The creation of a human being is a remarkable event in itself, and given the sheer magnitude of the developmental changes that take place for the fetus in such a short amount of time is nothing short of amazing. Tracking the development of a fetus is primarily broken down week by week. Although we often generalize into nine months or three trimesters, it takes places over the course of approximately 37 to 41 weeks. The gestation period is the time span between conception and birth, and while it is difficult to pinpoint the exact moment of conception we typically consider the beginning of a pregnancy to be the first day of the woman’s last period or menstrual cycle. A nine-month pregnancy breaks down into three trimesters. The first trimester is week one thru week twelve; the second trimester takes place from week thirteen thru week twenty-seven; and the third trimester is week twenty-eight thru week forty or the birth. Because the exact date of conception is not usually known, weekly development of the fetus can vary a little. During the first two weeks, the mother is not even pregnant yet. Week 1 is the first week of her menstrual cycle; and during the second week, the ovary releases an egg to flow into the fallopian tube. At this point, the mother can become pregnant and if a sperm makes it to the egg in the fallopian tube, conception begins. At this point, it is called a zygote and has half of its DNA from each parent. During week 3, the zygote makes its
At one month of pregnancy the baby is still any embryo and it is made up of two layers which will soon produce into body parts and organs. In the first two weeks of pregnancy a women isn’t actually pregnant because the women’s body is preparing for ovulation as usual. You usually ovulate (release an egg) around two weeks after the first day of your period this depends on the length of your period. Then during the third week after the first day of your last period your fertilised egg moves across the fallopian tube towards the womb. The egg starts off as a single cell but it divides multiple times. By the time the egg reaches the womb it becomes the mass of 100 cells which is known as an embryo. In the fourth week of pregnancy the embryo grows and develops in the lining of the womb. The outer cells reach out and link themselves with the mothers blood supply. The inner cells form
The prenatal period takes place in the first two weeks of conception. Heredity and environmental influences (which are often negative) are also developed during this stage. At this stage the organism is more susceptible to these influences, than during any other period. Infancy is the next stage, various changes start to occur and attachments start to form. Coordination, sensory and motor skills start to develop, as well as the expression of
Ultrasounds should be performed on expecting mothers to ensure the health of the fetus during the pregnancy. The ultrasounds can be used to make sure that the fetus is meeting the expected growth requirements per trimester. There are 3 trimesters during a normal pregnancy and each trimester has its own growth requirements to ensure that by the time the pregnancy is expected to be over the fetus should be fully developed. The First Trimester is weeks 1-12 of the pregnancy.(10-1) At the end of the first month, the embryo has a heartbeat, a two-lobed brain, and a spinal cord. By the end of the second month, the embryo is recognizable as a human and is called a fetus. After two months, the embryo has started to from arm and legs as well as fingers, ears, and toes. The fetus can be visibly identified as a male or female. By the end of the first trimester, the heart has 4 chambers (1-8). The Second Trimester is weeks 13-28 of your pregnancy.(10-2) By the
S: Page 134 is all about the embryonic period of pregnancy. The embryonic period lasts from week 3 to week 8, and it is a very important time because that is when the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm are being formed. The ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm will later for more important oragans and body structures.
Biological development of a fetus is vary rapid and complex over the nine-month period in the womb. When both the male spermatozoon and the female ovum combine it forms what is called a zygote which holds the twenty-three pairs of chromosomes. The zygote or the embryo undergoes cell division and makes its way to the uterine wall to implant itself, this process is completed about ten days after conception. By the end of the eighth week the organ systems have formed and human characteristics can start to be noticed. From the eighth week until birth the embryo is now labeled a fetus. Quickening can occur from the sixteenth week until birth, this is where the mother can feel the fetus moving. Around the twenty-second week viability can take place, this is where the fetus can survive outside the womb. The nine-month period of being pregnant is split into different trimesters. With the different trimesters there are different abortion procedures can be used to remove the fetus.
When an embryo becomes a fetus at eight weeks, it is approximately 3 centimeters; by the time the fetus is considered full-term, he or she may be 50 centimeters (Brisbane 60). The fetal stage, that takes place during week 9 to birth, result in a whole bunch of changes. (Brisbane 61). During the fetal stage, all parts of the body mature, and the overall of the baby size increases. Although all of the organ systems were formed during embryonic development, they continue to develop and grow during the fetal stage as well. During the third month, the reproductive system becomes developed and the sex of the baby becomes apparent (Staff). For girls, the ovarian follicles begin to form and for boys the prostate gland. Throughout months four through six, the heartbeat grows stronger and other body systems become further developed (Brisbane 63). Features such as fingernails, hair, eyelashes and toenails form. During the period from seven months until birth, the fetus continues to develop, put on weight, and prepare for life outside the womb (Brisbane 64). The lungs begin to expand and contract, preparing the muscles for breathing (Brisbane 64). The time in which the baby is born is a very critical. In some situations, a baby can be born as early as 7 months. When a baby is born too early, his ar her organs are not usually fully formed. This can result in many complications and health problems. Including, If premature pregnancy is the case, the baby would need some intensive care in hospitals. If the baby survives the stages, at the end of the nine month of pregnancy the baby will turn to a head-down position to prepare for birth. If the baby is not in the head-down position and in breech position a cesarean section may be required, which can cause many more complications. If a baby passes all these crucial factors, it is guaranteed to be born
Those stages are the Germinal stage, the Embryonic stage, and the Fetal stage. The Germinal Stage is the first stage and it is a two-week period that happens after the sperm and egg cell join together to form a zygote. This process is called conception. After conception, the zygote begins to divide. This turns into into a ball of cells that moves beside the fallopian tube. This travels all the way to the uterus. This process is called implantation and it happens when the cells is placed in the wall of the uterus. This process takes about a week to complete. After the two weeks, the Embryonic stage takes place next. The embryonic stage takes two to eight weeks right after conception. At this point in the process, the ball of cells is now an embryo. In this stage, all the major organs form. The last stage of prenatal development is the Fetal stage. This last eight weeks after conception up to birth. One of the first things to take place is the sex organs begin to form. Next, the bones form, muscles form, and the fetus begins to move. The organ systems also begin to develop and the brain’s size grows. One of the last things to work independently is the respiratory and digestive
The concept fetus is used to denote the unborn human from the end of the eighth week after conception to the moment of birth, as distinguished from the earlier embryo (the product of conception from implantation in the uterus through the eighth week of development). A fetus contains all the organs and has the basic human form. (Rand)
The perinatal stage consists of development from conception through to birth (Mosby, 2010). Due to the environment being within the womb for this period of time, some of the influences upon the foetus derive from the mother. Maternal age,
Normally Pregnancy last 37 to 42 weeks (the average is 40 weeks). Pregnancy is divided into three trimesters, ‘first trimesters’, ‘second trimesters’ and ‘third trimesters’.
Pregnancy usually lasts for approximately 9 months and involves three stages; the first trimester, the second trimester and the third trimester. The first trimester goes from week 1 to week 12 and involves a lot of hormonal changes within the mother, which cause symptoms of pregnancy to occur. The most obvious sign of pregnancy is the menstrual cycle stopping. Some women may also experience:
Gestation is the process of development between the first day of the mother’s last normal period and birth, which is calculated to last approximately 40 weeks.3 This means that week one is the female’s period, week two is ovulation, and week three is fertilization.5
The brain, which is the command center for the whole body must go through many changes in order to reach its full potential. To begin, the once the sperm fertilizes the egg it becomes a zygote. After that happens within 12 hours, the single cell begins to divide to form a mass of homogenous cells. After 3 days the divisions form a mass of cells that continually divide to form the blastocyst. Within 5 days the blastocyst would have migrated to the uterus and hatched and began to invade into the uterine lining to implant. If it does implant by 1-2 weeks the embryo starts to separate into three distinct cell layers: the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm. The ectoderm, which is the outer most layer, will form the skin and the peripheral nervous
Once maturation is final, the male’s sperm travels up into the female’s uterus and fertilization begins. The prenatal development is divided into three stages: germinal, embryo, and fetus. During the germinal period the zygote is transformed into the blastocyst. The blastocyst creates cells, and the formation of organism protecting structures begin. The embryo period of prenatal development is very rapid compared to other stages. Eternal organs and body structures are created, but is no fully developed. The embryo period gives the layout but the organs and structures are not developed until other stages. By the third month mark you are in the fetus period. In this month, the baby has mobility to move, kick, and yawn. The heartbeat can be heard and by the end of the moth the sex can be determined. In the second trimester, the fetus has grown and now the mother can feel the baby’s movement. Many of the child’s organs are developed, but because the baby cannot breathe fully it is not ready for survival. The third and final trimester is when the fetus chance of survival is increased. The fetus becomes fully develops and gains weight preparing for birth. This entire chapter was important but the prenatal development was most important to
The first period is the germinal period. According to study.com, the germinal period is when the mother's egg is fertilized by the father's sperm. As the sperm and the egg cells intertwine with one another to for a cell called the zygote. A zygote is a single cell. The beginning of