Week 9
Carola Felchner is a freelance writer in the medical department and a certified training and nutrition advisor. She worked for various specialist magazines and online portals before becoming a freelance journalist in 2015. Before starting her internship, she studied translation and interpreting in Kempten and Munich.
More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.Welcome to the third month! It starts with the 9th week of pregnancy. The baby starts moving arms and legs at 9 weeks of gestation and the first major ultrasound scan is due. Read more about how your child develops in the 9th week of pregnancy and why you may no longer be able to smell your favorite dish.
9th week of pregnancy: This is how your baby is developing
Your baby is now getting down to the delicate details: Tiny fingers and toes are visible on the hands and feet in the 9th week of pregnancy. The little one has straightened up, the head is rounding. The ossification of the upper extremities of the previously boneless worm has begun. With its sideways eyes, it looks more like an alien than mom or dad, but its appearance is becoming more and more human. All of the baby's organs are fully developed by the 9th week of pregnancy, and some of them are already working. In the liver, for example, blood formation begins in the 9th week of pregnancy.
By the way: Doctors refer to the unborn child as an embryo until the internal organs have developed. The 9th week (i.e. 9th week of pregnancy) marks this limit: From now on (i.e. from the 3rd month) until the birth one speaks of the fetus.
9th week of pregnancy ultrasound: That can be seen
The baby is around 16 to 24 millimeters long by the 9th week of pregnancy. On the ultrasound you can even see where the fingers and toes will later appear in the fetus. If the first ultrasound examination is carried out now, it can also be determined whether there are even twins on the way.
9th week of pregnancy: That will change for you
Outsiders are pretty sure still not aware of your sweet secret. In the 9th week of pregnancy, the abdomen and the rest of the body are mostly still unchanged. Only your breasts could have gotten a little bigger. However, there are individual differences with regard to stomach growth during pregnancy: In the 9th week, some women still have their "normal" stomach, while others can no longer get their pants closed properly.
Have you always thought that the pickle on chocolate cream thing was a cliché? Perhaps it is not that extreme for you, but the senses of smell and taste are actually sharpened from the 9th week of pregnancy. This means that as a mom-to-be, you could become very sensitive to odors. Nature has set it up in such a way to protect the little one in your belly from danger. On the other hand, you may feel like eating combinations that you've never eaten before.
Regardless of whether it is cigarette smoke or your previous favorite sausage - if you suddenly no longer like a certain smell or taste, trust your feelings and avoid the product in question. A pregnant woman's body has an excellent early warning system.
Do you still have nausea in the 9th week of pregnancy? Then don't worry, you should be through it soon. From the 12th week of pregnancy onwards, the hormonal balance and metabolism have changed. The nausea then usually goes away.
9th week of pregnancy: This is important now
How exciting, in the 9th week of pregnancy you may see your baby for the first time! The first of three ultrasound examinations usually takes place between the 9th and 12th week of pregnancy, i.e. in the first trimester of pregnancy. The doctor checks whether the baby is lying correctly in the uterus, whether its heart is beating regularly and whether it is big enough for the calculated week of pregnancy - depending on the result, the date of birth may be corrected again.
As a rule, for the first ultrasound in the 9th week of pregnancy, the doctor uses a vaginal transducer that is inserted through the vagina. If you would also like to have an examination of the neck fold (a broadening of the neck transparency at a certain development stage can indicate chromosomal disorders), the examination will be postponed to the 12th to 15th week. The next ultrasound examination is carried out between the 19th and 22nd week, the last between the 29th and 32nd week of pregnancy - by ultrasound through the abdominal wall.
Whether you can get other ultrasound examinations (with a photo as evidence!) In addition to the three statutory screenings depends on how you are insured. Most gynecologists also offer special packages for which you pay an additional fee and can take a photo home with you after each examination. However, some are also critical of the additional (unnecessary) ultrasound examinations. Ultimately, everyone has to decide for themselves.
Midwife tip
In the 9th week of pregnancy, the term high-risk pregnancy may come up during the examination. Don't let that scare you. This does not mean that there will inevitably be complications, but only that you fall into a certain classification grid. In any case, please differentiate between theoretical risks, for example a woman with short stature (less than 1.60 height) or an age from 35 years, which is not really a risk for me, and real dangers. A woman with an existing heart disease or type 1 diabetes should of course be cared for under other aspects - even before the 9th week of pregnancy. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to speak to your doctor or midwife.
