During pregnancy week 12, the infant keeps continue growing and developing tremendously. The mother would be amazed at the pregnancy week-by-week changes that begin developing within the infant in the forthcoming months. The infant's genitals will start establishing signs of being either males’ or females’ very soon.

It is during pregnancy week 12, the infant's brain is beginning to manufacture hormones, and nerve cells are breeding at higher pace. The infant might be sucking as early as this week, and the infant's kidneys might even be producing urine. By pregnancy week 12 if the mother stimulates certain points of her uterus then her infant might move in response, although the mother will not be able to actually feel the infant flickering for another few weeks!

The mother is surely growing and expanding! By the end of pregnancy week 12 mother’s womb will pop out of her body frame, the pelvis. It appears just above the pubic bones. It will keep continue growing inside the abdomen.

While it might take about nine months for the womb to grow large enough to hold the infant, it will get back to its pre-pregnancy position, shape and size just weeks after delivering the baby. The womb will also weigh more and more as the gestational period progress normally. By the end of the pregnancy, the womb will weigh up to 2 lbs, as compared to 2.5 oz prior to the pregnancy. The mother here may notice some skin changes during the pregnancy week 12.

If the mother has a lot of freckles during pregnancy, they might begin to darken after pregnancy week 12. Some of the pregnant women it forms a dark vertical line which runs from the length of the abdomen in pregnancy. This is medically known as the linea nigra. It generally appears at one time during the 2nd trimester. It gradually fades within a few weeks of delivering the child. The skin that surrounds the nipples and areolas will likely darken as well. In other cases, the woman has patches of brown skin that appear on the face and neck and they are commonly called as the mask of pregnancy, and generally disappear totally or become lighter after the delivery.

One should always go for sunscreen during pregnancy for protecting the skin that might prove more sensitive across the pregnancy period. There are plenty of chemical free versions of sunscreens available on the market nowadays those are perfectly suitable during pregnancy period. Some women sacredly use wrinkle cream and some skin firming lotion prior to their pregnancies. If the mother typically uses such product with high contains of Vitamin A, she must stop during pregnancy. Vitamin A, in excess, can be harmful to mother and her developing fetus. Vitamin A can be found in prenatal vitamin supplements up to 5,000 IU as it is a beneficial dose to help promoting bone growth and supporting and strengthening the teeth. Larger dosage of vitamin A however can bring liver damage that might result in icterus.

The mother may discover that she has been experiencing more heartburn as compared to normal at 12 weeks of pregnancy. Heartburn can be defined as burning sensation in the throat, thorax and upper abdomen. This is quite a common complaint during pregnancy week 12. It is induced an increase in the hormone called progesterone in gestational period. Progesterone will relax the valve between the stomach and esophagu resulting in permitting stomach acid to enter the esophagus and causing extensive irritation that gives the sensation of burning feelings. Here are some effective suggestions for relieving and preventing heartburn as follows:

• You should eat less at every meal and have four to five small meals a day instead of two or three large meals.
• Chewing the food adequately and eating it slowly makes the difference.
• One should drink liquids before and after having meals. Plain water is better since it dissolves the acids.
• Restrict your food and do not eat too spicy, oily, sour foods.