Mother and Baby: 0 to 8 Weeks of Pregnancy

Unless you have been trying for a baby, and are therefore on the look-out for the early signs of pregnancy, much of the first trimester of your pregnancy week by week can slip by un-noticed. This is especially true if you don’t have any unpleasant side-effects (nausea, tiredness, sore breasts, the frequent need to pee) or if your periods have always been erratic and irregular. However the changes that are occurring in your body are nothing short of miraculous. Your baby is growing bigger, stronger and more human in appearance with every passing day. Did you know, for example, that at just week seven of pregnancy your embryo will be 10,000 times bigger than at conception! Even if ignorance of your condition means you are not doing everything you should be doing (watching your nutrition, not smoking or drinking) your baby will be undergoing dramatic changes. Here is what is happening to your tiny embryo in the first two months of pregnancy week by week… Week One Technically you are not really pregnant yet as the countdown starts from the first day of your last period, so even though pregnancy is said to be 40 weeks long, you only actually carry your baby for 38 weeks. Week Two Ovulation occurs now with sperm meeting egg. Week Three Fertilisation occurs in one of the fallopian tubes with cell division starting immediately. Week Four The fertilised egg (known as the zygote) implants in the wall of the uterus and the placenta and umbilical cord begin to form. Week Five Incredibly your embryo’s gastrointestinal tract, spinal cord, heart, brain and blood vessels begin to form. This miraculous little being is now about one eight of an inch long from crown to rump. Week Six The quarter-of-an-inch long embryo’s heart is beginning to pump blood and the neural tube that becomes the spine closes. The embryo is now C-shaped with arm and leg buds starting to form. The skin will be translucent. Week Seven The embryo is very out of proportion with the head measuring about one third of its entire length. The brain and face are developing quickly with nostrils and eye lenses beginning to form. Arms are now paddle-shaped with the beginnings of hands. Week Eight Brainwave activity starts round week eight. Fingers and toes become clearer defined, but are webbed. The embryo’s lungs, ears, eyes, upper lip and nose start to form. The half-inch-long body is starting to straighten out and make movements.