16th Week of Pregnancy: Traveling while Pregnant

By BabyZone's Pregnancy Week-by-Week Contributors

16th Week of Pregnancy: Traveling while Pregnant

In this article:
What's Happening with Your Body
All About Baby
How Big Is Baby?
Most Common Pregnancy Questions
Multiple Madness
For Your Partner
Fun Fact
Follow The Chronicles of a Real-Life Pregnancy

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All About Baby

By week 16, your baby-to-be's body is doing more to support itself. Her kidneys function and produce urine that then passes through the umbilical cord. Within her stomach, bile is secreted, although she relies on you for all of her nutrients. Her appearance changes as her scalp hair grows and may even have color. Her developing facial muscles make it possible for her to open and close her mouth, maybe even give you a smile or two.

How Big Is Baby?

This week, your little one is around four inches long (crown to rump) and weighs in at nearly three ounces.

Most Common Pregnancy Questions

My back really hurts! What's going on? What can I safely do to help alleviate this pain?
Lower back pain or discomfort is a common pregnancy symptom for many women. As you gain weight and hormones loosen joints to accommodate the size of your baby, many women will complain of aches, fatigue, or even moderate to severe pain in the lower back.

There are some things you can do to lessen the severity and improve the symptoms:

Wear comfortable, supportive shoes

Continue to exercise if you have been doing so

Sleep on your left side with pillows to provide good spine alignment

Sit in comfortable, supportive chairs

Bend your knees when lifting (never lift heavy objects)

Take acetaminophen as prescribed by your doctor

Use heat or ice on your lower back

Have a massage or see a chiropractor (make sure they are trained and specialize in working with pregnant women)

And, yes, you should lie on your left side. Here's why. There is a large vessel that runs behind the uterus called the vena cava. If you lay on your back, this may compress the vena cava, compromising blood flow, which can result in dizziness or nausea. It also decreases the efficiency of blood flow to the placenta. The vena cava tends to shift to the right side of the uterus, so getting on your left side will maximize blood flow and keep you comfortable. If you have always slept on your belly, back or right side, it may feel uncomfortable at first, but you will adjust to this position quickly. Don't panic if you wake up on your back, just readjust and get back to dreamland.

Just because it is an expected symptom of pregnancy, don't take back pain lightly. Constant dull, low back pain can sometimes be a symptom of labor. Severe pain along with other symptoms like dizziness, vaginal bleeding, or rupture of membranes (breaking of water) should be reported to your doctor.