17th week of pregnancy: what happens to the baby and mom - Lifehacker

Your doctor may order an amniocentesis. This is done if the first ultrasound showed malformations.

Text author

Yulia Shevchenko

Obstetrician-gynecologist and journalist.

What does your child look like?

body length fetus from crown to tailbone - 12 cm, and weight - 150 g. At this time, the child has wrinkled skin, but a layer of brown fat gradually appears under it.

The eyes can actively move, although they remain permanently closed.

Nails grow on the fingers, and unique prints begin to form on the pads. Even identical twins will be different.

The movements of the child become stronger, he is even able to roll over in the uterus. And mothers with re-pregnancy may already feel shocks.

Things to remember at this stage

• If an ultrasound in the first trimester showed a high risk of chromosomal pathology, such as Down syndrome, or the mother is over 35 years old, the gynecologist recommends genetic counseling and amniocentesis. To do this, the doctor will determine the position of the child using ultrasound, then gently pierce the woman’s stomach with a syringe and take a sample of amniotic fluid. They will be sent to the laboratory for analysis. This analysis will allow you to find out if there are deviations in the structure of the chromosomes, and also determine the sex of the fetus.
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• If doctors discover a genetic pathology, they will talk about the consequences for the health of the child. Until 22 weeks, a woman has time to decide whether to continue the pregnancy.