Once the first trimester of pregnancy in which a large number of changes occur in the woman's body comes an equally exciting but less intense stage in terms of discomfort in pregnancy.
Fortunately, entering the fourth month of pregnancy Some of the most typical discomforts such as nausea and vomiting begin to diminish and hopefully disappear.
The fourth month of pregnancy includes between weeks 15 to 18 of gestation and with them we enter the second trimester of pregnancy. It is said that she is the one that the woman enjoys the most because she suffers less discomfort and the size of the gut is still not too pronounced to affect daily tasks.
Changes in the baby in the fourth month of pregnancy
The appearance of the baby in the womb is equal to that of a newborn but small baby. It fits in the palm of one hand and weighs between 100 and 200 grams. In the fourth month of pregnancy It measures approximately 10 cm to 15 cm from the crown to the tailbone. Your body begins to grow more proportionate, the head no longer represents twice your body as in the first weeks.
The external sexual organs can already be clearly distinguished by means of an ultrasound. Whenever the position of the child allows it, if it is a child, the penis and scrotum will become visible, while if it is a girl, the vulva can be seen.
The baby's senses are in full development. Reacts to the light, you can start hearing the sounds coming from outside such as loud voices, music or noises. Your voice is one of the first sounds it recognizes so you can start communicating with your baby by talking to him gently and stimulating him with relaxing music. It also begins to distinguish different flavors within the amniotic fluid that it swallows and reacts to tactile stimuli.
Your skeleton begins to harden and the baby begins to make wide movements inside the gut. It is possible that by the end of the fourth month you begin to live the wonderful experience of feeling the little one moving inside of you.
Changes in the mother in the fourth month of pregnancy
As Mireia commented, the third month is a period in which the emotions are very intense and can go from crying to laughter in just seconds. In the fourth month the emotions seem to stabilize giving rise to a few calmer weeks. The fear of losing pregnancy begins to dissipate because the vital organs of the child are already formed significantly reducing the chances of a miscarriage.
On the other hand, the first kicks give the woman greater confidence, making her feel that her baby moves in there. Newborns usually begin to feel the movements between week 18 and 20, already in the fifth month, but if you have had more children, it is likely that the movements of the baby inside the belly begin to feel earlier, between weeks 16 and 18 due to that the walls of the uterus and the abdominal walls have less muscle tone.
At first it feels like a kind of "fluttering" or "bubbling" that can be confused with gases, but then lead to more noticeable movements.
The belly of the pregnant woman takes shape and volume in the fourth month. The belly is increasingly noticeable, especially at the end of the day. Surely, the clothes you used until now no longer fit you and it is almost impossible to hide the incipient curve that forms in the lower belly.
If in the first quarter you have almost not gained weight, it is now when you will start to gain a few kilos. The average weight difference between the beginning of pregnancy and the end of the fourth month is approximately 4 or 5 kg.
Medical tests in the fourth month of pregnancy
Around the fourth month of pregnancy and once the ultrasound of the 12th week in which the nuchal translucency is measured, the test called Triple Screening is performed. It consists of a blood test that analyzes the values of three proteins that, when increased, can alert you to possible chromosomal abnormalities in the baby.
For its part, it is also usually from week 16 when amniocentesis is performed, so far the only test that reliably detects the existence of chromosomal or metabolic abnormalities in the baby such as Down Syndrome, Edwards Syndrome or Patau It is an invasive test that is performed by inserting a needle into the mother's gut to extract a sample of amniotic fluid and analyze the baby's DNA.
Amniocentesis is performed (or given the option to perform it) in risk pregnancies: when the mother is over 35 years old, when there is a history of genetic alterations or when triple screening or ultrasound detect any risk signal.
