By 17 weeks, your uterus has grown so much it will be just below the level of your belly button and you may be starting to show! Some very slim women, or women in the second and subsequent pregnancies may be starting to develop a tummy bump, which may be more pronounced in the evening. Don’t worry too much if you aren’t showing all that much, often first times mums don’t show until much later. If you are in your second or subsequent pregnancy, some women may also start to feel the flicker of movements. Again, don’t be concerned if you don’t feel your baby move yet.
Check list at 17 weeks
At this stage of the pregnancy, you may have told your friends and family that you are expecting. Now is definitely the time to choose which hospital you will deliver at and to book in and complete your first visit. If you haven’t already, now is also a good time to organise your anatomy or morphology scan. We recommend the morphology scan is best done at around 19-20 weeks.
Looking ahead to your morphology scan
Although your baby has had some major growth since the first trimester anatomy scan, it can be tricky to see all the fine details at 17 weeks. If your last scan was in the first trimester, it has been a long time since you have seen your baby with ultrasound and you are probably anxious so know that everything is progressing normally. Some women want to have their second trimester or morphology scan as early as possible and are keen to come in at 17 weeks. We would recommend waiting a couple of weeks before having your morphology scan.
The health of your baby is important to us
There is a significant amount of growth and development even over the next week. At 18 weeks your baby is approximately 14 cm from the tip of the head to its bottom. By 20 weeks it is approximately 17 cm. That’s almost 18% bigger. The morphology scan is the last routine scan in pregnancy for a lot of women, so let’s make it count.
