Fetal Development at Various Stages of Pregnancy

From the first moment the cells start to divide and create an embryo, fetal development and the stages of pregnancy progress in a longtime sequence. When the egg is fertilized, a zygote develops. In this first stage, which takes place during the first 2 weeks of the pregnancy, the cells multiply and develop. The following part of fetal development and the stages of pregnancy happens when the zygote becomes an embryo. During week 3, the embryo starts to develop the buds that may become the arms and legs of the fetus. The digestive tract also has rudimentary beginnings at this time. 

By the 5th week of fetal development and the stages of pregnancy, the facial features have begun to form. The embryo has now begun to produce hormones and the presence of these hormones stop the mum’s menstrual cycle. When the embryo becomes about an in. 

long, about the sixth week of the fetal development and the stages of pregnancy, the brain has begun to develop its component parts ; facial features, toes and fingers are conspicuous and a heartbeat can be detected in an ultrasound test. In the n ext several weeks, the organs continue to develop and the features become more discernible. The genitalia form, though they can not be distinguished at this stage in an ultrasound. Bones are beginning to form and the muscles can contract. By the end of the 1st trimester, the fetus is approximately three inches in length and weighs only about an oz. During the second trimester of fetal development and the stages of pregnancy, the fetus continues to develop the characteristics that make it recognizable as a human baby. Development has progressed to the point that the fetus will start to move a touch ; it is during this time that a ma will begin to feel movement. As this period progresses, the fetus will develop waking and sleeping cycles the ma will soon be able to detect and recognize. At roughly the 24th week, a usually developed fetus is about twelve inches long and weighs about 2 pounds. It might be able to survive, with aid from current medical technology, if it were delivered. During the last weeks of fetal development and the stages of pregnancy, or the third trimester, the bones are developed, though they are still pliable. The fetus can inhale, exhale, and even cry. The eyelids open and the lungs continue to develop until the moment of birth. The fetus gains in size and moves less because there is less room to maneuver. Most of the movement occurs as the fetus shifts its position in preparation for birth. At the age of thirty weeks, the fetus would be little and considered premature, but it might be capable of living on its own if it were delivered. The fetus is regarded absolutely developed at the age of 38 weeks and would be completely capable of living on its own if delivered, though the standard finish date is said to be at the end of the 40th week.

For more information about pregnancy and health topics, visit pregnancy101.org and also check out 9 weeks pregnancy.