The baby is now about the size of a palm. The child’s pancreas begins to produce insulin, and the genital organs will develop. His or her heart is pumping 24 litres of blood per day. He or she has visible hair, skin is red and wrinkled. He or she moves actively head, arms and legs. Fetal skeleton and musculature is now fully developed. Nervous system controls body functions increasingly. By the end of the week, the fetal hands become proportionate with the body, feet, however, continue their accelerated growth. The neck is growing longer and the chin no longer rests on the chest.
It is now the last week of the I trimester of pregnancy. You feel viable, although Your belly and uterus are growing by leaps and bounds. There might appear be a darker vertical line — “linea nigra” — on Your belly. Your nipples may also change pigment. These changes are a result of increased amount of melanin in the body.
If your blood sugar reading is over the limit, or you are at risk of gestational diabetes, then you should get a glucose screening and glucose tolerance test (GTT) before 16th getational week. Women at risk of gestational diabetes are typically those who are overweight (pre-pregnancy body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m2), or whose close relatives have diabetes or who have had gestational diabetes during previous pregnancies, or who have given birth to a baby weighing more than 4500 grams (i.e 9,9 pounds).