. Also smell receptors they begin to develop early, around 8-9 weeks, when the nerves and olfactory bulbs begin to form. However, we do not know exactly when all these receptors actually start to function, and therefore from what exact time the child perceives tastes and smells ".

For the other senses, such as sight and hearing, you have to wait around 20 weeks.

Gestational age: four months (DPP CALCULATION - Expected date of delivery)

FONTI: NHS; BabyCenter

38 PHOTOS

How big is your baby in the belly? As small as a poppy seed or as big as a pumpkin

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How big is your baby in the belly? From poppy seed, sesame, to lentil. Then move on to lemon, apple, eggplant, coconut, pineapple and pumpkin! The babycenter.com website ...

Questions and answers

What is the risk of miscarriage?

From the end of the thirteenth week the risk of spontaneous abortion is almost averted (except in special cases).

What are the most common pains during the XNUMXth week of pregnancy?

Headache, heartburn, foot pain, cramps.

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Fourteenth week of pregnancy

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