First Trimester
Is so called "Accepting the Pregnancy" . This is the first 12 weeks since the first day of the last menstrual period of a woman. This stage can be overwhelming and exciting since a woman is in the process of understanding the changes in her body, thus it is marked to be invisible yet amazing because of the transformation that is happening.
Pregnancy might leave you feeling delighted, anxious, exhilarated and exhausted — sometimes all at once. Even if you're thrilled about being pregnant, a new baby adds emotional stress to your life.
It's natural to worry about your baby's health, your adjustment to motherhood and the financial demands of raising a child. You might wonder how the baby will affect your relationship with your partner or what type of parent you'll be. If you're working, you might worry about your productivity on the job and how to balance the competing demands of family and career.
You might also experience misgivings and bouts of weepiness or mood swings. To cope with these emotions, remind yourself that what you're feeling is normal. Take good care of yourself, and look to your partner and other loved ones for understanding and encouragement. If the mood changes become severe or intense, consult your health care provider for additional support.
Pregnancy might leave you feeling delighted, anxious, exhilarated and exhausted — sometimes all at once. Even if you're thrilled about being pregnant, a new baby adds emotional stress to your life.
It's natural to worry about your baby's health, your adjustment to motherhood and the financial demands of raising a child. You might wonder how the baby will affect your relationship with your partner or what type of parent you'll be. If you're working, you might worry about your productivity on the job and how to balance the competing demands of family and career.
You might also experience misgivings and bouts of weepiness or mood swings. To cope with these emotions, remind yourself that what you're feeling is normal. Take good care of yourself, and look to your partner and other loved ones for understanding and encouragement. If the mood changes become severe or intense, consult your health care provider for additional support.
First Month
Week 1 and 2: By this time your developing baby is just a little ball of cells that's officially referred to as blastocyst. It is made up of inner cell mass that will turn into an embryo itself, the fluid cavity which will become the amniotic sac and an outer cell mass that will form into a placenta.
Week 3: Right now your little blastocyst is receiving oxygen and nutrients and at the same time discarding waste products through a primitive circulation system made up of tiny microscopic tunnels that connects your developing baby to the blood vessels in the uterine wall.
Week 4: At the end of the fourth week of gestation, the human embryo is rapidly growing formation of cells but does not resemble a human being yet.
Length: 0.75 to 1 cm.
Weight: 400 mg
The spinal cord is formed and fused at the midpoint . Lateral wings that will form the body are folded forward to fuse at the midline. Head fused forward becoming prominent, representing about one third of the entire structure. The back is bent so the head almost touches the tip of the tail. The rudimentary heart appears as a prominent bulge on the anterior surface. Arms and legs are budlike structures and rudimentary eyes,ears and nose are discernible.
Week 3: Right now your little blastocyst is receiving oxygen and nutrients and at the same time discarding waste products through a primitive circulation system made up of tiny microscopic tunnels that connects your developing baby to the blood vessels in the uterine wall.
Week 4: At the end of the fourth week of gestation, the human embryo is rapidly growing formation of cells but does not resemble a human being yet.
Length: 0.75 to 1 cm.
Weight: 400 mg
The spinal cord is formed and fused at the midpoint . Lateral wings that will form the body are folded forward to fuse at the midline. Head fused forward becoming prominent, representing about one third of the entire structure. The back is bent so the head almost touches the tip of the tail. The rudimentary heart appears as a prominent bulge on the anterior surface. Arms and legs are budlike structures and rudimentary eyes,ears and nose are discernible.
Second Month
Week 5: You may not look pregnant yet and you may not be having any symptoms but your baby is grwoing rapidly. This week the heart - no bigger than a poppy seed - begins to beat though at this point the embryo still looks more like a tadpole than a human. Major organs including the heart and kidneys are starting to develop. Your baby's heart is starting to beat although it won't be detectable with doppler. With the beating of the heart, blood will begin to circulate throughout the body. Your baby's first organ system will be up and running!
Week 6: Now that you have reached the 6th week of pregnancy, this is a very busy time for your developing embryo. The brain of your 6 week fetus develops into 3 different parts. First is forebrain, which is for memory and reasoning, second is midbrain, which is for translating messages from brain to other organs and limbs, and the third is hindbrain, which is for regulating baby’s breathing and for muscle movements. When you are 6 weeks pregnant, 40 blocks of tissue will appear along the middle line of the embryo. They will form the conjunctive tissue, the ribs and the back muscles, and also the muscles from the baby’s sides. Due to the development of first muscle tissues, the baby will make the first movements when you are in 6th week of pregnancy. These movements will be too small to be sensed by the mother but it is the start of baby’s “aware activity” inside the uterus.
Week 7: This week your baby has an amazing growth spurt. At the beginning of this week, your baby is approximately 4 to 5 mm and by the end of the week it has more than doubled to 11 to 13 mm! Your baby weighs approximately 0.03 ounces. Most women are ready for the world to know they are pregnant. Whenever you are ready to spread the news with your friends and family, consider the many unique and creative ways of doing so to make this a special time in your life! Even though you have not changed very much yet, it will come soon! You might have gained a small amount of weight by now, but it should only be a couple of pounds at this time. It is not unusual to lose a few pounds or remain the same though. Internally, cervical mucus is thickening and will form a plug in the cervical canal. The plug seals your cervix throughout the pregnancy and it will be expelled prior to delivery when your cervix begins to dilate.
Within your developing baby, leg and arm buds are longer now and they have divided into segments where the hands and feet will be. The hands and feet also have an area where the fingers and toes will begin to form. At this point of your pregnancy, the heart is bulging from the body and it has divided into right and left chambers. The hemispheres of the brain are continuing to grow and the air passages into the lungs are visible. The eyes are beginning to get pigment at this time as well. The nose is developing and the beginning of the face can be seen. Likewise, the abdomen is developing quickly and the appendix and pancreas are already present. As the digestive tract is beginning to form, the hindgut is present. The shape of the tail can still be seen, but it will fade in 3 or 4 weeks.
Week 8: Through the placental wall, the embryo is able to absorb oxygen, proteins, sugar, and fat for the crucial task of building cells. Talk about growing pains: Now that your uterus has expanded from a prepregnancy size of a fist to its present grapefruitlike proportions, you may feel occasional cramping in your lower abdomen and sides. These cramps are normal and shouldn't pose any risk to the baby. If you could see your baby now, you'd be able to make out her eyelids, the tip of her nose, and her upper lip. She's approximately three-quarters of an inch long from top to bottom, and her brain, spinal cord, heart, kidneys, liver, and stomach have begun to take shape. The aortic and pulmonary valves are distinctly present in the heart, which has now divided into right and left chambers and gallops at twice your rate (about 150 times a minute). She has distinct, slightly webbed fingers and toes and see-through skin.
Week 6: Now that you have reached the 6th week of pregnancy, this is a very busy time for your developing embryo. The brain of your 6 week fetus develops into 3 different parts. First is forebrain, which is for memory and reasoning, second is midbrain, which is for translating messages from brain to other organs and limbs, and the third is hindbrain, which is for regulating baby’s breathing and for muscle movements. When you are 6 weeks pregnant, 40 blocks of tissue will appear along the middle line of the embryo. They will form the conjunctive tissue, the ribs and the back muscles, and also the muscles from the baby’s sides. Due to the development of first muscle tissues, the baby will make the first movements when you are in 6th week of pregnancy. These movements will be too small to be sensed by the mother but it is the start of baby’s “aware activity” inside the uterus.
Week 7: This week your baby has an amazing growth spurt. At the beginning of this week, your baby is approximately 4 to 5 mm and by the end of the week it has more than doubled to 11 to 13 mm! Your baby weighs approximately 0.03 ounces. Most women are ready for the world to know they are pregnant. Whenever you are ready to spread the news with your friends and family, consider the many unique and creative ways of doing so to make this a special time in your life! Even though you have not changed very much yet, it will come soon! You might have gained a small amount of weight by now, but it should only be a couple of pounds at this time. It is not unusual to lose a few pounds or remain the same though. Internally, cervical mucus is thickening and will form a plug in the cervical canal. The plug seals your cervix throughout the pregnancy and it will be expelled prior to delivery when your cervix begins to dilate.
Within your developing baby, leg and arm buds are longer now and they have divided into segments where the hands and feet will be. The hands and feet also have an area where the fingers and toes will begin to form. At this point of your pregnancy, the heart is bulging from the body and it has divided into right and left chambers. The hemispheres of the brain are continuing to grow and the air passages into the lungs are visible. The eyes are beginning to get pigment at this time as well. The nose is developing and the beginning of the face can be seen. Likewise, the abdomen is developing quickly and the appendix and pancreas are already present. As the digestive tract is beginning to form, the hindgut is present. The shape of the tail can still be seen, but it will fade in 3 or 4 weeks.
Week 8: Through the placental wall, the embryo is able to absorb oxygen, proteins, sugar, and fat for the crucial task of building cells. Talk about growing pains: Now that your uterus has expanded from a prepregnancy size of a fist to its present grapefruitlike proportions, you may feel occasional cramping in your lower abdomen and sides. These cramps are normal and shouldn't pose any risk to the baby. If you could see your baby now, you'd be able to make out her eyelids, the tip of her nose, and her upper lip. She's approximately three-quarters of an inch long from top to bottom, and her brain, spinal cord, heart, kidneys, liver, and stomach have begun to take shape. The aortic and pulmonary valves are distinctly present in the heart, which has now divided into right and left chambers and gallops at twice your rate (about 150 times a minute). She has distinct, slightly webbed fingers and toes and see-through skin.
_First Prenatal Visit Many pregnant women will have their first prenatal appointment
around this time. Generally, the first appointment is the longest and
your doctor will gather a health history of you, the father and your
families. You should ask questions and get to know your healthcare
provider well. Your doctor will probably ask about any prior medical
problems, your pregnancy and birth history and other gynecological
concerns. You should tell your caregiver about any prior miscarriages,
stillbirths or abortions that you have had. You should also tell your
doctor about any medications that you take or allergies that you have.
Your doctor will give you a pelvic exam and a Pap smear.
During a pelvic exam, your doctor will be able to determine if your
uterus is the appropriate size. A breast exam will also be performed.
Lab tests may also be done at this prenatal visit. Some doctors will
also perform early ultrasounds during the first prenatal appointment to
date the pregnancy, confirm the pregnancy or check for abnormalities.
Third Month
Week 9: Your baby is nearly an inch long, about the size of a grape and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She or he is starting to look more and more human. All the essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form as do his or her tiny teeth. Your baby has tiny earlobes, and the mouth, nose and nostrils are more distinct. Inside, there is a lot going on too. Amazingly, fully 99% of all the muscles can be identified, and every internal organ is present though not yet fully developed. Threadlike nerves are feathering themselves throughout the body. Sex organs are also developing.
Week 10:
Week 10: