11 Weeks Pregnant (Belly and Ultrasound Pictures), Symptoms and Fetal Development at 11 Weeks Pregnancy (2024)

11 weeks pregnant is how many months? The 11th week of pregnancy, the third month or the first trimester

What to Expect at 11 Weeks Pregnant

The first trimester of pregnancy is practically finished. During this period, your placenta is located slightly higher than before. The mother-to-be already feels her uterus. The baby weighs about 10 grams (1 ounce), and its height is about 6-8 cm (2.4-3.1 inches). The internal organs are growing together with your baby. The blood supply system provides more nutrients and oxygen to the baby via the the umbilical cord’s blood vessels.

The baby is living and developing inside the mother, but his stomach, intestines, kidneys and liver are already present. Nutrients enter the baby’s body and are digested, wastes are excreted into the amniotic fluid and then delivered to the mother’s kidneys and liver.

During pregnancy the woman’s body is facing incredible changes. The metabolism speeds up, blood begins to circulate faster and often the body temperature rises. You should drink more safe and preferably still water without dyers. The emotional state of the expectant mother is very unstable, frequent changes of mood could be the reason of many conflicts.

The woman should be aware of the changes in her body, not to panic and explain it to others. The loved ones should try to understand her whims. Pregnant women shouldn’t be upset, any emotional shock can have adverse effects on the baby's health, up to a physiological abnormality.

What is Happening With the Baby

Even though the baby is still very small (about 8 cm/3.1 inches), at the beginning of the 2nd trimester the baby starts to grow rapidly. The development of the internal organs is going on, all parts of the body are growing, the head is still bigger than the other parts of the body (at this period it is normal), the nervous system is forming, and within 2-3 weeks the baby will be two times bigger than now.

Based on the medical terminology, on the 11th week of pregnancy, the baby is called a fetus. But he grows up, his heart works the same way as the heart of an adult, it makes the blood circulate round the body that is very energy consuming. Nutrient requirements are getting higher, that causes the umbilical cord growth and the increase in number of its blood vessels. Soon the placenta will supply all the necessary nutrients to the baby.

Most likely the doctor will advise you to take special vitamins that support the levels of nutrients in the placenta and the umbilical cord. The endocrine system’s glands and the brain are developing, at the same time the formation of the baby’s immunity system begins. During this period, you should control your physical and psychological condition.

At this stage the baby’s liver is growing faster than other organs and takes up more space, almost 10 % of the body. Moreover, the baby’s intestines are making movements that resemble to peristalsis-vibrating movements, which push the recycled substances to the exit. The wastes are first excreted in the amniotic fluid, and then out of the mother’s body. Throughout the pregnancy the kidneys of the mom-to-be work hard.

The fetus looks very funny: the ears are located very low on the big head, the arms are much longer than the legs. The sexual organs are forming, as well as the color of the iris of the eye. The neck becomes the strongest part of the body, because the baby is already trying to lift his head and turn it in different directions.

This little baby inside the women understands the tone of her voice,recognises the voice of the father. At this period of time the expectant mothers are recommended to talk to the baby affectionately to make her feel comfortable and do not worry.

The baby makes summersaults, flips, raises and lowers his hands, covers the head with the palms, and very soon, she will start to touch the mom, this will happen when the baby develops the sensitivity of fingers. The smell develops, and the baby can even feel the smell of the mom's meal.

Symptoms and Sensations

The woman begins to change her wardrobe picking up more comfortable and loose clothes. Try to choose natural fabrics, especially in summer. As for the underwear, select functional and comfortable items. The bra should hold your heavy breasts and panties don't have to squeeze your tummy in order not to impede the baby’s movements.

The second trimester is considered to be the most enjoyable. The belly is not very big and you are very energetic, the nausea is waning, and the breast tenderness is wearing off. The emotional ups and downs are fading, the woman stops feeling anxious and feared,the emotional background is growing steady. The mom is enjoying her pregnancy.

It's all a bit spoiled by the constant thirst, temperature variations and sweating. Every pregnant woman should predict and prevent future consequences of pregnancy. This applies to the stretch marks. The mother-to-be should start moisturising her tummy’s skin with oils now to avoid stretch marks in the future.

Each woman has individual impacts of the pregnancy on her body. Some women have brittle nails and lose hair, but at the same time there those who feel much better during this period. In either case, all these changes are temporary.

Tummy

In most cases, the pregnancy at such a term is practically not noticeable, it only shows off after a rich meal. However, it’s not the rule. Due to the constitution, some women may look very pregnant at the 11th week.

11 Weeks Pregnant Belly Pictures Showing

Images: bellies at 11 weeks 5 days pregnant.

Uterus

The uterus is growing rapidly, that also makes it hard to conceal your pregnancy. The uterus takes up almost the entire pelvis.

Discharge 11 Weeks Pregnant

In addition to bleeding at 11 weeks of pregnancy, you may experience other abnormal discharge. First of all, these are brown, yellow, green discharge causing itching, burning, swelling, redness and other irritation of the vagin* and genitals.

You should be especially careful about cottage-cheese like discharge (symptom of candidiasis) and bubbling discharge (trichom*oniasis) with an unpleasant smell. At the 11th week of pregnancy it’s normal to have transparent and white discharge without a smell that doesn’t bring you discomfort. It may be thick due to a high concentration of progesterone in the blood.

Miscarriage at 11 Weeks

Risk/threat of miscarriage is a diagnosis, which in most cases is made in early pregnancy. However, it should be understood that the risk of miscarriage and the process itself is not the same thing. To avoid the dangerous development of events, every woman with the first symptoms should immediately consult her doctor, and if the threat of miscarriage is diagnosed, be doubly careful and do scrupulously everything what the doctor says.

The Causes and Risks of Miscarriage at 11 Eeeks

In order to be ready for possible trouble, you should know by what reasons it can be caused, and who is most exposed to risk. Observational data suggest that the risk of miscarriage of a child is doubled if a pregnant is more 35 years. Tendency to miscarriages is peculiar to women with hormonal disruptions in the body.

The cause of painful perception of miscarriage at week 11 is that a woman already clearly imagines her position and the fact that inside her a new life is developing. 11 weeks is a period of transition during which the fetus acquires strongly pronounced features of a small person.

The reasons causing miscarriage at week 11 are due to the fact that at this time there is a rapid fetal development. This means that a woman's body must quickly adapt to the increased load. There is a rapid development of the brain and genitals, as well as the circulatory system and locomotor system (muscles and skeleton).

Signs and Symptoms of Miscarriage at 11 Weeks

Pain in the abdomen or in the lumbar area is extremely undesirable. As a rule, women at 11 week already do not face this problem, therefore a sharp pain is a reason to immediately call an ambulance. The same thing should be done when there are heavy bleedings. At 11 weeks of pregnancy not only a miscarriage, but also an embryo-fetal death can occur.

The consequences of miscarriage, as well as of missed miscarriage can be, for example, the problems with gestation in the future. Of course, the expectant mother must not dwell on troubling thoughts about a possible miscarriage. It is enough to take the position responsibly, but optimistically.

Ultrasound Scan

The ultrasound scan is very important in this period and brings a lot of information on the status of the embryo. So thanks to the ultrasonic scan you and your doctor can have a clear picture of the pregnancy development.

The ultrasound scan helps to:

• define multiple pregnancy;
• indicate genetic diseases (in case of a predisposition);
• see physical abnormalities or their absence;
• see the fetal attachment;
• determine the status of the amniotic fluid (hypamnion or hydramnion).

11 Weeks Ultrasound Pictures

11 Weeks Ultrasound Twins

Pains

While pregnant you will often feel pain, cramping and cramps you should be very careful and listen to your body. The strengthening of the uterus often causes aching pain in the lower abdomen, this is due to the stretching of the ligaments and muscles, as well as because of the divergence of bones, such pains are considered normal. But if in addition to the pain appears spotting, you should immediately see your doctor and he will make an ultrasound scan to see the baby’s condition and hear its heartbeat. You have to be very careful and keep the situation under control.

Bleeding

There are a lot of reasons for bleeding in this stage. Bleeding may be a sign of a miscarriage: the uterus rejects the fetus. Bleeding can begin after sexual intercourse, you should always listen to the instructions and recommendations of your doctor about this. Viral diseases always lead to bleeding. In any case, when you see blood secretions, you need to see your doctor immediately. What is more, in most cases in this stage miscarriages can be prevented.

Fever

In connection with the ongoing changes in the woman's body, the temperature may vary. During the 1st trimester such temperature jumps are normal. At the 11th week of pregnancy the temperature should not rise above 37.2 °C (99 °F). If this happens, you should not break the fever below 38 °C, you only should drink more warm drinks, and let your body cope with it itself. If the temperature has raised above 38 °C and you must break it, in order not to damage fetal tissues. Consult your doctor to select special medications for pregnant. Very often in such cases, doctors prescribe ordinary Acamol.

Catching a Cold

No one is immune to colds. They are especially dangerous in the early stages of pregnancy and can lead to irreversible consequences. Take care of your health, if you have caught a cold, try natural folk remedies that will not harm your baby. Take more warm drinks, very effective is warm milk with butter.

Honey, raspberry and snowball berries will also do you good, but don't eat too much of them as they can cause allergy. For the disease prevention, eat citruses, but neither too much. Especially beware of the rubella. This virus causes irreversible pathology of fetus.

Food at 11 Weeks

The diet of a pregnant women should be carefully planned, healthy, diverse and balanced. It requires proteins, carbohydrates, ferrum and iodine. All nutrients should have a positive impact on the health of the baby and the condition of the placenta, because it is a home for your baby. Don’t overeat, it will give you and your baby's discomfort and can cause you to constipation.

Correctly select the products, avoid fried and too fatty food, even if you really want it, it will help you to avoid heartburn after. Although most women often have heartburns while pregnant. Opt for porridges, lean meat, vegetables, fruit, cottage cheese and cheese. Healthy eating is compulsory! Don't forget about drinks: select still water, different natural fruit drinks without dyers.

Alcohol

If you are planning a pregnancy, you probably have already abandoned all bad habits. However, if the pregnancy is not expected, you should give them up immediately after you learn you are pregnant. Of course, some argue that a small amount of alcohol is absolutely harmless for the baby. The modern moral standards have put an end to the disputes on this issue. Yet, every woman should decide herself whether she should drink alcohol, the main thing is to understand that everything what happens to your body happens to your future baby too. And nobody can predict how it will impact your baby.

Sex

The use of having sex during pregnancy at the term of 11 weeks has been proved long ago. Lubricant and sperm produced during the intercourse make the uterus more elastic, which is a great advantage during the labor. And yet many pregnant themselves want to have sex because their libido significantly increases.

You just have to choose comfortable positions with shallow penetration. Sex has a beneficial influence on the woman physical health and mood of both partners. At such moments they make up a whole and get maximum pleasure. However, if there is a threat of a miscarriage, bleeding and pain, it’s better to abstain from sex.

11 Weeks Pregnant: Track Your Baby's Growth Here

Screening at 11 Weeks

Today most hospitals have modern equipments, and you can make all the necessary analyses. Screening is the most essential and compulsory analysis for all pregnant women. It is performed between the 11th and the 16th weeks of pregnancy (the 12th week is ideal) to identify any deviations in the development of the fetus. During this period the neck zone of the fetus is visible which allows to determine if the fetus might have Down syndrome.

The obtained results are compared with the existing norms. They do not show the presence of an abnormality, but reveal a predisposition to it. If you got bad results, immediately consult a geneticist. None of the doctors must induce abortion, a woman must make the right decision herself.

Tests (HCG, Progesterone)

Screening performed at the 11th week of pregnancy includes ultrasonic and biochemical tests, simply defined as an ultrasounds scan and blood sampling on HCG.

Pregnant women pass special tests to identify the level of protein and leukocytes in urine. It is also necessary to make hormones tests. These are necessary measures to collect the information on the fetal development and health. The results of the tests are compared with special normal ranges, deviation from norms may indicate an abnormality.

The biochemical screening allows to determine the level of hCG in blood of the pregnant. This is a very important test, as in the 1st trimester hCG provides a synthesis of oestrogen and progesterone in the body of the mom-to-be, and supports the process of pregnancy until the fetus and placenta are able to generate hormones themselves. During the 11th week of pregnancy the hCG level peaks, then it slowly decreases. Therefore, progesterone, as an independent unit, plays no role at this stage of pregnancy. Ultrasound is the best test to monitor the fetal development at this term.

Useful Advice

During pregnancy the woman's body is undergoing severe physiological changes, besides, the expectant mother has a difficult psychological condition. Frequent changes of mood, discontent, fear of both losing the baby and giving the birth. All this makes the mother-to-be very anxious. She should communicate with loved ones and have a possibility to speak out. The family, for its part, should support the expectant mother and take care of her.

Danger and Sensations

• The condition of the nails and hair is changing for the worse or for the better, it’s all very individual. However, this fact is not worth being upset, because it’s all going to change after the baby is born.
• The temperature rises result in frequent sweating, the change of the hormone profile has a negative impact on the psychoemotional state of the woman.
• Pains in the abdomen are fraught with irreversible consequences, you should immediately consult a doctor.

Recommendations

• It’s practically impossible to have no psychological disorder during the pregnancy. The fear of labor is very intense. If the family environment is unhealthy and there is no way to put it right yourself, be sure to contact a professional. Your mood is transmitted to the baby, so take care of it.
• Keep to a proper, balanced diet, because all that you eat nourishes your baby. Be sure to eat food rich in proteins, carbohydrates, calcium, ferrum and iodine. Introduce to your diet porridges, various cheeses, vegetables, green meat, fruit, lean meat. Do not eat too much of the allergenic products (chocolate, honey, citruses). Don't overeat, it can lead to constipation and heartburn. Try to eat little and often. If you happened to heartburn or constipation, be sure to consult doctor about medications you need to take.
• By that time the development of the fetus (11 weeks), nausea, fatigue and sickness should fade, but if this does not happen, do not miss this fact. Be sure to visit the doctor and pass all necessary tests. Often low levels of haemoglobin result in such a tired state. And if the test confirms this, undergo special treatment and keep to the diet.
• Take care not to catch a cold or a viral disease. At the initial stage of pregnancy, even the common cold can lead to very bad consequences. Especially take care, if you got pregnant in winter or off-season time when the chances to catch a disease are higher than usual. If you got ill, consult your doctor about medications. However, you’d better use natural medication which are harmless both for you and your baby. Drink warm drinks, take vitamins, dress and boot warm.

Video Guide: 11 weeks pregnancy

Twin Pregnancy at 11 Weeks Pregnancy

At the 11th week of multiple pregnancy you will feel better, as the nausea will not be so frequent. The embryos are growing and developing rapidly, and soon you will have to renew your wardrobe, in view of the growing tummy.

At this stage of development the twins begin to look more humanlike: the back is straighten out, they can move their heads, the chin and the neck are already visible. The hands are formed, but the toes are still webbed.

The development of the internal organs, especially the heart, is practically completed. The baby is sure not to have any cardiac abnormalities. Babies can make a lot of movements without touching each other. During this term, the development of teeth begins. Of course, the twins are still very small, no more than 4 grams (0.14 ounce) but sex organs have already been formed and soon an ultrasound scan will show who is who.