12 Weeks Pregnant

At 12 weeks pregnant your baby will look like a tiny human being. It is about 6cm long and weighs about 15g. It has arms and legs with fingers and toes and now has more defined facial features.

The tiny brain is now forming neural pathways and the fetus is starting to squirm around, although you can't feel it yet because there is still a high proportion of amniotic fluid all around it.

At around 12 weeks the placenta has achieved its final shape and takes over from the yolk sac to become the baby’s life support system. The placenta is much larger than the baby at this stage. After its initial rapid enlargement the placenta grows slowly and by the time the baby is born it will weigh about one sixth of the baby’s weight.

Below is a 12 week ultrasound photograph showing the positions of the head, hand and leg. Further down the page there is also a video clip of a live 12 weeks ultrasound scan.

If your doctor or midwife palpates your abdomen now, s/he will be able to feel the top of the uterus, the fundus. If you've been experiencing morning sickness or general nausea, it will hopefully start to ease off now. It's good to know, too, that you're now getting past the most risky time for miscarriage.

Your food intake now will determine how well your baby will grow, so it's a great time to look at Pregnancy Nutrition.

Soon you will probably start to feel you need to wear looser waistbands and may want to begin thinking about some new clothes so that you can look good and feel comfortable at the same time.



If you have an ultrasound scan at 12 weeks pregnant, you could expect it to look something like this video clip: