One of the most amazing phases in a woman's life is the time when she has conceived a child and is about to go through the whole process of pregnancy and childbirth. The excitement of this feeling reaches its apex when a child is born, after having completed the process of fetal development. The process of childbirth carries on over three trimesters, with fetal developments making prominent progress with the passing of each week. During the first few weeks, though fetal development may appear to be progressing minimally, your baby is indeed growing by leaps and bounds. After conception, during the first few days...
...of the pregnancy, the embryo attaches itself to the lining of the uterus.
By the time the first month is complete your baby has a well developed spinal cord, heart and brain.
The second month is a critical period in fetal development stages and every care must be taken to ensure the safety of your baby. Towards the end of the second month, the buds for the arms and legs will appear, enabling you to ascertain where your baby's head lies. By the third month of fetal development, the baby's bones begin to harden, thereby giving form to the skeletal system. The eyes and the external ears have also formed, but there aren't any eyelids as yet. At this stage, the body is not developed proportionally, the head being larger than the rest of the body. Between the fourth and the fifth month, the baby is developing insulin and bile within his or her own body, and is able to excrete fluids into the amniotic sac. By this time, the baby also weighs approximately three ounces and will measure up to approximately sixteen centimeters. By the sixth month of fetal development, your baby has begun to respond to sounds and makes movements within the womb. Though there are not many physical developments at this stage, the formation of the foot pads and the pads of the palm is in progress. Teeth buds are also being formed. Read more on fetal development week by week
The last trimester is the period during which the features of the baby are growing prominent. Besides this, the baby is also practicing how to breathe once he or she has left the comfort of the womb. The movements increase for some time and the baby puts on weight, filling out all the wrinkles of the skin. Over the last trimester, till the time of delivery, the baby continues to gain weight. As the due date nears, the baby takes its position, ready for delivery, with its head firmly placed on the birth canal.
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