4 Months Pregnant – Symptoms, Belly & Health Care

Being 4 months pregnant, you will spend some time in front of the mirror looking at your pregnant bump, which gets visible as you take your clothes off.

What Does a 4 Months Pregnant Woman Feel?

The second trimester (13-16 weeks) of pregnancy has now started. At this time, the doctor appoints a planned ultrasound to examine the development of the fetus. On the ultrasonic screen, you’ll see the little thing moving. But its movements are barely noticeable so far, so you can’t feel them yet. By the end of the 12th week, your uterus will be the size of a man’s fist. And a month later it’ll increase in size and will be as big as a ripe melon. The placenta has developed in compliance with the necessities of the growing fetus for oxygen and nutrition. The umbilical cord is bigger and longer now so that your baby is comfortable in your belly.

The expectant mother still gets tired easily and often feels irritated. Some women notice thin reddish lines on their thighs – superficial varicose veins. Similar lines can also appear on your breasts. Both cases are connected with hormonal changes. After the birth, these lines will fade and then completely vanish. The best way out is wearing the right underwear and compressive stockings for the pregnant. There are also pleasant moments: the belly starts to grow, and the expectant mother has a reason for shopping – to try on breathtaking outfits for future mothers.

Useful tips

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  • If you’re going shopping, remember that the clothes you choose should first of all be comfortable.
  • If you wear make-up, try to use it seldom: during this period, your skin becomes vulnerable because of hormonal balance. Moreover due to the concentration of the same hormones of pregnancy there is pigmentation on your face that wasn’t there before pregnancy. Ice cubes made of cucumber or parsley juice will help to improve the situation. There are also specifically made bleaching creams for expectant mothers.
  • If varicose veins are hereditary in your family you should certainly consult a phlebologist.
  • Don’t stop your daily walks to get fresh air: think of new pleasant reasons to go out.
  • Be optimistic: meet with your friends, watch good movies.
  • Eat tastily, but healthy food. Don’t eat late in the evening (after 8 p.m.). It will improve your mood and state of health.
  • Take vitamin C, it strengthens the blood vascular walls.
  • Sleep on a side (preferably on the left one) with a pillow (or a pregnancy pillow) between your legs. Such position provides the placenta with a flow of blood and improves kidneys’ functioning.

The 4th Month of Pregnancy: Discomforts

  • General weakness
  • Increased appetite
  • Pigmentation on the face
  • A brown line on the abdomen from the navel to the bikini line (the so-called Alba line), which will disappear immediately after childbirth
  • Minor whitish excreta from the vagina
  • Possible hair frailness; the thickening and bleeding gums; nose bleedings
  •  Vascular “webs” on the thighs and breasts of the future mother
  • There is a possibility of hemorrhoids.

At the Doctor’s

The 4th month of pregnancy is dangerous for women with adrenal cortex dysfunction. The danger increases if a boy is expected. It happens because of testosterone.

Doctors prescribe the future mothers who belong to this risk group to take the specific test of amniotic fluid – amniocentesis (or amniotic puncture). It will estimate the possibility of malformations, blood type, a level of bilirubin, proteins, and hormones, and also the sex of the baby, and will allow preventing possible pathologies. The doctor determines the positions of fetus and placenta, finds a safe place to inject a needle which is then cleansed and anesthetized. Then the needle with a syringe is injected through the abdominal wall into the uterine cavity. The amniotic fluid is taken through the needle into the syringe. This procedure lasts for about 30 minutes under ultrasound control and is safe by this time because of the inertness of the uterus.

In the fourth month, the women a bit too old for pregnancy or with hereditary diseases are also prescribed an amniotic puncture, after which in some cases there can be a small bleeding from the vagina, minor spasms, or leaks of amniotic fluid – you should consult a doctor immediately if this happens.

Dangerous Situations

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  • Visit a doctor immediately, if you’re experiencing:
  • Pains in the lower abdomen, including contractions-like;
  • Any blood or watery excreta from the genitals;
  • A severe headache, lasting more than 2-3 hours;
  • Dysfunction of sight: hazy vision, sight bifurcation, black spots in front of the eyes;
  • Painful urination;
  • Nausea, vomiting, vomit combined with stomach ache or fever;
  • Sudden weight increase more than by 2.2 pounds;
  • Body itch, with or without jaundice, with dark urine and colorless stool.

How Your Baby is Developing

  • The internal organs of the baby are almost completely formed and begin to grow fast. The fetus looks more and more like a human being. However, its head is still too big. The skull consists of a group of loosely connected bones which are not resisting the growth of the brain. So it’s still fragile. The cartilages become bones, and the little thing’s body is turning from transparent whitish into a solid red.
  • By the 13th week, the little thing already has the rudiments of deciduous teeth.
  • The heart is beating twice as fast as the mothers.
  • The little thing is actively moving: its fingers are formed; it learns how to bend its elbows. The muscular system finishes its formation.
  • The face is almost formed.
  • By the 15th week, the little thing has individual fingerprints, the fibers in the intestines are formed and the system starts functioning.
  • The fetus feels and hears everything. And it can even “slip away” from the doctor’s hands while examination of the mother’s belly.
  • By the end of the fourth month, the fetus is about 4.8-6 inches long and weighs about 120-180 g.

4 Months Pregnant Belly Pictures

Check out what the bellies look like in the fourth month of pregnancy.

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Pregnant-Women-belly-4-month

4 Months Pregnant Ultrasound

12-14 weeks of pregnancy – optimal period for ultrasound (internals, brain structures, heart, and collar zone are well observed)

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13-16 weeks of pregnancy – ultrasound may provide a determination of fetus gender. You may see the fetus movement of two-dimensional images. This means that the photos you see show your baby’s internal organs. But this is not the case for 3D scans yet.