 |
|
Home >>
Ask a question >>
Women's-Issues |
|
Stages of Fetal Development
How is Baby Formed?
(13 Apr 2010)
|
|
|
For the sake of convenience, pregnancy is divided into three stages that is the first trimester, the second trimester and the third trimester. Many people are usually unaware of the changes that take place with the baby in the expectant mother’s stomach during these three stages. Most people are under the impression that the fetal development begins right in the second week of pregnancy.
This, however, is not the case. In the second week of the pregnancy, the egg is released and travels down the fallopian tubes to merge with the sperm and get fertilized. Once this has happened, the fertilized egg will then continue traveling down the fallopian tubes and reach the uterus only about three or four days after it has been fertilized. At around the fourth week of the pregnancy, the fertilized egg will implant itself on the uterine lining and divide itself into two sections. Of these two, one part will merge into the placenta while the other section will develop into the baby. The development will continue into the sixth week of the pregnancy where the heart will begin to beat and the circulation of blood throughout the tiny body will commence. Other formations during this phase include the umbilical cord, head, eyes and intestines. In the tenth week, the fetus begins to develop the external genetalia and facial features while the limbs will become more structured. The tenth week is considered to be the end of the first trimester.
In the second trimester, the baby will continue to develop reproductive organs as well as grow hair, eyelids, fingernails and toenails. The expecting mother will also be able to feel the baby move within her uterus at this time. It is also important to point out that the second trimester also sees a drastic increase in the likelihood of a miscarriage. By the eighteenth week of the pregnancy, the bones in the baby’s inner ear will also have fully developed – allowing him or her to hear any loud external noises. The twenty second week of the pregnancy will see the baby learn some basic movements – so don’t be surprised if you catch it sucking its thumb during an ultrasound.
The third trimester begins around the twenty second week and sees the baby being able to open its eyes and blink. A few weeks later and the baby will be able to breathe – meaning that there is a very strong likelihood of the baby suffering from a bout of hiccups because of inadvertently swallowing too much amniotic fluid. After the fortieth week, the baby is completely developed and ready for delivery.
|
|
answered by G M on 13 Apr 2010, 12:14:51
|
|
|
|
Read more questions in Women's-Issues
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
