Pregnancy Week 14: Second Trimester, Quad Test, and Baby's Lanugo

You are officially in your second trimester by pregnancy week fourteen. Your baby is growing fast and learning new skills. Most of your early pregnancy symptoms are gone. There is one blood test, called the quad screen, that you have the option of getting done during your fourteenth week of pregnancy.

Pregnancy Week 14: Baby's Development

Your baby now weighs about 1.5 ounces and is over 3 inches long. His limbs are growing longer and moving more. Your little one has developed a sucking reflex. This reflex will become strengthened over the remainder of your pregnancy to ensure your baby will have to capability to eat once he is born.

Lanugo starts to develop toward the end of this week. Lanugo is fine hairs that grow over your baby's entire body. These hairs will help regulate your baby's temperature until he develops his own body fat. Your baby will shed most of his lanugo before he is born.

Pregnancy Week 14: The Second Trimester

You are officially in your second trimester. Most of your early pregnancy symptoms should be completely gone. You should be able to eat more normally with little or no nausea or vomiting. You probably have more energy now since your body has adequately adjusted to having to nourish two humans instead of just one. Your breasts also start feeling better.

The last bit of good news is that you will be making less frequent trips to the bathroom. Your uterus is finally getting up and out of your pelvis so it is putting less pressure on your bladder.

Pregnancy Week 14: The Quad Test for Down's Syndrome and Spina Bifida

Between pregnancy weeks 14-18, you healthcare provider may suggest a blood test called the quad screen. This screening checks four different hormone levels in your body and compares them to what your levels should be at this exact point in your pregnancy.

This blood test is optional. Some pregnant mothers do not feel the need for this test because the outcome would not make a difference with their pregnancy.

If the hormone levels are different from what they should be then it may be indicative of a genetic problem such as Down's syndrome. Varying hormone levels can also be indicative of a neural tube defect, such as spina bifida.

However, this test is not always accurate since it is based on an accurate conception date. If the conception date is off by even a week, this test can give a false positive result.

I got a false positive quad screen result with my second pregnancy. My doctor insisted that my calculated due date was wrong because my son measured two weeks further along, via ultrasound, than what I told him my last menstrual period date was. He put down the ultrasound due date and my quad screen came back at a high probability that my baby had Down's syndrome. An amniocentesis proved that the quad screen was wrong.

If you are over 35 years old then your healthcare provider may suggest an amniocentesis instead of the quad screen. If your quad screen came back with a higher than normal probability for either Down's syndrome or spina bifida then your doctor may suggest a amniocentesis also. Amniocentesis is usually done around the sixteenth week of pregnancy in order to test for any genetic abnormalities.

For more pregnancy weeks and fetal development you can read:
Pregnancy Week 11

Pregnancy Week 12

Pregnancy Week 13

Pregnancy Week 15

Click here to find more information on your pregnancy and baby's development.

Sources:

Personal Experience

Fit Pregnancy (2009). Pregnancy Calendar. Retrieved: April 8, 9, 2009. Web Site: fitpregnancy.com/calendar/40251887.html

Myers-Gorrie, Trula, Slone-McKinney, Emily, & Smith-Murray, Sharon (1998). Foundations of Maternal-Newborn Nursing (2^nd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: W. B. Saunders Company.

What to Expect (2009). Weekly Pregnancy Calendar. Retrieved:April 8, 9, 2009. Web Site: whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/week-by-week/landing.aspx