Pregnancy/Fetal Growth

                                               Pregnancy
   If you would like to have a pregnancy calendar emailed to you each month and see how your body and that of your baby's is changing, go to www.babyfit.com/pregnancy-calendar.asp

                                           Fetal Growth

Scientific and technological advances have allowed us to directly observe life as it develops in the womb. From the moment of conception, life is formed with the genetic blueprint of every detail of development.

Here are just a few details:

Day 20	Foundations of the brain, spinal cord, and nervous system established.
Day 21	Heart begins to beat
Day 28	Backbone, muscles, arms, legs, eyes, ears forming
Day 35	Five fingers can be seen
Day 40	Brain waves can be detected and recorded
Week 7	Jaw, teeth buds form
Week 8	Now called "fetus" . Everything is now present that will be found in a fully developed adult.
Week 9	Fingerprints are already evident in the skin
Week 10	Fetus can squint, swallow, suck its thumb
Week 12	Fetus now sleeps, wakes, and exercises its muscles-turning its head, curling its toes
Week 16	The baby is now about 4½ inches long. The heart is pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day; the body is covered with a layer of downy hair called lanugo.
Week 20	A protective substance called vernix caseosa now coats the baby's skin. The average baby is 10 inches long from head to heel (at 20 weeks we measure from head to foot instead of head to bottom).
Week 24	The baby is nearly a foot long now and weighs more than a pound. The skin is red, translucent, and wrinkled. The lips, eyebrows, and eyelids are distinct.
Week 28	By now, the baby weighs about 2¼ pounds and is nearly 15 inches long. Body fat is beginning to form in preparation for life outside the womb.
Week 32	The baby may have hair or peach fuzz on the head now, is probably turned head-down in preparation for birth, and may weigh almost 4 pounds.
Week 36	Although babies vary widely in size at this point, at nine months, the average baby is more than 18 inches long and nearly 6 pounds.


8 week-old fetus	14 week-old fetus

Month 4	Month 5

                                       Month 6                                                                                                        Month 7-9


                                                      Testimonial:
                 I didn't realize how a pregnancy could mess you up emotionally. J.G.