A Week by Week Guide to Pregnancy.

Your Pregnancy Week-By-Week Guide

Pregnancy is an amazing time in any woman’s life. Having a life growing inside you is certainly a miracle if nothing else. However, you might be interested to know what is happening inside you during the nine months, or 40 weeks to be precise, it takes for the baby to develop ready for the birth. What happens when you develop a tummy, stretch marks and a major problem with heartburn? Well, read on below to find out!

Week 1 – This is actually your last menstruation cycle because your estimated due date is actually taken from the date of your last period. No baby yet!

Week 2 – Still not pregnant yet! The conception of your baby will actually happen this week.

Week 3 – You will now be expecting a baby. The fertilized egg will still be moving down the fallopian tube but the cell inside it will begin to divide. When it reaches the uterus and implants in the wall towards the end of this week, it will be a bundle of cells that will develop into a baby.

Week 4 – Your baby will now be just two layers of cells, which eventually become the organs. The embryo will be protected by amniotic fluid at this point as well.

Week 5 – The placenta develops to nourish the embryo, which also begins to take shape. A bulge in the centre of the embryo will begin to develop into the heart and a column down the back of the embryo will begin to function as a spine and neurological centre. You, on the other hand, will begin to get morning sickness!

Week 6 – Your baby will not be around 2mm in size, have a beating heart and a developing nervous system and brain! This week, the embryo will begin to develop stumps that eventually turn into arms and legs.

Week 7 – In week 7, the umbilical cord forms so your baby can get all the nourishment it needs. It will also have hands on the end of the stumps, the beginnings of a respiratory and digestive system, and facial features that are already becoming defined.

Week 8 – Fingers and toes begin to develop this week, as do the eyes with the retina forming. Also, the genitals will have begun to develop, although the baby will still not have a defined gender.

Week 9 – This week, your baby will begin to move although you won’t be able to feel it just yet. Internal reproductive organs will begin to form and the head will also become much larger. At this stage, your baby will be just 16mm long!

Week 10 – The embryo will now have fully functional organs, which will be working together as of this week. Any congenital abnormalities would have already formed by now so, if your baby is healthy, it has passed the danger zone!

Week 11 – The embryo is now officially a foetus! It looks human in shape, even if the head is half of the body length, and will have clearly defined facial features. It will also begin to grow at a monstrous rate so expect to have a tummy shortly!

Week 12 – The foetus will now have finger and toe nails and have fully functional kidneys so it can pass out excess fluids as urine. The vocal cords will also develop this week and the brain continues to advance. This is officially the end of the first trimester!

Week 13 – The placenta is now producing hormones to keep your pregnancy stable, which can only be a good thing! Also, your baby now has full eyelids, which are shut to protect the development of the eyes.

Week 14 – At 3.5 inches, your baby now has fully formed genitals. You won’t be able to tell whether it is a boy or a girl just yet but they’re there!

Week 15 – In week 15, your baby will be moving various parts of the body because the skeleton and muscles are really beginning to form now. It will also have hair on the head and eyebrows!

Week 16 – Your baby is now able to frown! The facial muscles work well now so your baby is able to pull all kinds of faces! It can also hold its own head upright.

Week 17 – Your baby is now 7.1 inches and continuing to grow rapidly so the placenta will begin to grow to keep up.

Week 18 – Your baby’s bones will start to harden this week, and the bones in the ears fully develop so your baby will also be able to hear you. Its eyes will also be in the final stages of development so pretty soon it’ll be able to see too!

Week 19 – In week 19, your baby will develop layers of fat to be able to keep warm. It’s a sign that the pregnancy is almost half way through.

Week 20 – Your baby will now be developing thicker skin and will be at 6.3 inches. As it’s getting bigger, you will start to feel pressure on your bladder, lungs and stomach. This is where you start feeling uncomfortable and going to the toilet a lot more!

Week 21 – The bone marrow spaces in your baby’s body are now fully formed and start to help the liver and spleen produce blood cells. Of course, when baby is born, only the bone marrow continues to do that.

Week 22 – The baby’s reproductive organs will be fully formed at this stage and so will the nerves under baby’s skin. It will be able to feel and to taste as the taste buds will also be formed.

Week 23 – Your baby is now 1lb and may have a chance of surviving if premature. It will also put itself through a gruelling routine of moving every day to help the muscles strengthen!

Week 24 – The inner ear and lungs are fully developed this week. The latter is in readiness for breathing alone at birth and the former for balance. If baby is upside down then it knows about it!

Week 25 – Your baby will begin to sleep, as such. It will be alert for a while and then rest. It will also be able to hear your voice so get singing.

Week 26 – In just 3 weeks, your baby has put on another 1lb. It will be able to open its eyelids now and take a look around.

Week 27 – This is the beginning of the home run, also known as the third trimester. Baby will be a small version of the week 40 version and would likely survive. However, the lungs and immune system do still need to mature.

Week 28 – Brain development is now almost complete and baby will also have added layers of fat this week. Not long to go now!

Week 29 – By now, your baby should be moving around at least 10 times an hour and will start beating you up from the inside. Don’t be surprised if you can’t catch your breath from a punch every now and again.

Week 30 – Baby now weighs 3 lbs and will start to breath, or at least mimic breathing. Don’t be surprised if it gets the hiccups either!

Week 31 – Baby will be urinating a lot by now and will begin to move around more in preparation to head into the big wide world!

Week 32 – Baby is now 4lbs and has a full head of hair, eyelashes and eyebrows.

Week 33 – The weight will really start to pile on now. Baby also has fully matured lungs and a good quota of fat. It will also be sleeping most of the time, just as a newborn does.

Week 34 – At around 5lbs, the baby will now have moved so its head is down in most cases. Ready for birth at some stage in the next few weeks!

Week 35 – Baby will now pile on about 8 ounces a week in fat until it is born. However, baby will also move less because it will be really cramped in there. When it does, you’ll know about it!

Week 36 – The bones in baby’s head are now overlapping so it can travel down the birth canal with very few problems. It’ll now look like the baby that you will be handed in just a few short weeks!

Week 37 – Baby is now full term, even though there are still 3 weeks to go until your due date.

Week 38 – If you’re having a boy, his testicles will have descended. If you’re having a girl, the outer genitals are formed. Not long now…

Week 39 - …Get ready…

Week 40 - …Congratulations! Well, maybe if you’re the 5% of mothers that deliver on time. It could be another 2 weeks or so before baby puts in an appearance.