The development of your baby –
It is wonderful that by the sixteenth week your baby is actually weighing up to 110 gm and is approximately 12 cm in length from crown to rump. The neck has stiffened and your baby can hold his head erect. The muscles of the baby’s face are developing and the baby can thus emote easily now and a number of expressions such as frowning, squinting and the like will be noticed if a scan is closely followed.
The development of your body –
A maternal blood screening test maybe suggested to you sometime between the sixteenth and eighteenth week by your medical guide. This test is also called triple screen test or triple marker test. The maternal blood screening test measures the AFP or alpha fetoprotein levels in your blood. This protein is secreted by the fetus along with the hCG and estrinol levels which are also tested with the help of this test. If in the test, another substance called inhibin-A is also tested then the test is called quadruple screen test. The reason these tests are conducted is so that the expecting mother can be informed about whether their babies are at a risk for suffering a defect in the neural tube. This defect could be a spina bifida or some abnormalities in the chromosome count which results in the baby suffering from Down syndrome. 50 out of all 1000 women have a positive result for this test, at least statistically. But of these women only 1 or 2 are cases of those who give birth to babies with a problem. Make sure you discuss these issues with your doctor thoroughly beforehand so you are well aware of your situation and are prepared to handle what is to come your way in the best suited ways.
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