The baby is now about 17 inches long, weighs 4½ pounds and continues to grow and mature. By this stage of development, the eyes are wide open, and if a light were shone into them, the pupils would constrict. The head is covered in hair, the fingernails have reached the tips of the fingers, and the toenails are close behind. The lungs are still developing, so if born at this stage, the baby will probably need assistance breathing.
What to expect. Your pregnancy week by week.
Week 34 – Butternut Squash
A pregnancy test taken at this point can measure hCG, the pregnancy hormone in the mother’s urine, and tell her if she is pregnant. By now, the embryo is completely...
The heart begins to beat just 21 days after fertilization or 5 weeks after the mother’s last menstrual period began. The heart, the size of a poppy seed, is the first...
Just 4 weeks after fertilization, the baby is growing rapidly and measures 1/8 of an inch long. The basic structure of the entire central nervous system (brain and...
The baby is now 1/3 of an inch long, and his or her beating heart can be seen on a Doppler ultrasound. The embryo makes its own blood. Depending on the baby’s gender,...
At 8 weeks, the embryo can respond to touch by reflex. The baby is now about ½ of an inch long. The elbows and fingers can be seen. Some reports show that the embryo...
The baby measures ¾ of an inch long and weighs almost 1/8 of an ounce. The developing ears and nose are visible, and there is pigment in the retina. Nipples can now be...
The baby’s brain is growing rapidly. Each minute, it produces almost 250,000 new neurons! The upper and lower portions of the arms and legs and fingers and toes are...
Because the baby has all of the major organ systems and is a distinctly recognizable human being, he or she is no longer called an embryo but is now known as a fetus, a...
Now 3½ inches long, the “young one” is coordinated enough to find his or her thumb and suck it. Fingernails and toenails are beginning to grow. The baby is also able to...