16 weeks of pregnancy (part 4)

The endocrine glands, the adrenal glands, are actively working, with their help a sufficient amount of hormones is already being formed. The pituitary gland, the so-called superior endocrine gland, began to function. Its connection with the hypothalamus is being established. The central nervous system continues to develop and increasingly takes control of the body.

The child actively exercises in movements, he already knows how to stretch, turn his head, spread his fingers on his arms and legs, which have become even more proportional. The baby's movements continue to hone their coordination with each passing week. He is moving more and more actively – tumbling, rolling and even kicking, but so far all this activity is significantly mitigated by amniotic fluid. When the baby is born, he will not be able to make such intense movements. It's much easier to do all this in the water. The urinary system is already developed at the proper level, the baby replenishes the amniotic fluid every forty-five minutes.

The grasping reflex develops. The child tries to grab onto everything he can reach: a leg, another handle, or an umbilical cord. All this is not dangerous at all, because the umbilical cord is protected by a mucous film and it will not be possible to damage or pinch it. The umbilical cord is quite strong and elastic, it can withstand 5-6 kg, and its thickness is two centimeters in diameter.

The 16th week of pregnancy gives the baby the first peephole opening. This week, the facial muscles are completing their formation. The baby is more actively grimacing, yawning, frowning. If you are lucky, then during the ultrasound examination you will have the opportunity to see some semblance of a smile on the face of your beloved child.

If you are lucky enough to be carrying a girl, then the 16th week of pregnancy is the time when her ovaries, which already contain about five million eggs, finally descend from the abdominal cavity into the hip cavity. Her fallopian tubes, uterus, and vagina are already formed. If you are lucky enough to conceive a boy, then his external genitalia are formed, but the testicles are still located in the abdominal cavity. It's already clear enough and you can be told exactly the sex of the child.

The final formation of the ears occurs only at the twenty-fourth week of pregnancy, but despite this, the baby already reacts to your voice, may flinch from too loud sounds.

At this stage of pregnancy, the baby begins to prepare for life outside in its development. dollhouse.nl