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| Pregnancy | Parenting |
Pregnancy Trimester 1Month 1The egg and the sperm have met in your fallopian tube and will begin the 7-10 day journey to the uterus. Cell division begins immediately and continues throughout this journey. Once implanted, the egg divides into layers of cells and officially becomes an embryo. These cell layers will grow into specialized parts of your little one's body, such as the nervous system, skeleton, muscles, and organs.By the end of the week, the embryo is about the size of a poppy seed. When the egg implants some women have a tiny bit of bleeding called implantation bleeding. This happens when the egg burrows into the uterine lining, shedding a bit. This is nothing to worry about. Your body also releases an immunosuppressant protein called Early Pregnancy Factor (EPF) to prevent your body from seeing the baby as an invader. The placenta and the umbilical cord have already begun to channel essential nutrients from your body to the embryo. Early in this month, the embryo is about the size of an apple seed but by the end of the month will be the size of a marble. Even at this early stage, the intestines are working to carry waste away from the body. A few weeks from now, when there's more room in the embryo's belly, the intestines will move from the umbilical cord into the abdomen. The kidneys and liver are beginning to take shape. The neural tube, which will become the spinal column and the brain, has begun development. The developing nervous system is already communicating with the muscles. As the weeks progress, the brain will divide into three distinct structures: forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain. Each area of the brain is responsible for different things such as reasoning, relaying electrical signals, heart rate and muscle movement. During this month, the heart starts as a single tube with a few uncoordinated beats, and continues to develop into four primitive chambers and starts to beat like a tiny drum. The beats will become more regular with each passing week. The lungs, now in the form of a tube, start to form into pouch-like structures. Although the embryo still looks somewhat like a tiny tadpole, folds of tissue are developing at the top, and these will eventually become the baby's chin, cheeks, and jaw. The areas that will be the eyes and nose have started to project as bumps, and the inner-ear structure is pushing inward. . The "tail" of the tadpole like embryo starts to disappear. Arm and leg buds sprout. The sprouts resemble little "paddles" at first, then Hands and feet begin to form with tiny webbed fingers and toes. Month 3 As of week 9, the baby gets a new name, fetus, and this fetus is looking less like a pink blob. The tail has disappeared and the body shape is now emerging with the fetus measuring about 1 inch long as you begin month 3, and by the end of the month will have grown to about 2.5 inches long. The fetus has also started to move more, even in response to stimuli from outside your body, such as light and noise. But you won't be able to feel this action until well into your second trimester. The legs and arms have gotten longer. The arms have begun to bend at the elbow. A basic hand structure is formed with the fingers and thumb differentiated. Nail beds are formed on the fingers and toes, and fingernails actually start to grow from those nail beds and will continue to grow until birth. A fine layer of skin has been forming over the fetus's body and a specialized layer develops into what will become the fingernails and toenails. The eyes and ears undergo much development during this month. Right now the ears sit low on the head, but as the head grows bigger, they will move to the right area. The eyes are still on the side of the head. The basic optical structure is in place and the eyelids have formed and will close and become fused together until late in your second trimester. In the mouth, tooth buds are forming. The fetus' heart beat has only just become loud enough for your health care provider and you to hear, and the heart will become a multi-chambered organ in this month. The structures that will be the liver, gallbladder, and others are becoming specialized. The critical developmental period is coming to a close. By the end of this month, the development of new body structures will be complete. All the parts are there, even the sex organs have developed, but it's too soon for an ultrasound to determine if the baby is a boy or a girl. Trimester 2 » |
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