Day 88 of 280, first trimester
You are 12 weeks and 4 days
Complex brain development is gradually letting your baby become more responsive and mobile.
192 days until your due date
Your baby's brain is developing rapidly, and the right and left hemispheres start to connect. Each hemisphere controls the opposite side of the body, so the right side of the brain controls the muscles on the left, and vice versa.
Motor nerves (which control movement) mature first, so your baby can make more and more complex limb movements. Sensory nerves mature later, first in the hands and mouth. The brain matures quickly over the next three weeks and will be complete in about 10 weeks, when the rest of the limbs and trunk reach adult levels of sensitivity. For now, all the nerves are very immature, and your baby can't sense position, pain, temperature, or touch.
Ask a Doctor
I've been diagnosed with diabetes. How will it affect my pregnancy?
Whether you develop diabetes in pregnancy (gestational diabetes) or already have it, you'll need special care from a diabetes team and an obstetrician, because diabetes poses risks in pregnancy, especially if blood glucose isn't well controlled.
It can all be managed with close prenatal care. Your blood glucose needs to be well controlled because your insulin needs rise in pregnancy, and you'll need to adapt your diet and may need insulin injections.
Diabetic women have a higher risk of high blood pressure, blood clots, and preeclampsia, and existing diabetic kidney disease or retinopathy (an eye condition) may get worse. For the baby, there's a higher risk of birth defects, and growth may be too fast or too slow.
Explainer
Bigger movements
As your baby's brain develops, he can make larger movements with his arms and legs, although they aren't well coordinated yet.
Focus on
Nutrition: Yummy yogurt
For a calcium-packed snack, stock up on yogurt. Yogurts with "friendly" bacteria are fine in pregnancy and may help digestion. Just check the milk has been pasteurized to reduce the risk of listeria.
Appointments and key dates around now
- Booking appointmentUsually between 8 and 12 weeks
- Dating scanBetween 11 and 14 weeks
Read the full 12 weeks pregnant guide
This is general information based on NHS guidance, not medical advice, and every pregnancy is different. Talk to your midwife or GP about anything that worries you. If your baby's movements slow down or change, or you have bleeding, severe pain or leaking fluid, call your maternity unit straight away. In an emergency, call 999.