Guide to Being 15 Weeks Pregnant

For you, week 15 probably feels a lot like week 14: More normal than week 10, less normal than week 0, and filled with more intense heartburn than you knew was physically possible.

That, plus bloating, general indigestion and flatulence (the results of hormone-triggered muscle relaxation that affects your gastrointestinal tract and gets markedly worse following large meals). And with an appetite that grows with each passing minute (a good thing, especially if you lost some weight due to trimester-one vomiting), these issues might be starting to really annoy you. Get used to it.

It's not all digestive, of course. Other week 15 symptoms might include:

Your veins, and your rib cage, should return to normal after delivery. But for now, you're stuck with the changes, because the life you're growing needs them for all the activity going on in your uterus this week …

Length: About 4 inches. Weight: About 2.5 ounces. Lungs: Starting to develop.

Yes, this is a big week, with a tiny little body setting the stage for perhaps the greatest shock it will experience at birth: the first breath. He or she has started moving amniotic fluid through a primitive respiratory passageway, which triggers the development of the air sacs he or she will use when the environment switches from fluid to air.

Other big developments this week include:

A tiny heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood every day -- a pittance compared with the 300 gallons it'll be pumping at delivery, but still impressive for a 2.5-ounce being.

These stunning feats of new life are happening right there inside your growing abdomen -- which brings us to a second-trimester fact your partner might want to take special note of …

Your partner probably wants to know what's going on inside that uterus as much as you do. It is, after all, an experience that changes both of your lives forever. But partners might want to be especially aware of something a pregnant woman might not even realize on a conscious level: As her belly grows, so might her stress level, due to all those physical and emotional changes.

And remember, stress is not good for either near-mom or fetus, and lots of people push it into the background. There's enough for a baby-grower to worry about without worrying about worrying. So a partner's awareness of increased prenatal stress, on the parts of both soon-to-be parents, can be especially important.

Partners, take note: Does mom-to-be seem especially tired, or is she getting headaches, or having trouble falling asleep? These symptoms can be the result of stress. Does she spend a large part of the day planning, and is she even beginning the long nesting process, preparing your home for a new member? This can all take an emotional toll, and you can help, not only her but also yourself, since no doubt your stress is increasing as well. A few options to consider include:

The added benefit to all of these stress-relief activities is the bonding they encourage. It's more important than ever for you two to be in this, and especially talking about this, as a couple.

And because you are in this together, you'll probably want to think together about …

You're well into the second trimester, and it's time to bite the bullet on a few decisions that may be hanging out there. For instance:

Also on the list of things to contemplate right now include weight gain (How will you make that happen? Food journal? Check list? Winging it?) and dental care. Your teeth and gums are, thanks to pregnancy hormones, more susceptible to bacteria, so now is not the time to skip a cleaning.

And finally, a few things that needn't take up any of your precious mental energy …

With all you have to do in the next five months, you can rest assured you needn't spend much time worrying if:

You haven't starting exercising yet. Don't sweat it. Just find a prenatal yoga, water aerobics or personal exercise routine today. Talk to your doctor and/or do some research, and get moving. You'll benefit no matter when you start.

The scale is stressing you out. It's a fact of life that some women don't get along with scales. Don't bother weighing yourself at home, then, unless your doctor has advised it. You'll get weighed at your prenatal checkups.

You're not feeling any movement yet. Some women don't feel movement until the fifth or sixth month. It doesn't mean there's no motion in there, it simply means it's not powerful enough for you to feel it yet through all that padding, or else you're feeling it and mistaking it for indigestion. For first-timers, it can be hard to differentiate the two initially.

Oh, and if you're showing and those questions from perfect strangers are stressing you out, feel free to smile politely, give a one-word response and walk away. You're not obligated to have an in-depth conversation about heartburn with that mother of six in aisle 3. Pregnant ladies tend to get some social-graces leeway.

For more information on pregnancy, parenthood and related topics, look over the links on the next page.