Fetal Development at Various Stages of Pregnancy

From the first moment that the cells start to divide and create an embryo, fetal development and the stages of pregnancy progress in an established sequence. When the egg is fertilized, a zygote develops. In this first stage, which takes place during the first 2 weeks of the pregnancy, the cells multiply and develop. The next phase of fetal development and the stages of pregnancy occurs when the zygote becomes an embryo. During week 3, the embryo starts to develop the buds that may become the arms and legs of the fetus. The digestive tract also has basic beginnings at this time. 

By the fifth week of fetal development and the stages of pregnancy, the facial features have started to form. The embryo has now begun to produce hormones and the presence of these hormones stop the mummy’s menstrual cycle. When the embryo becomes about an in. 

long, about the 6th week of the fetal development and the stages of pregnancy, the brain has begun to develop its component parts ; facial features, toes and fingers are noticeable and a heartbeat can be detected in an ultrasound test. In the n ext several weeks, the organs continue to develop and the features become more discernible. The genitalia form, though they can not be distinguished at this stage in an ultrasound. Bones are beginning to form and the muscles can contract. By the end of the 1st trimester, the fetus is roughly 3 inches in length and weighs only about an ounce. During the second trimester of fetal development and the stages of pregnancy, the fetus continues to develop the traits that make it recognizable as a human baby. Development has progressed to the point the fetus will begin to move a touch ; it is during this time that a mother will begin to feel movement. As this period progresses, the fetus will develop waking and sleeping cycles that the mother will soon be ready to detect and recognize. At roughly the 24th week, a usually developed fetus is about twelve inches long and weighs about 2 pounds. It might be in a position to survive, with the help of current medical technology, if it were delivered. During the last weeks of fetal development and the stages of pregnancy, or the 3rd trimester, the bones are developed, though they are still plastic. The fetus can inhale, exhale, and even cry. The eyelids open and the lungs continue to develop until the moment of birth. The fetus gains in size and moves less because there’s less room to maneuver. The majority of the movement occurs as the fetus shifts its position in preparation for birth. At the age of thirty weeks, the fetus would be little and considered early, but it might be capable of living on its own if it were delivered. The fetus is regarded entirely developed at the age of 38 weeks and would be completely capable of living on its own if delivered, though the standard finish date is considered to be at the end of the 40th week.

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