It is surprising to note that the start of a woman’s last period is actually the first week of her pregnancy. Since conception transpires about two weeks after the menstrual cycle commences, due dates are calculated by including the last week of the period in the 40 weeks of pregnancy. Common...
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Please see week 1. Due to the more general developments in the first two weeks of pregnancy, the information about the first and second week has been combined in order to keep the information in cohesive units. If you feel the site could benefit from having a separate article on the second week...
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Week 3 of pregnancy is a time of anticipation, if a woman is trying to get pregnant, or of utter ignorance. Signs and symptoms during week 3 of pregnancy are not readily apparent. Although the baby is growing at an exponentially rapid speed, most women have not yet missed a period and think...
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By pregnancy week 4, doubt and anxiety can usually be settled with a pregnancy test. Although most women are able to confirm pregnancy at this time, some take longer to produce the pregnancy hormone HGC that indicates a positive in home or clinic test results. By the end of week 4, a period has...
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At almost the size of a grain of rice, pregnancy week 5 sees the continuation of the development of the baby’s organs. During week 5, the different chambers of the heart begin to divide and start to actually pump blood. The middle layer of cells, the mesoderm, forms into the heart, the muscles,...
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By week 6 of pregnancy, morning sickness, tenderness of the breasts, and darker areolas are sure fire signs of pregnancy. Although an outsider would not be able to tell, women often have trouble getting into their jeans at this point. Sometimes however, the first trimester brings about a weight...
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If regular clothes were getting by before, by pregnancy week 7 they will be much less comfortable. Due in part to a slight bulge of the lower abdomen part in the stomach, maternity clothes at this point are definitely a consideration. From the outside, a woman doesn’t begin showing until a few...
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At pregnancy week 8 chances are that some nausea and much fatigue are the most immediate signs that the baby is growing. In fact, at this stage, the baby can reach 20 mm in length. The baby’s growth and development during week 8 is pretty significant. The tadpole-like tail begins to vanish,...
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Far from the tadpole-like state of week 3, at pregnancy week 9, the baby has a head, arms, legs, and torso. The fetus is about 30 mm long at this point but will start to grow rapidly in the coming weeks. For this reason, the mother will also begin accumulating more weight. The tail has...
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Although only between 31 and 42 mm, at pregnancy week 10 the fetus is able to be weighed. By the end of this week, the fetus will move from the embryonic period into the fetal period where it will begin to grow at an amazingly hasty rate. It is good to know that after week 10 the fetus is not...
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At pregnancy week 11, the fetus has grown to about 2.4 inches and almost .3 of an ounce. Because the skin remains transparent until much later in the pregnancy, blood vessels are still visible at week 11. Also at this point, the fetus is exercising it’s new found movement capabilities by opening...
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At week 12 of pregnancy the baby is around 2 1/2 inches long and about ½ an ounce in weight. Although the movement of the baby wont be felt until a little further along, the baby is developing, growing, and moving around rapidly. At this point in the pregnancy, the brain will be developing and...
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Week 13 of pregnancy is a great time of relief because, at this point, most women are more likely to carry their pregnancy to term. A little over 2 inches and barely under 3 inches long, the fetus weight about .7 ounces during week 13. By the end of the week, the baby’s eyes will have moved...
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Week 14 is the best time to start exercising if not having previously done so. The second trimester tends to provide for more energy for exercise than the previous period of pregnancy . Any type of exercise program should be run by a physician before embarked upon. Heavy weights are not...
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Having gained anywhere from 5 to 10, the uterus and belly have expanded to a noticeable point by week 15 of pregnancy. At this time, a physician will probably start measuring the mother’s fundal height, the distance between the top of the uterus to the pubic bone. This measurement correlates with...
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At week 16 of pregnancy, the fetus is around 4 1/2 inches and at about 3 ounces. If the state of pregnancy hasn’t been apparent before, it will become apparent at this point. Although not nearly as round at week 16 as a pregnant woman will be in the further weeks, maternity clothes are more of a...
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At pregnancy week 17 the baby is about 3 1/2 ounces and almost 5 inches long and growing! By this week, the cartilage in the skeleton has started to form into bone and the baby is moving around enthusiastically, although it might not be as obvious for some women. Because the baby can hear sound...
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Having gained approximately 20 pounds by the 18th week of pregnancy, it is now a little more likely that it will begin to show. Chances are that week 18 proves to be an uncomfortable time for laying down because of the expanding uterus. Furthermore, women should try to lay on their left side...
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At week 19 of pregnancy, the baby is about 6 inches in length and weighs around 7 ounces. From this point until delivery, the baby’s size, along with yours, will grow about 15 times at a fairly remarkable speed. Round ligament pain is a common symptom of week 19 of pregnancy. Also, balances...
» More about Pregnancy Week 19
At week 20 of pregnancy, onlookers can definitely determine that a woman is pregnant. The baby is about 6 inches in length and around 9 ounces in weight. New and different layers of skin begin to form for the baby at this stage. The epidermis itself is comprised of 4 layers which include the...
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Week 21 of pregnancy ensures a developing digestive system for the fetus. Swallowing amniotic fluid helps strengthen the digestive system and prepare it for milk after birth. The intestines begin to contract and release at this point. No longer than 7 inches and about 10 ounces, the baby’s...
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At only 7 1/2 inches long and around 12 ounces, the fetus in week 22 has eyebrows, eyelids, eyelashes, and nails. The organs have already specialized and the reproductive and digestive systems are still maturing. Some babies will even have developed the first signs of teeth and lips during week...
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At week 23 of pregnancy, the baby has grown to about one pound and almost 11 inches. If the baby were born during this week, there is about a 10 percent chance of survival. Babies in general increase their chances of survival 3 percent each day they remain longer in the womb. Premature babies,...
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Week 24 of pregnancy includes a baby who is now about one pound and around 8 1/2 inches long. From this point on, strong kicks to the belly are not uncommon for the growing baby. As the baby grows, the room it has in which to develop begins to dwindle. The baby eventually goes into a regular...
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At a whopping 1 1/2 pounds and a massive 9 inches at week 25, the baby is developing spinal structures, lung blood vessels, nostrils, and layers of fat that will soon take away the transparency of it’s skin. Also at this point, the baby can make a fist with it’s new formed dexterity. Sever back...
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At 26 weeks of pregnancy, the baby has grown to nearly two pounds in weight and is about 11 inches in length. The baby is accumulating layers of fat although it is not much at this point. The Doppler may be used at this point to efficiently gauge the baby’s heartbeat, which is growing stronger...
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Week 27 of pregnancy marks the beginning of the third trimester. At barely 2 pounds and 15 inches long, the baby, in week 27of pregnancy, begins to advance the retinol details that will enable sight once it opens it’s eyes at week 28. The growing uterus, the pressure on the organs, and the...
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During week 28 of pregnancy, and as the baby matures, the smooth and level texture of it’s brain begins to form the grooves and crevasses that are normally associated with the human brain. At week 28, the baby weighs about 2 ½ pounds and is around 16 inches in length. Although the hair on it’s...
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Week 29 of pregnancy marks the beginning of the third trimester. Proper weight gain is crucial for this trimester because the baby is maturing and developing at such a rapid rate. The muscles, the lungs, and the brain, are all maturing as new neurons are being formed. All this activity needs a...
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At week 30 of pregnancy, the amniotic fluid in the stomach begins to decrease as baby, at 3 pounds and 17 inches in length, takes up more and more room. Many women can feel different body parts pressed against their stomach during this week. Although sleep is difficult during this week and...
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By week 31 of pregnancy, comfort levels have definitely declined as the mother increases in bulk and as the baby accumulates layers of fat. Also, at 3 1/2 pounds and 18 inches in length, the baby continues to take up more and more room in the womb. As the baby fills bulks up, its skin becomes...
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Growing rapidly, at pregnancy week 32, the baby is about 19 inches in length and weighs nearly 4 pounds. By pregnancy week 32, the volume of blood flowing through a woman’s body is at least 40 times more than what she would normally contain. This increased in volume is very good for the little...
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At 4 pounds and about 19 inches long, the baby is busy accumulating more and more layers of fat during pregnancy week 33. The skin will then turn from red to light pink and the baby will look more fleshy. Inflammation along the joints and fingers is a very common symptom of pregnancy week 33....
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At 34 weeks of pregnancy the baby has grown to almost 20 inches in length and is probably around 5 pounds. By this point, the uterus has expanded to almost 6 inches from the belly button. The baby’s head also begins to move into the pelvis during this week, in preparation for stage 3 of...
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Week 35 of pregnancy is often accompanied by paranoia for many women. Anxieties about the soon-to-be-born baby mount and can cause more stress than is necessary at this point in the pregnancy. It is important to keep in mind that this is a common reaction to being so near delivery and that the...
» More about Pregnancy Week 35
By week 36 of pregnancy, the uterus has expanded to almost 6 inches from the belly button and will continue to grow until delivery. After delivery, however, it will take only about 6 weeks for the uterus to go back to its normal size. The baby at week 36 is enjoying putting on weight and has...
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At 37 weeks of pregnancy, some women experience a discontinuation of the expansion of their uterus. Some women might even lose a few pounds during these last stages of their pregnancy, having gained about 35 pounds so far. During this week, it is important to be tested for Group B strep. These...
» More about Pregnancy Week 37
At nearly 7 pounds around week 38 of pregnancy, the baby is and will remain around 21 inches in length. The mother will also remain close to her belly size at week 38 for the rest of the pregnancy. Labor could occur anytime between today and by week 40, so it is best to be prepared. Knowing as...
» More about Pregnancy Week 38
Having grown almost 1/2 a size since the previous week, the baby in pregnancy week 39 is about 7 1/2 pounds and around 21 1/2 inches long. During week 39, fetal monitoring can come in quite handy in helping determine weather there is any sign of fetal distress during labor. When the uterus...
» More about Pregnancy Week 39
At almost 9 or 10 pounds and around 21 1/2 inches long, the baby is very snug in the little room it has within the uterus. Although due date predictions are carefully conducted, sometimes they are incorrect. For this reason, first time mothers especially usually deliver at week 41 or 42 instead...
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