Growing Fetus

Fertilization

Your due date is calculated from the first day of your last menstrual period.
Conception occurs about two weeks from the day, and thats when youre truly
considered to be pregnant. During a menstrual cycle, one of your two ovaries
matures an egg within a follicle. Hormonal surges controlled by your brain then
cause one and occasionally two follicles to release an egg. If both ovaries
release an egg, you may have non-identical twins, also known as fraternal
twins. Long, fingerlike projections sweep the egg into the fallopian tube. The
egg travels down the fallopian tube, pushed by tiny hairs and awaits the arrival
of sperm. About a teaspoon worth of semen enters the vagina containing
roughly 300 million sperm, less than 100,000 will pass into the cervix to begin
their 6-inch journey to the egg. A long, whiplike tail propels each sperm toward
the waiting egg. Most sperm will lose their way. Only about 200 sperms
successfully reach the egg. Fertilization occurs when one sperm penetrates
the egg, combining their genetic material. The sperm and egg, each contain 23
chromosomes holding all of the information that determines your childs sex
and contributes to the childs genetic make up, including physical appearance,
intelligence, and personality. Its a boy or a girl; you just dont know which yet.
Within 24 hours of fertilization, the egg, now called a zygote, divide into two
cells. The number of cells doubles about every twelve hours as the zygote
continues its trek to the uterus. During this early stage, if the cells split into two
separate groups, instead of remaining attached, youll be doubly blast with
identical twins. About three days of fertilization, the zygote has become a ball
of 32 cells resembling a miniature raspberry. A few days later, it reaches the
uterus as a ball of roughly 500 cells surrounding a fluid filled cavity. On day 7,
the ball of cells burrows into the uterine wall during a process called
implantation. Many women have implantion bleeding or spotting at this time
which occurs about 21 days after a period before a pregnancy test could even
be positive. The cells on the outside of the ball create a yolk sac and the
placenta, which nourishes your developing baby. By 38 weeks, the fertilized
egg has grown into an infant with more the 2 trillion cells.

Fetal Development

Pregnancy usually lasts about nine months, or 40 weeks and is divided into
trimesters. The first trimester is from week one until week 12. The second
trimester is between weeks 13 and 26 and the third trimester is from week 27
until birth. If you become pregnant, your womb doesnt shed its lining as it
normally does at the end of the menstrual cycle, so your periods temporarily
stop. This is because the egg, which has been released from one of the
ovaries, has been fertilised by a sperm and you are in the early weeks of
pregnancy. Here we show the ovaries, the fallopian tube, the womb and the
vagina. The fertilized egg has already started to divide in the fallopian tube. It
will continue to develop and grow in the womb and is called an embryo at this
stage. Here we show the embryo in the womb. By week nine the embryo has
developed and is called a fetus. At this point, most of the organs, including the
nervous system and heart are forming. Here we show the fetus and the womb.
By the time you are twelve weeks pregnant, your baby is approximately 6cm
(two and a half inches) long. At this stage, your babys neck is uncurling and
the limbs are complete. The eyelids are still fused and the ears are forming.

The umbilical cord connects the baby to the placenta. This is how your baby
gets nutrients and how waste (such as urine) is removed. In the second
trimester your babys sex organs develop and other organs mature. The baby
swallows amniotic fluid and passes it out its digestive system. The kidneys
start to work and pass small amounts of urine. Your baby can now hear and is
covered in fine hair called lanugo.

Here we show the baby in the second trimester. You must first feel the baby
move in the second trimester of pregnancy. The movements become much
more vigorous and obvious as the baby gets bigger and stronger. Braxton
Hicks (practice contractions) are painless tightenings of the womb that may
start from around 20 weeks of pregnancy. Your babys lungs mature
throughout the third trimester. The baby makes breathing movements even
though the lungs doesnt work properly until birth. The baby grows fine hair and
fingernails, the eyes open and close, and teeth may start growing under the
gums. Your babys fat stores also increase in preparation for birth. Braxton
hicks contractions becomes stronger in the third trimester. At the end of
pregnancy, your baby changes position so its ready for birth