Baby Development

Baby development should be of major concern throughout your pregnancy.

Planning for baby can be a hectic, trying, exhilarating, scary, wonderful experience. So much attention is focused on you, the mommy-to-be, and making sure you’re as healthy and happy as can be. But do you even wonder what’s going on inside, how your baby is growing from week to week between doctor visits? This guide will give you an idea of how your baby develops from conception to delivery.

Conception

Most everyone knows the mechanics of how a pregnancy occurs. Sperm fertilizes egg, which becomes a zygote and travels to the uterus. This process takes three to four days and is generally considered the time of conception.

The zygote may float in the uterus for up to 48 hours before implanting, but once that happens the placenta forms, which is the connection between mother and child.

For ease in calculating due dates, because the actual date of conception is so hard to pin down, obstetricians usually count weeks of pregnancy from the date of the woman’s last period, though it takes about a month for the embryo to begin secreting hormones that stop menustration.

Baby Development: The Early Weeks

At five weeks the fetus is about the size of a raisin, but it already has its own heartbeat. By about the sixth week (or the end of the first month since conception) the fetus will have grown to be about one-fifth of an inch long. Even at this early stage, your baby will be developing its heart, head, mouth, liver and intestines.

At seven weeks, the mouth and tongue are visible and the fetus starts moving on its own. By now it has its own blood type. By eight weeks the child’s brain waves can be detected.

After about 10 weeks, your baby will be about an inch long and have identifiable arms, legs, fingers, toes and facial features. Its teeth are beginning to grow. The heart is almost completely developed. The nervous system is also starting to develop at this stage. Baby’s internal organs are beginning to function. At week 12, your baby can start sucking its thumb.

Second trimester

About 14 weeks into your pregnancy, baby will be about three inches long and weight about an ounce. This is the time when the baby’s sex organs begin to form, as well as the muscles, eyelids, fingernails and toenails. It’s an exciting time, as you may start to feel the baby move around this time.

By 18 weeks, hair will be growing on the child’s body and head, and it will open and close its mouth, as well as blinking and grasping. It should be about five inches long.

But baby grows fast in the second trimester. By the end of this three-month period baby will be around 10 inches long and weigh about half a pound. This is the time when the child’s sweat glands form and its skin turns opaque. It is thought that by this time the child can hear voices outside the womb, and an ultrasound can determine the gender of the baby at this time.

Third trimester

By 26 weeks, about six and a half months into pregnancy, the fetus will have fully developed eyes and taste buds. Baby can cry, inhale and exhale. It practices breathing by inhaling amniotic fluid. If complications cause the baby to have to be delivered at this stage, there’s about a 50 percent chance the child will survive under intense medical care.

By week 30, a baby could live outside the womb and would be considered premature. Week 40 is when a baby is considered full term and fully ready to live outside of mommy.

Health for you and baby

The average birth weight of American babies is around seven pounds. Doctors say that women who are of normal weight before they get pregnant should gain 25 to 35 pounds during their pregnancy, though of course your midwife or doctor will recommend the amount of weight that is best for you to gain given your weight at the time of conception and how many babies you are carrying.

Good prenatal care is necessary for ensuring the health of mother and child. Your caregiver will schedule appointments as often as he or she thinks necessary, but it is normal to have a monthly appointment during the first two trimesters, every two weeks from weeks 28 to 36 and every week from week 36 until you deliver the baby. Your caregiver can monitor all sorts of issues that might come up for both you and your child, so don’t skimp on the doctor visits.

As you prepare for your child to come into your life, it’s wonderful to take time to think about the baby growing inside you and what he or she looks like and feels as your pregnancy goes on. You can even make it a sort of bonding ritual that will connect you to your child even more.