Your dream child at 13th week
www.mydreamchild.com

Like many women at this stage of pregnancy, you will probably be blooming and full of energy. Your dream child is growing fast and taking up more room but your bump is not yet big enough to feel heavy or wear you down. Your tiredness and nausea should improve and your energy levels should pick up.


Development

There is still plenty of room to grow inside of the uterus, and your fetus now looks more like a baby, only extremely tiny.

  • Its eyes are moving away from the sides of the head and are drawing closer to one another, and the fine hairs that make up the eyebrows are coming together.
  • As your baby continues to grow, so does its abdomen, allowing the intestines to continue to move into that direction.
  • The pancreas begins to produce insulin, which is critical for regulating sugar levels after childbirth and later in life.
  • As the bones continue to harden, the placenta provides nutrients, vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins, and oxygen.
  • The placenta also allows the transfer of blood via the bloodstream from mom to baby.
  • Your baby also hits another milestone as it has a functional intestinal system at this point.

Appearance

Your baby’s head is still relatively large but his neck is more defined. His arms and legs are growing longer, which make them more in proportion with the rest of his body. He is sprouting fine hair ( lanugo) over his body and at last, although tiny he looks like a baby !Your baby is almost 3 inches long and weighs nearly an ounce.! External genital organs are now just about developed enough for an ultrasound to detect gender.


How smoking can affect your Dream child


week13
India home to second highest number of women smokers globally
- The Times of India

The umbilical cord is your baby’s lifeline. Blood flow through this cord provides your baby with oxygen and the food it needs to grow. Every puff you take on a cigarette has an immediate effect on your baby. Carbon monoxide replaces some of the oxygen in your blood, reducing the amount of oxygen received by your baby through the umbilical cord. The nicotine in cigarettes increases your heart rate and your baby’s heart rate. It also causes your blood vessels to narrow, reducing the flow of blood through the umbilical cord. This makes it harder for your baby to get the oxygen and nourishment it needs.

To prepare for breathing after birth, your unborn baby will be practicing by exercising some of its chest muscles. Nicotine reduces these breathing movements.

Cigarette smoke also contains many other harmful poisons, which pass through your lungs and into your bloodstream, which your baby shares. Smoking during pregnancy by a mother is a major cause of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS or ‘cot death’). It also has the following effects:

  • Lower the amount of oxygen available to you and your growing baby.
  • Increase your baby's heart rate.
  • Increase the chances of miscarriage and stillbirth.
  • Increase the risk that your baby is born prematurely and/or born with low birth weight.
  • Increase your baby's risk of developing respiratory (lung) problems.

The more cigarettes you smoke per day, the greater your baby's chances of developing much more health problems. There is no "safe" level of smoking while pregnant.


My Dream Child websites and publications are for informational purposes only. If you have any concerns about your health or the health of your child, you should always consult a doctor. Information in this email is intended for visitors from India. My Dream Child is responsible for published content according to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

© 2013-2014 My Dream Child.