Pregnancy Development in 9 th week (courtesy : www.pregnancyhut.com)

In this week, the baby has left its embryonic stage, and now will be considered a fetus. It has all the features of a human, yet small in size. Now, the embryonic tail has disappeared, and the baby is now rapidly gaining weight. The eyelids are fully formed, have fused shut, and will open during week 28. The gender of the baby can be found out at this stage. The baby’s joints are well developed and flexible, so that it can move freely in the amniotic sac. The heart is then developed into four chambers and the valves are developing.

The fetus is able to make a fist and sucks the thumb at this stage. The salivary glands and vocal chord are developing. The size of the head is quite big, as compared to the rest of the body and curves into the chest. Its is of the size of a grape, and measures almost 11/2 inches from the head to the rump and weighing a fraction of an ounce.

Now the bulge of the uterus in the lower abdomen is noticeable, if not visually, then in many other ways. The tendency of frequently urinating is increased, and many mothers might experience some round ligament pain.

During this week, the woman begins to gain weight as her appetite improves. There is a reduction in the sexual desire, as you feel constantly tired and nauseated. The morning sickness symptoms is on its peak during this month and will now gradually decrease. Pregnancy can have a negative effect on the dental health. Regular brushing and flossing teeth helps in reducing dental problems accompanied by an increase in calcium intake.

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Pregnancy Development in 8 th week (courtesy : www.health.howstuffworks.com)

During this week, it is said that the baby has been graded from embryo to fetus. Till now, the body of the baby was a frame of cartilage.But from now onwards, the cartilage is being replaced by bone cells. Because of the bones, the arms and legs have become hard and joints rae being formed. The vertebrae and ribs are growing while the spinal cord is evident. The embryonic tail is now disappearing, and the baby’s body is beginning to straighten out.

Till the end of this week, the fetus is almost 0.6 inches long. The brain, digestive system, intestines, anus is in the growing stage. The fingers and toes have just begun to form, and now the arms can bend at the elbows and wrists. The facial features are in the stage of development, such as the tip of the nose, flap of skin over the eyes convert into eyelids, and the upper lip are being formed. The baby’s heart has begun to separate into four chambers. Blood continues to flow through a rudimentary circulatory system.

Even though, not many changes are differentiated from outside, yet many changes have occurred in the body. Now the uterus has expanded to about the size of a grapefruit, and may cause some cramping or pain. In this time, the breasts become sore and heavy. The colour of your nipples and the area around it darkens. The breasts have become more tender and sensitive than usual.

Another most common change found is the increased sensation of heartburn, indigestion, or a feeling of being bloated. It is always suggested, to wear loose-fitting clothes and eat small, frequent meals and never overfill the stomach.

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Pregnancy Development in 7 th week (courtesy : www.flickr.com)

In this week, the external changes occurring in the mother’s body are not very prominent. You might experience a feeling of sickness or nausea in the morning. This happens, because a new life is developing within your body. Few other common symptoms, you may feel during the seventh week of pregnancy are tiredness, mood swings, headaches, frequent urination, indigestion and constipation. It is suggested to drink a lot of water to keep yourself hydrated.

During the seventh month of pregnancy, the weight of the baby is very less. It measures 0.16 inches at the start of the 7th week, and it doubles and measures almost 0.52inches, till the end. During this week, all important organs such as hair, eyelids, nostrils, tongue, intestines, pancreas, and nipple follicles are grown. The baby’s heart is now made up of four chambers and pumping blood at about 150 beats per minute, which an also be detected on ultrasound. The baby has webbed fingers and toes. The teeth and palate are yet in the developing stage. The skin is quite thin and veins are visible under the skin. Now the baby responses to reflex and shows movement. It has become active and is swimming around within the amniotic sac.

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Pregnancy Development in 6 th week (courtesy : www.pregnancyhut.com)

During the sixth week of pregnancy, the brain is in developing stage, and the nose, mouth and ears are taking a shape. Limb buds can be seen at this time, which indicates the forming arms and legs. The heart is now beating at a speed of about 100 to 160 times a minute. The intestines and the bud of tissue forming the lungs is in the state of development. The pituitary gland, brain, muscles, and bones are still forming. At present, the size of the baby is quarter of an inch long, that is about the size of a lentil bean.

The would-be mother may begin to feel an increase of pregnancy symptoms such as food cravings and aversions - also morning sickness. The uterus and the breast are growing slowly. There are chances that you might have gained weight by now or even lost weight, because of nausea and not eating well. There are certain smells that can make you feel uncomfortable, so try to avoid such foods or smells. You must drink plenty of fluids and get sufficient amount of rest to combat nausea. You must always try to make your stomach neither completely empty or completely full, either can make nausea worse.

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Pregnancy Development in 3rd Week (courtesy : www.pregnancyhut.com)

Third week pregnancy is considered to be the stage of rapid development in your body, where the baby is just like a tiny ball having hundreds of cells growing. The blastocyst is converted to the placenta, that produces HCG, a pregnancy hormone. At this stage, the amniotic fluid is collected around the cells protecting and covering the baby through the pregnancy. A lot many developments take place during this time, like the baby’s brain, heart, spinal cord and gastrointestinal tract. The size of the head is small as .006 inches and can be seen with the naked eye. At this stage the heart starts beating and the size of the baby is .2 to .5 mm. There are a total of 46 chromosomes which combine to form the embryo. During this time, the conception has already occurred and the gender, color, features and characteristics of the baby are already determined.

As this is the initial stage of pregnancy, most of the women would not find any specific physical changes. But it is a matter of fact that some women often lose weight, because of the reduction of the diet, due to the hormonal changes in the body. Some also can sense mild cramps and increase in vaginal discharge. Few may experience small amount of bleeding or discomfort at this time, but if it persists for a long time, or is excessive then you must got to your gynec.

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Pregnancy Development in 2nd Week (courtesy : www.pregnancyhut.com)

Even though this is the second week of pregnancy, but in actual, you are not two weeks pregnant. In this period, the body releases an egg. From here the journey of the egg starts. The egg moves from the fallopian tube, to meet your partner’s sperm and then fertilization takes place. Now , this fertilized egg, called as an embryo, continues its traveling to the uterus within three to four days after fertilization.

The embryo is made up of about 150 cells. It is divided into three layers, where each develops in an independent manner. The innermost layer is called the endoderm, which is transformed into the respiratory and digestive system as well as certain glands including the liver, pancreas, thyroid and thymus. The middle one known as the mesoderm, will become bones and cartilage, the circulatory system (heart and blood vessels), the inner skin layer (dermis), muscles, excretory system, loins and genitalia and also the outer covering of the internal organs., while the outer layer also referred as ectoderm provides the brain and nervous system along with the epidermis (skin, hair, nails).

A healthy balanced diet is essential to be considered before conception. It can help to boost your fertility. During pregnancy, the calories intake must be about 2500 extra calories a day, stressing on a variety of nutritious foods. You must reduce the amount of sweets and fats, and look out for salad dressings and cooking oils. For those who drink or smoke or use recreational drugs, it is the best time to quit it now.

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Pregnancy Calender (courtesy : www.toyrus.ca)

Every pregnant woman will always love to record this special time of her life. How can she do this? This can be done with the help of a pregnancy calender. What is a pregnancy calender? A pregnancy calender is nothing, but a documentation of all the changes happening in a would-be mother and her baby through out the 40 weeks of pregnancy.

Continuous changes happening with the mother can be tracked, but one has the curiosity to know, what is exactly going with the baby inside the mother’s womb. That is why having a pregnancy calendar is useful.

There are various online tools to create a pregnancy calendar. The layout and functions may vary slightly, some provide weekly format and others monthly calendars. However, their working is almost the same. The most essential step in creating a pregnancy calendar is to get the relevant data. All details related to the timing of your pregnancy must be provided. This will make a calendar unique to your pregnancy. These calendars generate information all about the baby’s development during each stage weekly.

There are some calenders that can let you add comments or even photos, such as the baby’s first ultrasound pictures. These additions can be used to look back on the calendar and remember the time before your baby joined the family.

Following is a general track record of weekly pregnancy development that could be found on a pregnancy calendar.
Week 1-4: Conception occurs and egg is fertilized.
Week 5-8: Working of heart and development of baby’s arms and legs is started.
Week 9-12: Movement of baby around the womb.
Week 13-16: Heartbeat can be heard, baby’s bones begin to harden and suck their thumb.
Week 17-20: Growth of baby’s organs and identification of sex. Body is covered with fine hair.
Week 21-24: Fat is being deposited on the body, to manage with change in temperature during and after birth.
Week 24-28: Baby is capable to hear sounds and sense darkness and lightness.
Week 29-32: Major organs of baby are developed, except the lungs.
Week 33-36: Eyes can be opened and closed, and baby’s fingernails start to grow long.
Week 37-40: Lungs get ready for birth, and be prepared for labor at anytime.

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Fertilization (courtesy : www.wikibooks.org)

The first week of the pregnancy is considered to be the first day of your last period. This is not the actual pregnancy period, but is the appropriate time when the counting begins This date is used to determine the expected delivery date. A pregnancy period is composed of 40 weeks (or 280 days). Calculate the expected delivery date, by adding three months and 7 days to your first day of the last period. So, for example, if you last period started on June 12th, then your due date would be March 19th. During conception, the fetus is considered to be 2 years old.

During pregnancy, you must take care of your health. The eating habits of the mother really affects your baby’s health directly and indirectly. While trying to get pregnant, you must give proper time to prepare your body for motherhood. Before thinking of becoming pregnant, you should:

Avoid alcohol, drugs and tobacco products, as these lead to birth defects, fetal alcohol syndrome, respiratory problems, low birth weight and other health problems.
Ask the doctor, before taking any prescription and nonprescription drugs, because they might negatively affect the fetus.
Consume such a diet, that contains sufficient amount of vitamins, especially folic acid. Pregnant women should take 400 micrograms of folic acid a day, to reduce the risk of neural tube defects, such as spina bifida.

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