Your Pregnancy Week by Week: 15 Weeks

The following information -- and much more -- can also be found in the free weekly email Lamaze Pregnancy Week by Week. Sign up now to receive helpful information for your stage of pregnancy. Subscribers will be given the opportunity to complete a Lamaze Parent Satisfaction Survey after their pregnancy and receive a Lamaze Toys coupon. We want to hear about your birth experience and the impact that childbirth education may have had so that we can continue to make sure parents have the information they need for the safest, healthiest birth possible.

You're in week 15 of your pregnancy!

We've all heard about the importance of eating well in pregnancy. Women need more protein, more iron, more calcium, more calories, more, more, more...it's easy to feel overwhelmed! Simplify your approach by focusing on quality, not quantity. Aim to incorporate a few nutrient-dense 'power foods' into your diet each day. Take a look below at some suggested tasty and highly nutritious foods that you can incorporate into your diet.

What's New with Baby

Your baby is continuing to grow with each passing week. By now, your baby is around 70 grams in weight and about 11cm long, which is roughly the same length as an apple. The cartilage in his skeleton is beginning to develop into bone. Your baby's scalp hair pattern is also developing this week. How much hair will he have when he is born? That will be revealed in about 25 more weeks!

What's New with You

The hormones that regulate pregnancy are responsible for all sorts of changes to your body, including your skin. Have you noticed a dark line developing from your belly button and extending south towards your pubic area? This dark line is called the linea nigra and occurs because the skin cells in that area of the body are producing extra pigment. It usually shows up around the same time that you notice a darkening of the areola region of your breasts. It cannot be prevented, but not all women will develop this noticeable line. Fair-skinned women are less likely to notice the linea nigra. If you do notice this line on your belly, know that it will fade away in the first few months after your baby is born.

Words of Wisdom from Another Mom

"Pregnancy was a time in my life when I really looked at my diet and decided what improvements I could make. I knew it was good for my body, but I didn't realize how easy it was to make simple switches to my diet. My favorite changes were the simplest, like switching from salad dressing to mashed avocado in my tuna sandwiches. I still see the benefits of making healthy food choices: my children are adventurous eaters, my waistline has never been so slim, and we save money by setting up weekly meal plans and sticking to our ingredient list when we go grocery shopping."

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