9 Weeks Pregnant
9 weeks pregnant symptoms and fetal development
At 9 weeks pregnant, your baby’s facial features become more distinct every day, with a mouth, nose, and eyes clearly visible. Your baby has well-developed sex organs, but it’s not possible to see if it’s a boy or a girl until 20 weeks gestation.
The bones continue to develop, and the skeleton is taking shape. As the muscles develop, your baby is now capable of reflex movements reacting to external stimuli, like you touching your tummy.
Your baby’s liver is producing red blood cells, which will be pumped by the heart, which has now 4 chambers and beats twice as fast as adults.
Your baby takes his first drinks of amniotic fluid this week. Your baby is now about the size of a jelly baby (13 – 17 mm in length) and weighs as much as a paper clip (1- 1.5 grams).
How is my body changing?
This week you’ll notice that your waistline is expanding and you have frequent trips to the toilet, as your growing womb is starting to press on your bladder.
If you experienced severe headaches, you’ll be glad to know that they may subside from now on, but you may still feel dizzy. New symptom to worry about is spontaneous nosebleeds, which are normal.
At this point, you may start looking for childbirth classes, where you can find information about any subjects you need, like nutrition, labor, etc. Ask your doctor or midwife about these.
Weight gain during pregnancy
Your weight is increasing and this weight gain during pregnancy is normal, don’t be too alarmed by it. Try not to weigh yourself frequently, as weight will vary by as much as 5 pounds throughout the day. Furthermore, not all your weight gain is fat.
At birth, your baby accounts for about 6-8 pounds, the expanded uterus may weigh as much as 2 pounds and the placenta and amniotic fluid a further 4 pounds.
Also, your breasts may explain about 1.5-2 pounds; extra blood up to 4 pounds and retained fluid another 4 pounds. By the end of the pregnancy, your total weight gain will be between 30 to 35 pounds, which means you’re actually only adding 5-10 pounds fat.
The good news is that most women will lose that extra weight in the first three months after delivery. You will lose 10-13 pounds at birth, with a further 7-11 pounds in the first week.
As long as you chose a healthy and balanced diet and exercise, you’ll be back to your pre-pregnancy weight within a few months.
