Your week 15 guide

Eyelashes, eyebrows and the first scalp hair are appearing. These grow from follicles that formed weeks earlier and are now becoming active, and this early hair is usually fine and unpigmented. What colour it eventually is may not be settled until after birth.

The skin is still thin enough that the blood vessels beneath it show through. There is almost no fat under the skin yet, so the fetus appears reddish and translucent rather than the colour of a newborn. Fat laid down over the coming months is what changes both the appearance and the ability to hold a stable temperature.

Limbs move and your baby practises sucking, swallowing and breathing motions. Swallowed amniotic fluid passes through the developing digestive system and is filtered by the kidneys, and the breathing motions draw fluid rather than air into the lungs. These movements exercise the muscles and stimulate lung growth long before either is needed.

Headaches, dizziness, heartburn, nosebleeds or swollen gums may appear. Increased blood volume and hormonal effects swell the delicate membranes in the nose and mouth, which is why nosebleeds and bleeding gums become common now. A severe or persistent headache, particularly with visual changes, is different and should be reported promptly.

Stretching ligaments can cause discomfort along the lower sides of your abdomen. It is often sharpest when you change position suddenly and eases when you rest or support the area with your hand. Moving more deliberately, particularly when getting out of bed or standing from a chair, reduces it more effectively than avoiding movement.

Many women feel considerably better than they did a month ago. Sickness has usually settled, energy is returning and the bump is not yet large enough to be in the way. This period tends to be the easiest of the three trimesters, though it is not universal and feeling rough at fifteen weeks does not mean anything is wrong.

Confirm when your anatomy scan is booked and what other screening is being offered. This detailed scan usually falls between eighteen and twenty-two weeks and looks carefully at your baby's organs and growth. Knowing the date lets you arrange for someone to come with you if you would like company.

Choose supportive, comfortable shoes now rather than later. Relaxin loosens ligaments throughout the body, including in the feet, and many women find their shoe size changes permanently during pregnancy. Good support now helps prevent the back and hip pain that often follows.

Keep dental care and regular drinking on your routine list. Both are easy to let slide and both cause avoidable problems, with dehydration contributing to headaches, constipation and Braxton Hicks tightenings later. Neither takes much effort once it is a habit rather than a decision. Alhamdulillah for simple routines that leave a little less to remember.

Different sources of iron: Iron from animal foods is generally absorbed more easily than iron from plant foods, though both contribute to a balanced pregnancy diet.

Animal sources include well-cooked meat, poultry and suitable seafood. Plant sources include beans, lentils, chickpeas, leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds and fortified foods. Vegetarians and vegans may benefit from personalised advice about meeting iron needs, since absorption from plant sources is lower and worth planning for.