Baby development

The baby with 16 weeks of gestation is 4 months old, and it is in this period that the eyebrows begin to appear and the lips and mouth are better defined, which allow the baby to make some facial expressions. Therefore, it is from this week that many women begin to be able to identify some family characteristics in ultrasound, such as the father's chin or the grandmother's eyes, for example.

Most of the time, it is from this week that you can know the sex of the baby and it is also from this time that many women begin to feel the first movements of the baby in the womb, which start by being subtle but that help the pregnant woman to know that everything is fine with your baby's development.

See when to take the test to find out the sex of the baby.

Photos of the fetus at 16 weeks of gestation

Key development milestones

This week, the organs are already formed, but are still developing and maturing. In the case of girls, the ovaries are already producing eggs and, by the 16th week, there may be up to 4 million eggs already formed. This number increases until around 20 weeks, when it reaches close to 7 million. Then, the eggs decrease until, during adolescence, the girl has only 300 to 500 thousand.

The heartbeat is strong and the muscles are active, and the skin becomes more pink, although slightly transparent. The nails also begin to appear and it is possible to observe the entire skeleton.

This week, even though he is receiving all the oxygen he needs through the umbilical cord, the baby begins to train breathing movements to further encourage the development of the lungs.

Fetus size at 16 weeks of gestation

At about 16 weeks of gestation, the baby is approximately 10 centimeters, which is similar to the size of an average avocado, and its weight is approximately 70 to 100 g.

When the first movements appear

Because it already has developed muscles, the baby also starts to move more, so some women may begin to feel their baby's first movements around this week. The movements are generally difficult to identify, being similar to the movement of the gas after drinking a soda, for example.

Usually, these movements become stronger throughout the pregnancy, until birth. Therefore, if at any time the pregnant woman finds that the movements are getting weaker or less frequent, it is advisable to go to the obstetrician to assess if there is any problem with the development.

Main changes in women

The changes in a woman at 16 weeks of pregnancy mainly involve increasing the volume and sensitivity of the breasts. In addition, as the baby is also more developed and needs more energy to keep growing, many pregnant women may also experience an increase in appetite.

Food in this, as in the other phases, is important, but now as the appetite increases, it is necessary to be aware when choosing foods, as quality should be valued and not quantity. Thus, it is important to eat a balanced and varied diet, being advised to avoid fried or oily foods, in addition to sweets and alcoholic beverages are not recommended. Check out some more tips on what food should be.

Check out in this video how the food should be:

Your pregnancy by trimester

To make your life easier and you don't waste time looking, we have separated all the information you need for each trimester of pregnancy. What quarter are you in?