What’s happening to my baby?
By week 15 your baby has rapidly grown to over 10cm, about the length of a latte glass. Their eyes and ears are arranged like an adult human’s and their limbs are more or less proportional with longer legs than arms.
Your baby can now sense sound – although it can’t hear in the proper sense – and it can respond to noises both inside your body and out. Its eyes are sensitive to light, too, and a particularly bright light shone on your stomach can make its way through your skin and dimly illuminate your womb.
What’s happening to me?
You might notice that your hair is thicker and your nails are growing faster, and you will be experiencing a 20% increase in blood volume. This can have some side effects such as making your gums bleed more easily when brushing or bringing on small nose bleeds.
Depending on your family history or circumstances, doctors may advise taking an amniocentesis test, which can detect abnormalities such as Down syndrome, cystic fibrosis and spina bifida. Because this test is invasive it is only advised in specific circumstances.
You might also have noticed that you’ve put on weight all over your body now, and maternity clothes can become useful in managing your expanding body comfortably.