You are 14 Weeks Pregnant!
WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH YOU
You open the refrigerator door, only to be greeted by the nauseating smell of garlic. But you LOVE garlic. Or rather, you did. Now all sorts of smells seem unappealing at best, and gut-wrenching at worst.
In fact, nearly 85 percent of pregnant women have at least one food aversion. One explanation, according to researchers, is that food aversions peak when hormones are fluctuating. As you progress through the second trimester, and hormones stabilize, your aversions may disappear.
And while aversions to coffee or alcohol may be your body’s way of preventing you from consuming anything harmful to the baby, aversions to healthy foods should be treated differently. No, you don’t have to force-feed yourself the detested item. Instead, find a palatable alternative that offers similar nutritional value.
WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH YOUR BABY
Your baby is now about three-and-a-half inches long and weighs about two ounces. His or her neck is complete, and your baby even has fingerprints.
He or she is beginning to move around in the amniotic fluid, which, by the way, replenishes itself every three hours. Fetal movement, or “quickening,” can occur as early as this week, so be alert for fluttering sensations in your belly. If you can’t feel them, however, don’t worry, they’re more likely to occur between the 18th to 22nd week. In subsequent pregnancies, fetal movement usually is felt earlier.
EATING FOR TWO
In September of 1988, the Food and Drug Administration warned that pregnant women, along with children and the elderly, should refrain from eating alfalfa sprouts. Sprouts are seedlings from a variety of vegetables and are commonly added to sandwiches and salads. Until growers can find a way to prevent deadly bacteria such as E. Coli from contaminating sprouts, this warning will stay in effect.
FACT OF THE WEEK
If you are over 35 and you’ve had an unusual AFP result or have a genetic history (which could affect the fetus), your practitioner may recommend an amniocentesis. This procedure, done between weeks 15 and 18, involves the insertion of a needle through the uterus to remove amniotic fluid. The fluid contains important information about your baby’s health. An ultrasound is performed during the procedure to ensure the needle does not puncture the placenta or the fetus. Because the cells taken in the sample need to be cultured, the results are typically available between 14 to 30 days after the procedure.
While one in 200 pregnancies may develop a problem which could potentially lead to miscarriage, making sure your technician has experience will help lower these odds further. The test is recommended for moms-to-be age 35 and older because the odds of miscarrying from the procedure are approximatly equal to the odds of a woman 35 or older having a child with Down’s syndrome. In addition to the many genetic conditions that the test can detect, the gender of the baby can also be revealed with complete accuracy.