Week 16
About the size ofa mango
Tiny fingers with tiny nails Your baby is now 15 cm and 120 grams.
The fingers and toes now have ten tiny nails. And very carefully, eyebrows and eyelashes are appearing on the little face. The vocal cords are ready too, but without air the baby cannot make any sound with them yet. From this week your baby starts practising breathing movements. The baby gets the oxygen it needs from your blood, so real breathing is not necessary yet. The practising is done by drawing amniotic fluid into the lungs and then pushing it out again.
Vernix is a white, slightly greasy substance that smells sweet. This layer of vernix (skin grease) protects the thin, delicate baby skin in the amniotic fluid. You can often still see some of it after the birth. Because vernix leaves a thin protective layer on the skin, your baby is not washed straight after the birth, but only after 24 hours.