Welcome to 14 weeks pregnant. With your tiny but growing belly and your pregnancy glow, it’s likely that your pregnancy is becoming more obvious to people close to you. 

Your baby is developing, your body is changing: Here’s what to know about being pregnant at 14 weeks.

Baby at 14 weeks pregnant

At 14 weeks your baby is about 3.5 inches long, or about half the size of a regular banana! Beginning this week, babies start growing at different rates – some faster, some slower – meaning that there’s not such a standard weekly crown to rump measurement any longer. But all babies continue to follow the same developmental path.

Little by little, your baby’s body is starting to become more proportionate with his or her head, and the spine is straightening out. Your baby at 14 weeks now has his own fingerprints. His hair and eyebrows are also starting to grow. Fuzzy hair called lanugo is covering your baby’s body to help keep him or her warm until s/he has some fat to do the job. Plus, by the end of the week, the roof of your baby’s mouth (the palate) will be completely formed.

Your baby’s body is preparing for when s/he will make babies! Hormone production in the newly functioning thyroid has begun. The prostate gland is developing in baby boys and the ovaries are moving down to the pelvis of baby girls. And, your baby has started passing urine through his/her bladder. However, because the kidneys aren't fully functioning, the urine is very diluted.

When you're pregnant at 14 weeks, the placenta launches a second wave of growth to anchor it more firmly to the uterine lining. The placenta has many roles including providing your baby with all necessary nutrition, including protein-building amino acids from your body to help his/her muscles and organs grow and develop. 

Your body at 14 weeks pregnant

No stopping it: the fundus or top of your uterus continues to rise above your pelvis at a rate of 1 centimeter a week, making it a good estimation of the week of pregnancy. Your prenatal care professional will likely begin measuring your belly at about 20 weeks, when your fundal height from top to bottom will be, wait for it, 20 centimeters! With weight gain also progressing at about a half pound a week, you might be ready for maternity clothes or at the very least looser-fitting pants and shirts.

You can expect to see your early pregnancy symptoms fading as your placenta takes over on hormone production. If you don't experience relief soon, consider bringing it up with your healthcare provider at your next appointment. He or she may wish to prescribe something to help alleviate nausea.

Your body’s blood factory is ramping up production this month. From now through week 20, it’s primarily churning out increased levels of plasma, blood’s fluid portion. Red blood cells are currently outnumbered. Your blood pressure dips slightly this month and you might experience some faintness or dizziness, particularly in hot weather (or a steamy shower!).

One benefit to all that extra blood is a lovely pregnancy glow, giving you flushed, plump skin. 
The pregnancy hormone HCG also contributes to the glow by stimulating the skin glands to secrete more oil. This can cause some acne-prone individuals to break out, though. Ask your medical care provider before you use any acne medications, even topical or over-the-counter treatments, as some are not recommended during pregnancy.

14 weeks pregnant ultrasound

Week 14 of pregnancy is the last week to accurately date your pregnancy via ultrasound. It’s also the last week to have a nuchal translucency (NT) ultrasound to screen for chromosomal abnormalities. 

If you have a prenatal appointment during pregnancy week 14, you’ll likely hear your baby’s heartbeat through a handheld fetal Doppler employed by your practitioner.

How big is my baby at 14 weeks?

At 14 weeks pregnant, your baby is the size of an tomato, on average measuring at 3.1 inches long and weighing on average at 0.9 ounces.

14 weeks is how many months pregnant? 

At this stage in your pregnancy, you're three months, two weeks (3m2w) pregnant, and the first full week of the second trimester. 

Common symptoms at 14 weeks pregnant

Here are some of the symptoms you might experience at 14 weeks pregnant.

• Continued breast enlargement: This symptom remains as your body prepares for breastfeeding.
• Increased appetite: As nausea fades, you might be feeling hungrier.
• Slight increase in vaginal discharge: Thanks to an increase in cell turnover, it’s normal to have thin, milky, mild-smelling discharge throughout pregnancy. It’s believed to help protect the birth canal and maintain a healthy vagina.
• Lower blood pressure: Your blood pressure drops slightly in the second trimester due to increased blood volume.
• Feeling in-between: You don’t look very pregnant, but your body has definitely changed 
  in recent weeks and you’ve probably gained at least a handful of pounds.
• Snoring and nosebleeds: Blame swollen nasal passages if you’ve started to snore. Additionally, you may have a perpetually stuffy nose from the extra blood that's pumping throughout your body. The blood vessels inside your nose are quite fragile and some women find that they experience occasional nosebleeds. If these nosebleeds are happening with great frequency, it's a good idea to talk to your doctor.
• Mild anemia: Anemia occurs when you don’t have enough hemoglobin-rich red blood cells to carry oxygen to your body’s tissues. Anemia can cause tiredness, but unless it’s severe it won’t affect your baby.

Pregnancy checklist at 14 weeks pregnant 

Here are a few things you might find interesting when you’re 14 weeks pregnant.

• Snack on nuts: Current research shows eating peanuts, dairy, eggs, and other highly allergenic foods in pregnancy can help prevent your baby from developing allergies to these foods. 
• Buy for baby: Many moms-to-be find they're comfortable shopping for their new baby now that they're in the second trimester. It's a good idea to keep receipts and leave the tags on clothing just in case your baby turns out to be bigger than you expected.
• Knowledge check - Sugar in your urine: Many pregnant women are told they have sugar in their urine. Although that might sound alarming, it’s generally not. Your body is pumping out a lot of glucose, while also reducing production of insulin, that key glucose regulator, as it aims to fuel your baby. It’s not always a perfect system, and can sometimes result in excess glucose being spilled into your urine. Usually, your body responds and adjusts the glucose-insulin balance, and sugar in your urine becomes a non-issue. If it doesn’t, you might develop gestational diabetes. You’ll be screened for gestational diabetes in pregnancy week 28, unless you’re high risk or obese and your practitioner tests you earlier.   

What to Expect at 14 Weeks Pregnant