Week 15 of Pregnancy (Trimester 2 of Preganancy)

My second midwife appointment was this week, this time at the surgery. Another opportunity to hear baby’s heartbeat (cried again!), and also got the results from the bloods taken at the hospital. All clear on the HIV, Hepatitis, Rubella front, but a bit low on iron so was advised to start taking supplements.

The midwife also took a blood sample to be sent away for the triple test. This is also known as the Bart’s Test, as it was developed at St Bartholomew’s hospital in London. This test can only be done after 13 weeks of pregnancy, and the blood is tested for three things:

Alphafetoprotein - a substance produced in the unborn baby and present in the mothers bloodstream. Larger than normal amounts can indicate the risk of neural tube defects.

Oestriol and human chorionic gonadotrophin – hormones, the levels of which help assess the risk of Down’s Syndrome.

I will have to wait a couple of weeks for the results.

The fetus is beginning to grow hair – eyebrows, eyelashes and head hair. Finger and toe nails are also well established. And the tiny bones in the inner ear begin to harden, which means the fetus will soon be capable of hearing. Baby will hear the digestive noises of your stomach, and the sound of your voice. The auditory centre of the fetus’ brain has not yet matured, so it will not yet be able to make sense of the sounds it’s hears.

	Web PregnancyAndBirth.org