What to expect at 17 weeks pregnancy?

Question

Hi. The other day I discovered I am 17 weeks pregnant. I had no idea since my periods still came on and of fand I had no sickness, and no bump at all. I'm going into hospital soon, can anybody tell me what I'll be told/offered in the way of info and tests and examinations and things? Thanks!

Answer 1

20 week scan will give you an idea of due date,sex of child (if you want to know) and general health.

Answer 2

If you really are pregnant you need to get the book What to Expect When Expecting. It is a great book. But for now you can go to pregnancy-calendars.net and it will give you a week to week description about what should be going on with you and the baby. As for you first doctors appointment they will more than likely check the baby's heart beat and being 17 weeks along you will be able to tell the sex of the baby...if they go ahead and do that. Other than that you might want to call the doctor and just ask what they will be doing on your first appointment. GOOD LUCK!

Answer 3

At this stage you can be told about the sex of the baby, any possible complications you and the baby may or may not have. You will also be advised on your nutrition, proper weight gain, exercise and activity level, work and employment and mechanisms for coping with stress, fatigue and hormones.
You should have your significant other involved because they may need to obtain a history of your past illnesses, current conditions and family illnesses.
You most likely will be given an explanation for why you are still menstruating and you will be told although it is an abnormal condition, it does occur in some pregnant women and they have gone on to have successful deliveries.

When I was having my baby I got a lot of help from www.babycenter.com

Try that website yo won't regret it.

Answer 4

Your Body:

Your uterus has grown and is now about halfway between your pubic bone and navel (about an inch or inch and a half below your belly button). Your bodily secretions may increase due to the increased blood volume. So if you have increased nasal congestion or runny nose, increased sweating or increased vaginal discharge this is normal and nothing to worry about. Rest assured, this increase in body secretion will go away after the birth of your baby.

As baby goes through some growth changes (getting bigger and begins to add fat deposits under the skin) you may find yourself "growing" too. Average weight gain to this point in pregnancy is about five to ten pounds, but don't worry if you are a little off. If this is your second or more pregnancy, you will gain differently than if it is your first.

Pregnancy Symptoms You May Experience

Breast Changes, tenderness, fullness, darkening of the areola
Frequent Urination
Constipation
Indigestion or heartburn
Occasional headaches
Stretch Marks (cocoa butter can help with these)
Itching


Your Baby:

Your baby will begin to form fat this week. The fat begins to deposit under his skin and in important in heat production and metabolism. At delivery, fat will account for 2-6 percent of your baby's total body weight. This will help him maintain his body temperature when he is born. Your baby is approximately 5 inches long and weighs in at about 140-145 grams (5 ounces). This means that the baby now weighs more than the placenta.

If you were to get an abdominal x-ray, your baby's skeleton would be visible. His movements become stronger and more frequent now. Reflex movements are fully functional as baby will regularly suck and swallow and loud noises outside the uterus may actually cause the baby to startle.

Answer 5

During my first appointment, my doctor gave me a pap and I had to do a series of blood tests to make sure that I had no type of STD and to make sure everything was ok. I also got an ultrasound. During my 18th week, I found out the sex of my baby and the sonographer checked to see if all my baby's organs, fingers and toes were accounted for.

Since you're about 17 weeks along, you should start feeling your baby move soon.

Answer 6

Your baby weighs about 5 ounces now, and he's around 5 inches long — about the size of a large onion. He can move his joints, and his skeleton — until now rubbery cartilage — is starting to harden to bone. His sense of hearing is also developing. The umbilical cord, his lifeline to the placenta, is growing stronger and thicker.

With more weight up high and out in front of your body, you may feel a bit off-balance as you walk around. Store away your high heels and wear low-heeled shoes to reduce your risk of taking a tumble.You're likely to feel protective of your tummy, and that's good. Trauma to your abdomen could be harmful to your baby and dangerous to you, so be sure to buckle up when you're driving. Keep the lap portion of the seat belt under your belly and very snug across your hips for maximum protection.

Plus you will hear your baby's heart beat. Receive vitamins you will need. Blood Work and a possibly pap smear.

Answer 7

Your Baby

Your baby is approximately 4.8 inches long and weighs about 3.5 ounces, and he or she should weigh more than the placenta from this point on. Since your baby's hearing has become more finely tuned, he or she may respond to loud noises and you may feel movement at the sound of large trucks passing or a slamming door. Epidermal (skin) and fatty tissue are developing all over your baby's body to protect it after it is born and a substance called vernix is beginning to form on the skin tissue to protect it from the long exposure to amniotic fluid.


This Pregnant Body

You may notice that you are beginning to have an increased amount of vaginal discharge, a runny nose more frequently, and feel like you are sweating more than usual. These are all normal at this stage of pregnancy. Remember, since your heart is working harder to pump more blood through your system, your body responds by producing more fluids. All of these fluids should return to normal levels within a few months after you deliver.

You will have to start wearing comfortable, non-restrictive clothing soon, if you haven't already. We are luckier than our mothers, because today's maternity clothes and undergarments have much more style and functionality.

Answer 8

Umm, well, you will pee in a cup every time to check for protien and sugars in your urine. Right around this time, they offered me a test to check for problems. It was called a "quad marker" and tested for things like downs and stuff. Hmm, soon you should have an ultrasound (anywhere from now to 22 weeks). They will do a full pap, weight, doctor will ask a lot of questions too. Good Luck!

Answer 9

I am assuming you are happy at the discovery in which case congrats. If not you do still have options even at 17 weeks, if you want to know more on that subject check out brooke advisory service online . Otherwise you will have your appointment at your local maternity hospital where they will go through your health and family history for an indication on whether the pregnancy is likely to be problem free, they will also check your weight and test your resting pulse and blood pressure. They will also want to check your urine for protein and sugar (routinely done at every antenatal appointment from now on) this is to rule out any possibillity of gestational diabetes and other conditions of pregnancy. They will also offer an afp test which gives anoutline of your chances of having a baby with downs syndrome (and other chromosomal conditions) it is not a compulsory test, and is one of those things which leads you to wonder what youd do should the result come back in favour of downs (welcome to the world of being a mum, its just one momentous choice after the other when up till now your biggest decision has been whether or not to wear the blackskirt with the red blouse etc!) The afp is in the form of a blood test, your lucky in as much as if you'd discovered earlier you would have had to draw 2 lots of blood but at your stage of pregnancy the level of afp(alpha-feotal-protein) is at just the right amount to get a correct reading. If its discovered that ther is elevated risk you would be offered options to determine the exact status, i.e a special nuchal scan ultrasound which measures the thickness of the skin in the nuchal fold(behind the neck) which is pretty reliable and non invasive but not always offered on the nhs or an amnioscentisis , an invasive procedure with a small risk to the baby.
After all the really mind boggling stuff , and bear in mind that this first appointment will probably be the longest so dont make other plans for that afternoon! After all this you will be offered an ultrasoundscan, this is the most amazing , emotional moment ,for some as emotional as the birth in that its the time when it really sinks in that your exepecting! You may not have the scan on the same day so ring to check in advance if you want. Youmay or may not be offered the chance to know thw sex of thebaby, depending on the health authority you attend and its rules regarding disclosure. If you want to take your partner/ husband/best mate with you its a pretty good idea, they can be with you throughout the whole appointment if you like. At the appointment youll be (hopefully) introduced to at least a couple of the midwives who'll be responsible for looking after you throughout your pregnancy and if you decide to have the baby at home ( which you are entitled to at least try to do if the pregnancy is without complication) will be the ones who finally deliver your baby. Thats another of the decisions youll have to make although you dont have to decide immediately, where you want to give birth. There are a couple of different options, hospital is the most common for first babies but there are also midwife units which are kind of low tech hospitals which sometimes have water birth facilities and again there is the option for home birth evevn if it is your first ( as long as the are no major complications) These are things to read up on and think over , youve got a few months yet!
Your midwife will offer you folic acid, and if your anemic at all will offer you an iron supplement. If your not already taking a multivit especially for pregnant women now might be a good time to start. You can get free healthcare and precsriptions (as well as dental care and assistance and free eye exams ) from now until the baby is one year old, take advantage of the dental care if you dont have an existing dentist its a good way to jump up the list a bit! If your not working your midwife will give you forms to fill in to get extra milk and fresh fruit/veg, if your working youll want to start thinking about maternity leave, you only have to tell your employer if the work you do is potentially harmful when pregnant, if not you will have to tell them at some point ( they would probably guess anyway!) but there is no rush. You are lucky in that you havent had any sickness so far, when i've been coming on for 5 months its been the healthiest i've ever felt! If you do start feeling really knackered it might be an idea to tell your boss so that you dont have to soldier on regardless fit to drop. It is after all quite a feat of nature what your body is doing right now so its not surprising if you feel dead beat once in a while.
I have 5 babies in all! the eldest is 17 and the youngest is 18 months, I loved every minute of being pregnant , yes even the gory bit at the end(its not that scary when you know whats going on, knowledge is power and all that!) I m not going to be having any more( hey i've done my bit!) but i hope i've been able to be of some help to you, you know you havent done too bad not finding out from day one, your almost halfway there! Just keep positive if you feel a bit weepy dont worry, its natures way of preparing you for life as a mother, just go with it, try and keep busy and remember, soon this will all be a beautiful memory, enjoy it for what it is.

Answer 10

At your first prenatal visit, they will give you a pelvic exam for any infections you may have. You will also have a blood test, and will be offered an HIV test if you like. They will offer you an AFP test if you want (to test for possibility of birth defects). Also, you will get an ultrasound when you are 18-20 weeks.

Answer 11

sure most women don't get a belly until 5-6 months and you don't' need to worry as some women do get there period still if you have a lot of cramping than you better get to the nearest er. i wish you luck and relax it is so vital in the early stage of pregnancy. try the pregnancy weekly on line address they give you details week to week on what to expect.