Pregnancy after 12 weeks
You and your baby at 12 weeks pregnant
Your baby at 12 weeks
Just 12 weeks after your last period, the foetus is fully formed. All the organs, muscles, limbs and bones are in place, and the sex organs are well developed.
From now on, the baby has to grow and mature.
It's too early for you to be able to feel the baby's movements yet, although they'll be moving quite a bit.
You at 12 weeks
You might notice you're a bit constipated. Not everyone gets constipation in pregnancy, but it's fairly common and can make you feel uncomfortable.
Find out about common health problems in pregnancy.
You may feel stomach pain or cramps from time to time. These are usually nothing to worry about, and can be caused by constipation, wind or your ligaments growing as your womb gets bigger.
But if you have stomach pain that does not go away, is severe or you also have bleeding or other symptoms, you need to see your midwife or doctor.
Find out when to get help for stomach pain in pregnancy
Things to think about
Make sure you find out about all the health things you should know when you're pregnant, such as stopping smoking, avoiding alcohol, getting exercise and having a healthy diet.
Antenatal screening tests are offered by the NHS in pregnancy to check if a baby has a higher chance of having a health condition, such as Down's syndrome. It's up to you whether to have screening tests or not.
Find out what antenatal screening is and what's involved to help you decide what's best for you.
Sometimes antenatal screening tests find something to indicate your baby has a higher chance of having a health condition.
You'll receive support and advice from your midwife or doctor if this is the case, and they'll discuss your options and next steps with you.
You can start thinking about where you'd like to give birth – at home, at a birth centre or in hospital. Your options will depend on your circumstances and what's available in your area.
Start4Life has more about you and your baby at 12 weeks
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Video: Giving birth at home or at the birth centre
In this video, a midwife explains the alternatives for women who do not want to give birth in hospital.
Media last reviewed: 4 October 2021
Media review due: 4 October 2024
Page last reviewed: 12 October 2021
Next review due: 12 October 2024
12 Weeks Pregnant | Pregnancy
When you're pregnant, you have lots of questions.
Our week-by-week pregnancy guide is packed with lots of useful information. From what's happening inside your body, to how your baby is developing, and tips and advice on having a healthy pregnancy – this is your one-stop pregnancy guide!
- 1st trimester
- 2nd trimester
- 3rd trimester
Our week-by-week pregnancy guide is full of essential information. From early pregnancy symptoms to how your baby is growing and developing, you'll find it all here.
- Week 4
- Week 5
- Week 6
- Week 7
- Week 8
- Week 9
- Week 10
- Week 11
- Week 12
Hopefully you are starting to feel much better as the 1st trimester comes to a close.
What's happening in my body?
There's a good chance that the placenta is now feeding your baby, having taken over from the yolk sac, and once this happens your hormones will calm down a bit.
Your waist is probably thickening, as your breasts grow bigger. As the sickness subsides you may start to feel hungrier and worry if you're eating enough for you and the baby.
You may wonder if your bump should look bigger or smaller. There are so many factors that determine how big your stomach gets including:
- your hormones
- pre-pregnancy weight
- how many babies you've already had
- the strength of your muscles
Gaining weight
Many women worry about how much weight they should put on during a healthy pregnancy. The answer is not as much as you might think. Most mums-to-be will put on between 10kg to 12.5kg (22lb to 26lb), and that's usually after week 20. But some may not put on any weight at all. You can find out more about weight gain in pregnancy on the NHS website.
Try to follow a healthy pregnancy diet, you do not need to eat more for the baby. When you enter the 3rd trimester in week 28 you can add another 200 calories a day to your diet – that's about 2 slices of wholemeal toast with margarine.
If you maintain a healthy weight, your baby is more likely to be a healthy weight too. Being overweight makes you more prone to conditions such as pre-eclampsia and high blood pressure.
Foods to avoid in pregnancy
There are certain foods you should while you're pregnant. Read about foods to avoid on the NHS website.
Want to know when the baby's due?
Use the NHS pregnancy due date calculator. You'll get a more accurate date from your doctor or midwife when you have a dating scan (usually at eight to 14 weeks).
Early pregnancy symptoms (at 12 weeks)
Your signs of pregnancy may include:
- an aching stomach
- nausea
- mood swings
- a metallic taste in your mouth
- sore breasts
- indigestion and heartburn
- headaches
- dizziness
- new likes and dislikes for food and drink
- a heightened sense of smell
- a white milky pregnancy discharge from your vagina
- light spotting (see your doctor if you get bleeding in pregnancy)
- cramping, a bit like period pains
- darkened skin on your face or brown patches - this is known as chloasma or the "mask of pregnancy"
- greasier, spotty skin
- thicker and shinier hair
- bloating and the feeling of being bloated (read ways to cope with bloating on week 10's page)
Read Tommy's guide to common pregnancy symptoms.
What does my baby look like?
Your baby, or foetus, is now 5.4cm long from head to bottom, which is about the size of a plum. The weight is about 18g, which is around the same as 3 grapes.
The internal organs and muscles have been created. The heartbeat can be picked up on an ultrasound scan. The skeleton is made up from tissue and hardening into bone. The sex organs are formed, although most scans will not be able to tell your baby's sex until later.
Action stations
As you start to feel more energetic, you could go and visit local maternity units and try and think about where you would like to have your baby. You can always change your mind later. You may already have ideas about how you want to give birth – this is known as your birth plan. Try and stay flexible at this stage and we'll come back to birth plans in future weeks.
Share the news with your GP or ask for an appointment with a midwife at your doctors' surgery. Alternatively you can refer yourself to your local hospital – look for contact details on their website.
You'll need to arrange a booking appointment. This usually takes place between weeks 8 and 12 and takes around an hour. You can talk about the options for your pregnancy and the birth. You will also be offered screening tests for infectious diseases, and conditions such as Down's syndrome. You could ask about the Maternity Transformation Programme and how it could benefit you.
You will be offered your first dating scan any time now.
If it's your first pregnancy, you will probably have around 10 appointments and 2 scans in total.
Many women will tell their employer after 12 weeks, once the risk of miscarriage reduces, and they've had their first scan. Once you tell your employer, you have maternity rights and can attend antenatal appointments during paid work time. You can also ask for a risk assessment of your work place to ensure that you're working in a safe environment.
Ask your midwife or doctor about online antenatal classes – they may be able to recommend one.
The charity Tommy's has lots of useful information on antenatal classes and preparing you for birth.
Antenatal classes give you the chance to meet other people and prepare you for parenthood. The NCT offers online antenatal classes with small groups of people that live locally to you.
Do you think you or your partner could have a sexually transmitted infection (STI)? If so, get checked out, as this could affect your baby's development. Talk to your midwife or GP, or visit a sexual health clinic.
Take prenatal vitamins. You're advised to take 400 micrograms of folic acid, every day, until at least week 12. This helps your baby's nervous system to form and offers some protection from conditions such as spina bifida.
To keep bones and muscles healthy, we need vitamin D. From late March/early April to the end of September, most people make enough vitamin D from sunlight on their skin. However, between October and early March, you should consider taking a daily vitamin D supplement because we cannot make enough from sunlight.
Some people should take a vitamin D supplement all year round, find out if this applies to you on the NHS website. You just need 10 micrograms (it's the same for grown-ups and kids). Check if you're entitled to free vitamins.
It's recommended that you do 150 minutes of exercise a week while pregnant. You could start off with just 10 minutes of daily exercise - perhaps take a brisk walk outside. Check out Sport England's #StayInWorkOut online exercises (scroll to the pregnancy section). Listen to your body and do what feels right for you.
There's no need to eat for 2. Eat healthily, with plenty of fresh fruit and veg, and avoid processed, fatty and salty foods. You may be able to get free milk, fruit and veg through the Healthy Start scheme.
If you have a long term health condition, let your specialist or GP know that you're pregnant as soon as possible. Don't stop taking any regular medication without discussing it first with your doctor.
How are you today? If you're feeling anxious or low, then talk to your midwife or doctor who can point you in the right direction to get all the support that you need.
You could also discuss your worries with your partner, friends and family.
You may be worried about your relationship, or money, or having somewhere permanent to live. Don't keep it to yourself. It's important that you ask for help if you need it.
Getting pregnant again might be the last thing on your mind. However now is a good time to start planning what type of contraception you would like to use after your baby is born. Getting pregnant again could happen sooner than you realise and too short a gap between babies is known to cause problems. Talk to your midwife or doctor to help you decide.
You and your family should follow the government and NHS guidance on coronavirus (COVID-19):
To find out about about COVID-19 and pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding, have a look at advice on the:
Go back to week 11
Go to week 13
why terminate a pregnancy in the later stages and how it is done in Krasnoyarsk
“Like a bolt from the blue”
“We counted the fingers and toes, saw how the heart was beating.
Then there was a short pause, and the doctor asked us to go for a walk so that the baby would roll over and he could finish the study. When we returned, there were already two doctors in the doctor's office. Now they were staring at the monitor together and trying to see something. I understood that there were some problems.
And suddenly, like a bolt from the blue, the phrase sounded: “I can’t see the baby’s bladder. There is some kind of education, but what it is is too hard to understand ", - there are hundreds of stories with a similar beginning.
For many women, becoming a mother is a cherished dream. In most cases, pregnancy ends safely - the birth of a healthy baby. But sometimes families get a disappointing prognosis even at the stage of the first ultrasound and tests. Finding out that a child has serious illnesses is always difficult, especially if the health of the father and mother is all right and there are no prerequisites for terrible diagnoses.
Where to go, what to do, what decisions to make? These are only the first questions that arise in pregnant women who have received a poor prognosis.
It is not customary in society to discuss this topic. In our time, when the question of whether abortion is considered murder is still unresolved, the topic of late pregnancy termination, when the unborn child is not just an embryo, but already looks like a full-fledged baby, is painful even for the medical community.
"No error"
Memories of mothers who have experienced the loss of a child (from the forum of the charity fund "Light in Hands"): "After 12 weeks, no one will terminate a pregnancy without a special consultation of doctors and a clearly established diagnosis. Needless to say, none of the doctors spoke to us normally, no one explained a clear sequence of actions, terms, risks, what does “abortion of pregnancy”, etc. mean in general?
Genetic abnormalities are detected at the stage of pregnancy screenings, there are three in total.
Screening is a set of studies that allows you to get the most complete information about the health of the fetus. If the ultrasound doctor has doubts during the examination, the patient is sent to the Medical Genetic Center.
“Of course, most of all we are tuned in to early diagnosis, namely, to identify some abnormalities up to 12 weeks, less often up to 21-22 weeks. But sometimes there are cases when deviations can be detected only in the second half of the term: usually this happens either when a woman registers late and has never been examined before, or when the pathology manifests itself late. Then a decision is already made on a more detailed examination and on the possible termination of such a pregnancy, ”said Tatyana Elizaryeva, head physician of the medical genetic center.
The Medical Genetic Center of Krasnoyarsk sees patients from all over the Krasnoyarsk Territory. In the event that the doctor has doubts about the health of the child during the screening, the pregnant woman is sent for a more detailed examination
If the woman has passed all the examinations and the diagnosis is confirmed, she is invited to the medical commission of the genetic center.
You can come to it either alone or with your husband or family members, usually the patient is asked how it is convenient for her. The commission includes several specialists: an ultrasound diagnostician, a neonatologist, an obstetrician-gynecologist, a doctor specializing in a particular pathology (cardiac surgeon, neurosurgeon, pediatric surgeon, etc.). There, the woman is told in detail about what is happening, what kind of pathology the child has, whether it can be treated and what kind of treatment it is.
“It is important to let a woman understand what she is facing and offer all possible options. If these are chromosomal disorders and an intellectual deficiency in the fetus, for example, Down's syndrome, we explain that a child can be born and, in the absence of any physical disabilities, even be able to develop - sit, perhaps write and draw, communicate a little. But we also make it clear that such a child will never be able to live independently, especially after the departure of parents or other guardians, such a child requires rather large financial costs, which not every family is ready for, such a child will always require more attention and strength, and for his parents will have to fight every step in his development.
All this is necessary so that families understand what they are getting into in both cases. In any situation, we, as doctors, are obliged to respect their choice,” emphasizes Tatiana Elizarieva.
After a medical consultation, any couple has time to think and make an informed decision. Doctors note that today the equipment and technology of the medical genetic center excludes even the very possibility of making an incorrect diagnosis. In addition, in each case, the results of the tests are processed by several doctors, each giving an opinion and recommendations on pregnancy.
“This is a forced measure”
Up to 22 weeks, pregnancy can be terminated, including by medication. The procedure is carried out in the Krasnoyarsk maternity hospital No. 4.
“Medical indications for termination of pregnancy from 12 to 22 weeks are fetal developmental anomalies that are incompatible with life and cannot be surgically corrected,” said Lyudmila Popova, chief physician of maternity hospital No.
4.
This is a chromosome analysis. In a healthy person, all chromosomes are paired, in the picture at number 21 there are three chromosomes instead of two. This is what Down syndrome looks like
According to doctors, a woman can choose to terminate her pregnancy or report it. But often mothers do not fully realize what they doom themselves and their families to when they give birth to children with serious pathologies or non-viable ones.
Memoirs of mothers who experienced the loss of a child from the forum of the charity foundation "Light in Hands"): "The diagnosis was terrible, the doctors said that children with such pathologies are born dead or die in infancy. Realizing that losing a baby, a long-awaited daughter, after her birth would be simply fatal for me, I agreed to an abortion for medical reasons. To be honest, I still don’t understand if I did the right thing, and I blame myself that I went along with my relatives and doctors by agreeing to this abortion.
”
“It is very hard to survive. Walk for 9 months and know that a child can die on the first or second day. What is more difficult: walking and knowing that it will be so, or terminating a pregnancy in the middle? Usually women agree with the opinion of doctors, but sometimes they still decide to leave the child, ”says Lyudmila Popova.
In general, most often, before the 22nd week, women agree and go for an abortion.
“This is not just an abortion at the request of a woman, this is a forced measure. Because then supporting the lives of these children is a colossal burden. It happens that mothers then refuse them, because they cannot cope, they give them to the Homes for the Disabled, and then the state takes care of these children, ”concluded Lyudmila Popova.
“After 22 weeks, this is already a full-fledged birth”
Until 2019, in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, pregnancy was not terminated at later stages (after 22 weeks of pregnancy) due to indications from the fetus (congenital malformations incompatible with life, which for some reason have not been previously identified).
Women had only one way out - to give birth to a child with a pathology. And only at the end of 2018, the clinical protocol of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation "Artificial termination of pregnancy at a later date for medical reasons in the presence of fetal developmental anomalies" was approved, on the basis of which this medical technology was introduced in the Krasnoyarsk Regional Clinical Center for Maternal and Child Health.
The procedure for terminating a pregnancy at a later date is the same throughout Russia: an anesthetic is administered to the fetus in utero, after which the elimination (cardiac arrest) of the fetus is carried out, and labor is induced. The procedure is performed by an ultrasound doctor, an anesthesiologist, an anesthetist nurse and a laboratory assistant.
“Like any manipulation, the interruption procedure has certain risks associated with both the use of medications and the operation. Bleeding may develop, there may be negative consequences from drugs - side effects, allergies.
Any intervention in a woman's body, even at the present stage of the development of medicine, is always a health risk that can lead to complete deprivation of reproductive function. Many couples decide to prolong the pregnancy, hoping for a miracle, for a diagnostic error, ”says Pavel Baurov, head of the advisory clinic at the Regional Clinical Center for Maternal and Childhood Welfare.
Head of the advisory polyclinic of the Regional Clinical Center for Maternal and Childhood Pavel Baurov
Women who refuse to terminate a pregnancy in case of medical indications, most often name their personal beliefs as the reasons, as well as their families. In the case when a decision is made to leave a non-viable child, the patient continues to be observed in the consultation.
How to survive the impossible
Late pregnancy termination is a severe psychological trauma. After the procedure itself, each woman is waiting for the rehabilitation process, a psychologist always works with her.
Now there are such specialists at every antenatal clinic. A psychologist from the Center for Maternal and Childhood Welfare talks with a patient before and after the procedure.
“A woman in such a situation has a lot of difficult experiences. And one of the most difficult that appears at such moments is the feeling of guilt. Thoughts often arise in the mother’s head: “How could I allow this to be done?”, even if the situation is completely hopeless. The moment of choice also leaves an imprint - the woman still decides whether to terminate her pregnancy or keep it. Guilt, as a rule, is irrational, not corresponding to the real situation, ”the psychologist notes.
Memories of mothers who have experienced the loss of a child (from the forum of the charitable foundation "Light in Hands"): “Two years have passed. And yes, we still gave birth to a child, a beautiful daughter. But there was not a day that I did not remember my first daughter. I wake up in the middle of the night and remember those days.
I keep these memories as the only thing left of my child.”
Medical termination is exactly the same antenatal loss ( situation where the baby dies at during pregnancy — ed. ). A woman loses a baby for a long time, despite the fact that from the end of the first trimester she already perceives him as a person, interacts with him, communicates internally.
A psychologist has no influence on a woman's choice - such is the professional position. It helps to realize some things, provides psychological support. Sometimes the situation itself can be completely hopeless when a diagnosis of a pathology that is incompatible with life is made, but even this does not always affect the final choice of a couple. A psychologist helps to dispel any doubts, relieve tension and at least slightly alleviate the moment of suffering.
After the interruption, the woman goes through the process of mourning, as after any other loss. If adaptation is disrupted for too long and a person cannot live a full life, then psychologists talk about pathological mourning, which requires more serious treatment.
It is very important that the environment of the woman also helps to survive the crisis.
“Unfortunately, no one taught us sympathy, our society, and usually people feel discomfort next to those who have suffered a loss. As a rule, a woman's relatives think that the most important thing is that she stopped worrying about . This is where all these tips start: “stop crying”, “live on”, “get together”, and so on. But a woman doesn’t need this, she needs to live her grief, cry out her tears, she needs to speak out, ”says psychologist Svetlana Chursina.
Rehabilitation usually takes months, but even when a woman returned to normal life, this difficult moment will remain in her memory forever, it is impossible to erase it. From time to time, with tears, she will still remember her unborn baby.
Clinical psychologist of the Center for Maternal and Child Health Svetlana Chursina
Patients often ask the question: “What should I do with the child? What will happen to him after I give birth to him?
“The doctor cannot insist, but still it is better if you look at the baby and say goodbye to him.It is better to keep some of his things related to pregnancy, ultrasound scans and so on. Firstly, the brain is arranged in such a way that until it sees it, it will not believe that this is final, therefore subconsciously it will not give you rest, there will always be doubts: “What if he were alive, but if he were healthy? “. Secondly, after some time, women who could not look at the child and say goodbye may regret it. Still, over time, this is perceived as the loss and death of a loved one, so you should not completely depersonalize the baby. But in any case, the choice is up to the woman herself. You can offer, but in no case insist,” advises Svetlana Chursina.
At the Maternity and Child Care Center, a woman receives 1-2 consultations, after which the doctors recommend (if necessary) that she contact a psychologist at the antenatal clinic, or visit free support groups. In Russia, the charitable foundation "Light in Hands" works with mothers who have suffered perinatal loss.
You can get advice and find out all the working conditions on the fund’s hotline.
Psychologists advise relatives, friends and colleagues to start from the desires of a woman - do not impose help, insist on talking if she does not want it. “Time heals” is one of the main principles of recovery, so the main thing is to give a woman this time.
As the doctors say, there are no right or wrong decisions when it comes to terminating a pregnancy, there are only those with which the family can live on. The task of doctors is to support the life and health of both the mother and her child at any cost. Life and quality of life depend only on the family where they faced the problem. It is impossible to predict possible risks by 100%, and you need to remember that no family is immune from this. Today in the Krasnoyarsk Territory there is all the necessary medical support for pregnant women with pathologies of the unborn baby and for those who decide to terminate the pregnancy. We hope that as few families as possible will need such assistance.
Valya Kotlyar especially for Newslab online newspaper.
Photographs by Alina Kovrigina.
Medical termination of pregnancy in the early stages in Nizhny Novgorod at the Tonus clinic, medical abortion, mini abortion
Termination of pregnancy is an important step in the life of a woman who is going to do this. It is important to think carefully about everything, and also, to choose a clinic where you would like to have an abortion. After you have made up your mind, the question arises, where to have an abortion? Not all clinics are licensed to perform abortions, so if you want to do abortion, clinic in which this will be performed must have the appropriate permission.
In our country, at her own request, a woman can have an abortion for up to 12 weeks. There are also various indications for termination of pregnancy. Abortion for social reasons a woman can do up to 22 weeks, for medical reasons - at any stage of pregnancy.
Abortion in this case is performed after determining the indications for it by a gynecologist and related specialists. The reason for termination of pregnancy for medical reasons can be both a serious pathology on the part of the woman and on the part of the fetus. Only a competent and experienced gynecologist will help you decide on the choice of the method of abortion - medical, mini-abortion or surgical.
The best is early termination of pregnancy . Early termination of pregnancy reduces the risk of complications in the future and can be carried out without the use of invasive techniques.
Early termination of pregnancy. Medical abortion
Medical abortion is one of the safest methods and an excellent alternative to surgical abortion. Medical abortion is performed up to 6 weeks of pregnancy. When holding medical termination of pregnancy in the early stages, drugs are used that, according to their mechanism of action, inhibit the synthesis of progesterone.
Medical abortion is performed only under the strict supervision of a gynecologist. After medical termination of pregnancy, an ultrasound scan is required to examine the uterine cavity.
Early termination of pregnancy using medical abortion method does not impair the woman's reproductive function. According to many studies, after medical termination of pregnancy, ovulation is restored in the shortest possible time. An additional positive quality of medical abortion is the possibility of its implementation directly on the day of treatment.
Early termination of pregnancy - mini-abortion
Mini-abortion as a method of early termination of pregnancy can be performed from 6 to 12 weeks. The main technique for mini-abortion is vacuum aspiration. The fertilized egg is removed from the uterine cavity using a special electric suction. This option for early termination of pregnancy is more gentle than the standard options for surgical abortion.
We must not forget that the sooner have an abortion , the lower the risk of complications.
The procedure takes about 5 minutes and the woman can go home within a few hours after the procedure. The uterine mucosa, unlike curettage, is slightly injured. A contraindication to abortion in this way is the presence of infection in the acute period. After the mini-abortion, a control ultrasound examination of the uterine cavity is performed.
Where to have an abortion?
Many women (especially young women), in order not to advertise their pregnancy, start looking for options, where to have an abortion . It must be remembered that it is most correct to have an abortion in a clinic, under the supervision of specialists, and not with the help of folk remedies.
An abortion made outside the walls of a medical institution that has the right to perform this manipulation is called criminal. A self-performed abortion by untested means can lead to serious consequences.
In this case, a woman risks not only the possibility of having children in the future, but also her health.
Medical abortion
Termination of pregnancy on indications or at the request of a woman for a period of 6 to 12 weeks can be performed by curettage of the uterine cavity. This procedure is a surgical procedure and requires preparation. As with any other operation, all the necessary tests are given. Termination of pregnancy is carried out on an empty stomach, as the woman is given anesthesia.
In the postoperative period during the month you need to refrain from sexual intercourse, do not go to the sauna, bath, bathing in water, it is not recommended to take a bath. All these measures are aimed at preventing infection.
It is also not advisable to overcool, be subjected to excessive stress and physical exertion for some time. It is necessary to give the body a rest, so that in the future there will be no problems with conception.
After the abortion, it is necessary to visit a gynecologist. During the appointment, the doctor will conduct a comprehensive examination with obligatory ultrasound control, as well as select the optimal method of contraception, which will help to avoid unwanted pregnancies in the future, and therefore new abortions. A large number of abortions brings with it a large number of complications that can affect the reproductive potential of a woman.
Psychological support for a woman is also important, both before and after an abortion. The doctor in this case should be not only a competent specialist, but also a sensitive psychologist who can encourage the patient.
A great role is given to conversations with a woman, since she must understand that the doctor is on her side and in no case condemns the perfect act.
Within a month after the abortion, women should monitor their well-being.
If you experience pain, bleeding, fever or other unusual phenomena, you should definitely visit a gynecologist for a comprehensive examination and identify the cause of the symptoms.
