You are 15 weeks and 2 days

You probably can't feel it yet, but your baby is getting more and more active in your uterus.

173 days until your due date

Your baby may now be active for up to five minutes at a time. Over the next few weeks you may start to feel slight fluttering, especially if this isn't your first pregnancy. You'll only feel movements that make the baby touch the muscular wall of your uterus.

The placenta can act like a cushion, absorbing all but the strongest movements. So women with an anterior placenta (on the front wall of the uterus, nearest the skin) often feel movements much later than those with a posterior placenta (toward the back).

Your baby's brain keeps developing. The nerve cells that will form the outer gray matter start in the center of the brain and have to move outward, in waves between 8 and 16 weeks. This migration isn't complete until 25 weeks, and electrical activity can't be detected until 29 weeks. Even after that, the gray matter keeps maturing and organizing connections throughout pregnancy. For the first time, your baby's body is now longer than her head.

Explainer

3D scans

3D ultrasound uses computer technology to produce more detailed pictures than standard 2D scans. At 15 weeks, all the organs have formed, and so have the vocal cords.

Ask a Doctor

Can tanning beds and hot tubs harm my baby?

Tanning beds expose you to ultraviolet light, which can stop you absorbing folic acid, which your baby needs to develop. A rise in your temperature, which can happen on a tanning bed or in a hot tub or sauna, may also raise your baby's temperature.

A temperature above 102°F (39°C) has been linked to spinal malformations, and if it lasts long enough it may cause brain damage. The amniotic fluid can heat up too, and an extreme rise in your temperature is thought to affect blood flow to the baby. So avoid tanning beds and hot tubs while pregnant.

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.