Smartmoms: Month-by-Month

The Growth and Development of Your Baby

The baby's skin in pink and somewhat transparent. Eyebrows and eyelashes begin to appear in this month. Buds on the side of the head begin to form into the outer ear. The baby's face continues to develop. The tail has disappeared from the fetus and the head makes up about half of the baby's size. The baby's neck is long enough to lift the head from the body.

The baby moves, kicks, sleeps, wakes, swallows, and passes urine. You may start to feel a slight sensation in your lower abdomen (called quickening). This feels like bubbles or fluttering. When you feel the baby's movement, write down the date and tell your health care provider. This helps determine when your baby is due.

By the end of the fourth month, your baby will be 8 to 10 inches long and will weigh about 6 ounces.

What is Happening With You
During prenatal care appointments in the fourth month, your health care provider will likely check your weight, blood pressure, urine, fetal heartbeat, size of your uterus, height of your fundus, any swelling or varicose veins, and other symptoms. It is important to continue to monitor all of these continually during your pregnancy to help ensure the health of your baby and prevent or lessen any problems you might experience.

This is the month that many women start to "feel pregnant." Physically, you may still be fatigued, feel constipated, have indigestion, heartburn, flatulence, or bloating, and experience occasional headaches and dizziness. Some of the symptoms you may have had during the first trimester will likely decrease or go away. For example, you will not need to urinate as frequently, you will feel less nauseated and be less likely to vomit, and your breasts will not feel as tender but will continue to grow. New symptoms that you may experience include: nasal congestion and occasional nosebleeds, ear stuffiness, bleeding gums, increase in your appetite, mild swelling in your ankles, feet, hands, and face, varicose veins in your legs and/or hemorrhoids, a slight whitish vaginal discharge (leukorrhea), clumsiness, and possibly fetal movement toward the end of the month. Remember that all women experience pregnancy differently and you may have none, some, or all of these symptoms.

Your emotions are likely to still swing back and forth between joy, apprehension, irritability, etc. Many women feel frustrated and self-conscious about their bodies when they don't fit into their regular clothes but are still too small for maternity clothes. You may also feel somewhat scattered and clumsy--it is normal to be forgetful, drop things, and have trouble concentrating.

What is Happening With Your Partner
Your partner may now be worrying mostly about money at this point. Worrying will cause unnecessary stress and irritability in both you and your partner. The money will work out when the baby comes. You can both work together on trying to save money now. However, this is not the time to become stressed about how you will put your as yet born child through college.

You both will probably want to continue to read or watch videos about pregnancy and newborn care. Check out pregnancy and childbirth classes near you and find out how soon you need to register for them. These classes often fill up quickly. Many of them are appropriate for both you and your partner.

Discomforts and Remedies
Visit the Common Discomforts section if you are experiencing any discomforts. You may or may not experience some of these discomforts and be sure to talk to your health care provider about them if you have any questions.