Fetal Development
Seven Weeks
• By seven weeks, your baby has grown into an
embryo about the size of a raspberry and has a
tiny beating heart. Head, mouth, liver, and
intestines begin to take shape. Facial features
are visible, including a mouth and tongue. The
eyes have a retina and lens. The major muscle
system is developed, and the unborn child
practices moving. The child has its own blood
type, distinct from the mother's. These blood
cells are produced by the liver now instead of
the yolk sac.
Fetus at 7 Weeks
Two Months
• Your baby is now about the size of a
kidney bean and is constantly moving and
shifting. She has distinct, slightly webbed
fingers. The arms and legs have
lengthened, and fingers can be seen. The
toes will develop in the next few days.
Brain waves can be measured.
Two Months
• The child's spontaneous
movements can be
observed. The nervous
system is responsive and
many of the internal
organs begin to function.
Vocal chords are
complete, and the child
can and does sometimes
cry (silently). The brain is
fully formed, and the child
can feel pain. The fetus
may even suck his
thumb.
Four Months
• Your baby is now about 41⁄2 inches long -the size of an avocado. Her heart is
pumping about 25 quarts of blood each
day and her body is covered with a layer
of downy hair called lanugo. The child
blinks, grasps, and moves her mouth. The
child can grasp with his hands, kick, or
even somersault.
Five Months
• The fetus now weighs approximately 1/2 a
pound and spans about 10 inches from
head to toe. Sweat glands develop, and
the external skin has turned from
transparent to opaque. A protective
substance called vernix caseosa now
coats your baby's skin.
Five Months
• The child can hear and
recognize her mother's
voice. Though still small
and fragile, the baby is
growing rapidly and could
possibly survive if born at
this stage. Fingernails
and fingerprints appear.
Sex organs are visible.
Using an ultrasound
device, the doctor can tell
if the child is a girl or a
boy.
Six Months
• Your baby is nearly a foot long now and weighs
more than a pound. Her red, translucent skin is
wrinkled and her lips, eyebrows, and eyelids
are distinct.
• The fetus can now inhale, exhale and even cry.
Eyes have completely formed, and the tongue
has developed taste buds. The child practices
breathing by inhaling amnionic fluid into
developing lungs. Under intensive medical care
the fetus has a over a 50% chance of surviving
outside the womb.
Six Months
Seven Months
Seven Months
• By now, your baby weighs about 21⁄4 pounds
and is nearly 15 inches long. His body fat is
beginning to form in preparation for life outside
the womb.
• For several months, the umbilical cord has been
the baby's lifeline to the mother. Nourishment is
transferred from the mother's blood, through the
placenta, and into the umbilical cord to the fetus.
If the mother ingests any toxic substances, such
as drugs or alcohol, the baby receives these as
well.
Eight Months
• Your baby may have hair or peach fuzz on
her head now. She's probably turned
head-down in preparation for birth. The
fetus sleeps 90-95% of the day, and
sometimes experiences REM sleep,
an indication of dreaming.
• She may weigh almost 4 pounds
Eight Months
Nine Months
• At nine months, the average baby is more
than 18 inches long and nearly 6 pounds.
At birth the placenta will detach from the
side of the uterus and the umbilical cord
will cease working as the child takes his
first breaths of air. The child's breathing
will trigger changes in the structure of the
heart and bypass arteries which will force
all blood to now travel through the lungs