The Amazing Journey

of Pregnancy
Pregnancy is an amazing journey.
While we often talk about it
lasting for nine months, pregnancy
is generally measured by weeks,
lasting 40 weeks or 266 days from
conception. Each month brings unique
changes for your baby’s growth and
development. Enjoy a tour through
the entire length of pregnancy in
ultrasound pictures and
descriptions of how your baby is
growing and changing at each stage
of pregnancy.

These months are designed to be generic and may or may not

specifically relate to your pregnancy. Please direct any questions you
have about your baby's growth or your progress to your doctor or
midwife. Pregnancy is a normal process and questions are a natural
part of that process.
F irst M o n th
o f P re g n aThe
n cy
beginning portion of what we consider
the first month of pregnancy is actually
your period until you ovulate. You are not
actually pregnant during this time frame,
but knowing the first day of your last
normal period (LMP) we are able to more
accurately calculate your due date.

Conception usually occurs within 24 hours of ovulation, about 14

days before the start of your next period. The egg and the sperm
meet in the outer third of the Fallopian tube and travel over the
course of the next seven to ten days, down the tube to the uterus.
Once in the uterus, the fertilized egg will implant into the fluffy,
nutrient rich lining of the uterus. Immediately chemical signals are
sent to your body that pregnancy has occurred. Ovulation will halt.
Your period will not come.
Your baby is called a blastocyst as it implants. The baby measures
about 0.1-0.2 mm. At the end of the fourth week of pregnancy, the
chorionic villi are formed. The yolk sac is helping to sustain the
pregnancy until the placenta is fully formed. You might even begin
to suspect you’re pregnant.
econd Month of Pregnancy
The second month of pregnancy is a critical
month in fetal development. Your baby goes from
being a blastocyst to an embryo. Early on in
this month your baby’s heart will begin to beat.
First it beats slowly, then very rapidly, later
in pregnancy the heart rate will slow a bit
more.

In the beginning of this month it’s hard to tell which way is up on

your baby. As this month progresses it becomes very easy to tell
which end is your baby’s head is and which end is your baby’s bottom.
By the end of the month your baby’s upper and lower limb buds will
also appear. And the primordia of the liver, pancreas, lungs, and
stomach are evident. While your baby is a girl or a boy, it is not yet
apparent without genetic screening.
Your baby is now measuring between 8-11 mm from crown to rump (CRL).
By the end of this month heart activity is always present on
ultrasound. Toe and finger rays are present, though not quite enough
for you to count yet.
hird Month of Pregnancy
During the third month of your pregnancy,
your baby’s bones begin to ossify or harden.
Your baby is already moving spontaneously,
but you usually can’t feel these movements
for awhile yet. Your baby’s eyes are large
and open. Eyelids will form later. External
ears have formed.
External genitalia begin to differentiate,
though it’s still very difficult to tell
whether your baby is a girl or a boy
without genetic screening. Your baby moves
from being an embryo to the fetal period,
now called a fetus. S/he also loses their
tail!
Your baby’s head is the biggest part of their body. It is about 1/2
the size of the rest of the body. While the head is large, the brain’s
structure is similar to what it will be at birth. S/he weighs about 14
grams and is approximately 3.54 inches in total length. By the end of
this month you should be able to hear your baby’s heart beat with a
Doppler.
ourth Month of Pregnancy
The placenta has taken over production of
the hormones needed to sustain your
pregnancy. Your baby is also making some
of its own insulin and bile. Your baby
even urinates into the amniotic fluid in
small amounts every 45 minutes or so.

Your baby’s heart pumps about 25 quarts of

blood a day. This will increase to be
about 300 quarts by the end of your
pregnancy. All of the teeth have formed
and you even have a scalp hair pattern!

Your baby is about 3 ounces (85 grams) and 6.3 inches (16 cms). The
gender may be detectable by ultrasound. Though gender predictions at
this point are much harder to rely on.
ifth Month of Pregnancy
No new organ structures are really
forming at this point in pregnancy.
Though the pads of the fingers and
toes are forming. Your baby is also
developing his or her finger prints.
Your baby is also forming permanent
teeth buds behind the baby teeth that
are already formed. A baby girl will
also begin to develop primitive eggs
in her ovaries. Gender is usually
visible by ultrasound, though accuracy
Your baby’s movements may be morevaries .
apparent . Loud noises may even cause
your baby to startle. It’s still pretty unusual for your to be able to
feel your baby move at this point unless this is not your first
pregnancy. You may be aware of sleep wake cycles in your little one.

Your baby is also covered in a fine hair called lanugo and may begin to
develop a lotion like substances on their skin called vernix. The weight
is now up to 10 ounces (283 grams) and the baby measures about 25 cms
total length, about 9.8 inches.
ixth Month of Pregnancy
Eye brows are forming now and the lanugo
darkens in color. Your baby is moving and
practicing breathing for when he or she will be
born. The practice contractions that you may or
may not notice don’t bother your baby one bit.
Your baby may or may not be head down, because
of the amniotic fluid your baby can move all
around still.

Your baby is also depositing brown fat. The brown fat will help him
or her regulate body temperature at birth. This brown fat will
continue to be laid down until birth.
S/he weighs in at 1 lb 5 ounces (595 grams) and 30 cms or 11.8 inches
total length. A few babies are born this early. They do have some
chance of survival depending on many factors.
eventh Month of Pregnancy
Baby’s movements at this point in pregnancy
have gone from wild kicks and flurries to
smaller movements as the room becomes
crowded in the uterus. At about week 28
babies begin to start turning head down.
This is automatic in most babies and they
seem to like it that way.

Your baby can sense light and dark in the uterus. This may also
effect the pattern you notice of sleep and wake cycles. The uterus is
also not a silent environment. While the baby can hear your heart
beat, your digestive system, etc. your baby can also hear your voice
as well as others close by. Think of what you can hear in a pool.
Your baby's eye lashes are developing, as subcutaneous fat is
deposited. If you have a baby boy, his testes will probably begin
descending. Your baby is about 13.8 inches long (35 cms) and weighs
about 2 pounds 4 ounces (1 kilogram)! A baby born at this time has a
good chance of survival with the help of medical technology.
ighth Month of Pregnancy
Your baby is really getting ready to be
born. Every day in the uterus is said to
be two less days your baby would spend in
the hospital at this point. Red blood cell
production is done entirely by your baby’s
bone marrow. Amniotic fluid is still
present and your baby urinates into it
daily, about a half a liter of urine a day.

The baby's irises can now dilate and contract in response to light.
He or she opens and closes their eyes at will. Even the finger nails
reach the end of the fingers. Some babies might even need a nail
trim at birth! Your baby may have a lot of hair on their head or
none, both extremes are normal.
The weight gain has been fairly incredible recently. Your baby has
put on about 2 pounds of weight, mostly fat and muscle tissue, since
last month, bringing the total to an average of three pounds eleven
ounces (1.7 kilograms), and measurements to 40 cms or 15.8 inches!
inth Month of Pregnancy
Your baby’s organs have been finished
forming for a long time. Now is the time for
finishing touches. For example, the lungs
make final preparations for birth by
secreting surfactant to help them expand at
birth. Your baby’s kidneys are still
producing lots of urine every day, helping
to make up the almost two pints of amniotic
fluid.

While your baby may be putting on half a pound a week up until about
week 37 at which point weight gain slows drastically. The average
birth weight is still about seven and a half pounds. Your baby will
measure between 18-22 inches at birth.
Your due date is a guess as to when your baby may arrive. The
majority of babies will show up from two weeks before this date to
two weeks after this date. Labor is caused by the baby’s signals to
the mother’s body that he or she is ready to be born. Good luck and
good birth!