Pregnancy week 15: the baby begins sensing light

First recognitions behind sealed lids

The baby's eyes are sealed and stay sealed till month six. Yet from this week it senses light — a bright glow through the wall makes it turn or shift away.

This small fact announces a big one: the senses are waking. Taste next, then hearing — the womb is becoming a world of experiences.

In your kitchen, this week's key word is calcium. The skeleton is hardening from soft cartilage into bone, and every gram of that calcium ships from you. If the plate doesn't supply it, your own bones will.

Your baby this week

The baby is apple-sized — ten centimetres, about seventy grams. The legs have finally outgrown the arms; the proportions are turning human.

Bones are hardening — long limb bones first. Scans now show the skeleton's ghost clearly. The skin is still thin enough to see vessels through.

The baby is drawing amniotic fluid in and out — breathing practice, and the lungs' gym. Taste buds are formed, and your meals flavour the fluid faintly.

Changes in your body

The second trimester's ease is fully installed. Many women feel better than before pregnancy — thicker hair, brighter skin; hCG has left and oestrogen is managing well.

Some get the opposite lottery — oilier scalp, breakouts. Same hormones, different draw; both temporary.

Low-back ache may make its first appearance — the muscles learning a new balance around the growing bump. Firm mattress, good posture, the daily walk — those keep it managed; persistent severe pain is a different matter and gets reported.

What to do this week

Set the daily calcium arithmetic: two glasses of milk or the equivalent curd-chaas-paneer, plus sesame, ragi, greens. If milk doesn't sit, curd sits with nearly everyone — and there's the prescribed tablet (away from iron).

Vitamin D partners calcium — fifteen-twenty minutes of morning sun is the cheapest source. The morning walk in the sun does both jobs at once.

Put the file in order — trimester-one reports, scans, MCP card. Next month's anomaly scan will ask for the full set.

Be kind to the leg veins from now — sitting breaks in long standing shifts, ankle circles when seated, ten minutes of raised feet in the evening. Varicose veins are common in pregnancy; these habits slow them.

Week 15 at a glance

The week's essentials in one place. Your doctor may adjust these for your situation.

When to see a doctor at once

The standing list — bleeding, worsening pain, high fever, urinary burning, one-sided calf swelling: same-day.

Back pain that comes in waves from one side, or arrives with belly tightening, is not muscle ache — same-day mention. Ordinary back ache is steady and eases with rest; the wave kind asks for a check.

This article is general information only and no substitute for personal medical advice. The person who can advise you knowing your health, your medicines and your previous pregnancies is your obstetrician, or the doctor at your nearest health centre.

Work out your due date

Enter the first day of your last period and your cycle length — your estimated due date, this week's count and the anomaly scan window all appear right here.

It is only an estimate — most babies aren't born on the exact date. A first-trimester scan dates a pregnancy more accurately; in the end, your doctor's date is the one that counts.

Frequently asked questions