Few weeks' back you were blessed with the sound of the baby's heartbeat in your womb, this phase of the pregnancy guide takes a step further towards a seventeenth week pregnancy. You can feel the child move inside you. The first time expecting mothers might not recognize the movement inside their body and therefore, have a tendency to ignore the initial movements. Slightly overweight moms might not feel the child this early, however for those who have already given birth earlier know how its feels and therefore, can recognize the movements in the nascent stages only. Thinner moms might feel the baby move even earlier than week 17.
The movements are primarily due to the muscular developments the child has been undergoing. Other vital developments in the child refer to initiation of the formation of brown fat deposits under the skin (this helps maintain the body temperature of the child during the birth and soon after it), the size has also increased, generally is around 5 inches by now and the placenta is growing thicker every week.
The outlined changes shed light on the miraculous expertise with which nature generates a new life from an existing one; a task that can perhaps never be artificially replicated to this effect.
Week 17 suggests that you hide away all your heels for few weeks ahead. As for the physical changes, uterus is now between your pubic bone and navel. The baby's movements known as quickening are now experienced and act as an important determinant of the pregnancy due date calculation. The initial feel is also compared to a feeling wherein there are butterflies in stomach and is therefore, also referred to as fluttering. The heart continues to pump at an increased rate and few would be mothers might also notice increased vaginal discharge as the pregnancy stages continue. If you too notice these changes, simply lay back and relax, as they would fade away after the birth. The biggest gift of 17th week of the week by week pregnancy is that it takes you another week closer to your baby.