You have entered the 13th week of pregnancy. Are you curious about the changes in your baby and yourself? What awaits you during pregnancy week by week? How big is a 13-week baby? Can you tell the sex of a 13-week baby? What are the changes in the mother in the 13th week of pregnancy?

Yeditepe University Hospitals Gynecology and Obstetrics Department Head and IVF Specialist Prof. Dr. Erkut Attar answered the curious questions.

How Big is a 13-Week Baby?

The fetus is now 7.4 cm long, weighs 23 grams, and is the size of a lemon. In previous weeks, your baby's head made up half of its body, but from this week onwards it makes up 1/3 of its body.

Baby Development at 13 Weeks of Pregnancy

Your baby's fingerprints are starting to form. Its sucking skills have developed, and it can be seen sucking its thumb.

The intestinal folds are located in the abdomen and your baby starts to swallow amniotic fluid, the fluid that the baby has been in throughout pregnancy. The baby takes in water, protein, carbohydrates, fats, and enzymes from this fluid, and the remaining fluid returns to the kidneys and then back to the amniotic fluid as urine.

Can 13 weeks reveal the gender?

If the baby is a boy, his testicles have formed and his penis is starting to grow. If the baby is a girl, her ovaries are developing, and she already has 2 million eggs. Despite these developments, it may not be possible to make a clear sex determination with ultrasound.

Changes in the mother at 13 Weeks of Pregnancy

From this week onwards you will feel less nauseous and sleepy, your veins will become more prominent due to the increased blood flow and you will notice that you have more energy than in previous periods.

1 Question | 1 Answer about Pregnancy

Can I Drink Herbal Tea During Pregnancy?

Pregnant women consume ginger, linden, chamomile, fennel, rosehip, regular tea, green tea, and fruit teas to relieve nausea (ginger), meet their fluid needs, and benefit from their calming properties (fennel). During the puerperium, they also use chamomile, fennel, and nettle teas to increase milk production. These seem to be fine as long as the daily amount does not exceed two cups.

Teas such as sage, senna, basil, flaxseed, and raspberry tea can increase the risk of miscarriage when consumed frequently, the risk of bleeding during pregnancy, and the risk of premature birth by increasing uterine contractions. Basil, rosemary, lavender, blueberry, Tipton’s weed, herba lippiae, valerian, lemon balm, aloe vera, dandelion are also examples. The common feature of these herbal teas is that when they are used during pregnancy, they are likely to increase the risk of premature birth, bleeding during pregnancy, and miscarriage and should therefore never be used.

Herbs are not always innocent. Buying and using herbs from herbalists with the idea that "herbal treatment is better than medication" can cause serious health problems. Herbal treatment can only be carried out by a doctor who has received special training in this field.