What does the baby do in the mother’s belly?

During the 9 months of pregnancy, the fetus goes a long way from being a small embryo to becoming a baby and, already in the uterus, it acquires some of the characteristics that will remain with it for life: for example, it is already possible to see if will you be right-handed or left-handed, and what kind of food will you prefer. During a very short period of time, many interesting things happen to the baby, and today we suggest that you follow this adventure from conception to birth.

O awesome.club prepared for you this fascinating journey.

A long journey has begun. During the first 4 days, the future person is smaller than a grain of salt: its size is only 0.14 mm. However, from the fifth day onwards it begins to grow, and by the sixth it increases to almost double its size, up to 0.2 mm. On the fourth day, the embryo “arrives” to the place where it will stay for the next 9 months – in the uterus – and, on the eighth day, it implants itself in your wall.

Embryo in the fourth week of pregnancy

Approximately on the 20th day of pregnancy, a very important event occurs: a neural tube appears that becomes the spine and brain of the child. Already on the 21st day your heart starts beating and all the important organs are formed, such as the kidneys and liver. The eyes still do not occupy their usual position: the blisters, from which the eyes will form later, are on the sides of the head. At the end of the first month, the embryo has a circulatory system, while the spine and muscles begin to develop.

In the fifth week, the embryo’s hands appear, although it is very difficult to distinguish the fingers, but its little arms and feet already bend at the joints. It is at this time that the external genitalia begins to form, but it is still impossible to see on the ultrasound whether it is a boy or a girl. By the way, from the moment of conception the embryo has already grown a lot, up to 10 thousand times. At this moment the face begins to form: the eyes, which will remain closed for a long time, darken and begin to look more like those of humans.

During the seventh week of pregnancy, the fetus begins to move, although its mother still doesn’t notice it, and the fingers and toes look almost the same as adults. At this stage, the embryo develops the rudiments of milk teeth and the reproductive system, and the kidneys begin to produce urine. Although the height of the fetus is only 2.5 cm, it acquires its own facial expressions and eyelids, and the tip of the nose becomes more defined.

Embryo at 9th/10th week of gestation

By then, the baby has already grown a lot, its weight is 4 grams and its height is 2-3 cm. Despite its small dimensions, the brain is already divided into two hemispheres and milk teeth and taste buds begin to form. The tail and membranes disappear between the fingers, he begins to swim in the amniotic fluid and moves even more actively, although this remains imperceptible to the mother. It is at this time that the child acquires his individual facial features and his hair begins to grow.

At this point in the pregnancy, the child’s genitals develop, so their gender can already be known on the ultrasound, although the probability of error is still high. It still looks a little strange: it has a big head and a small body, but its face is already that of an adult. The ears are almost in the correct position, eyebrows and eyelashes appear. The cartilages, of which the skeleton consists, gradually ossify, new blood vessels appear, and hormone production begins. The baby has grown, now measures 6 cm and weighs about 20 grams.

Embryo in the 14th week of gestation.

Although the child’s head is half the length of its entire body, the face is more like an adult’s, and the rudiments of all 20 milk teeth are already formed in the mouth. The child can already put a finger in his mouth, but he will only learn to suck it a little later. Due to the active formation of the vessels, the baby’s skin is red and very delicate. A very fine down, called lanugo, appears on the body, which is necessary to preserve a special lubricant that protects the baby from hypothermia.

At week 15, the baby grows to 10 cm and gains weight, now weighing around 70 grams. Although the eyes are still quite low, the face is already recognizable. In addition, the child begins to “make faces”, as the facial muscles are well developed. At this point, he already knows how to suck a thumb, while the sebaceous and sweat glands begin to function.

And finally, the ear canals form, so the child begins to distinguish sounds well and hear the mother’s voice, being able to recognize her. In addition to baby teeth, the rudiments of molars appear, bones are definitively formed and begin to harden. By the way, the bones of the skull will remain mobile until birth: as the baby passes through the birth canal, they overlap to facilitate its expulsion. Now, the mother finally starts to feel his movements, he already measures 14 cm and weighs 190 grams.

Embryo in the 20th week of pregnancy

Even if the baby’s eyes are still closed, he is already very familiar with the space around him. Also, it is now possible to understand whether the child will be right-handed or left-handed, because at this point he is starting to use his dominant hand more actively. Fingerprints appear on baby’s fingers, another mark unique to each of us. At this time, it also begins to distinguish day from night and is active at a certain time.

Week 21 is the time when a child begins to gain weight, forming subcutaneous fat. Soon, the typical folds of newborns will appear on their arms and legs. At week 22, neurons are formed in the brain and will be for life. Very soon, the child will open his eyes, which he is already trying to do, and his eyes move almost like an adult’s.

By week 23, the child will likely begin to dream, and their face is already so shaped that, on an ultrasound, you can see what facial features they have inherited. Her skin is no longer transparent, her eyes open up and can respond to light – more than that, strong light can scare the baby. At week 24, he measures almost 30 cm and his weight reaches 0.5 kg.

At this time, the baby’s taste buds definitely develop and, tasting the amniotic fluid, he can wrinkle up if he doesn’t like it. Eating habits are formed in exactly this way, since in the mother’s womb there are foods we like and those we don’t. Very soon, the child will learn to blink and can already see a little, albeit very blurry.

Embryo in the 27th/28th of gestation.

If you do an ultrasound, you can see how the child smiles and sucks a thumb intensely. At this time, the baby has its first “toy”, its own umbilical cord, and is actively studying its body. At the end of the seventh month of pregnancy, the child develops the individual metabolism that it will have throughout its life. The baby is already quite big: its weight reaches 1.2 kg and its height is 35 cm.

The baby at the 30th week of pregnancy.

The subcutaneous fat layer is increasing and the baby is getting fatter and better fed. In addition, he already knows how to cry, cough and, sometimes, he even has a hiccup. This probably happens when you ingest too much amniotic fluid. By week 30, the child’s brain is already so developed that it is able to remember and even analyze information.

At this point, a person already has all 5 senses, and their daily routine looks more and more like the one they will follow after birth. The child hears the work of all the mother’s organs, knows her voice well and, thanks to this, immediately after birth can distinguish it from everyone else’s. The baby’s immune system starts producing antibodies that will protect him from all sorts of infections that can await him in the first days and months after birth.

Finally, the subcutaneous fat has already formed and the lanugo begins to disappear from the fetus. By this time, the child has grown a lot: it measures about 40 cm and its weight approaches or exceeds 2 kg. The baby’s nervous system is already fully formed, but the lungs are still developing.

The child yawns. 3D ultrasound at the 36th week of pregnancy.

At this point, the baby already looks almost the same as it will at birth. It is still quite thin, but the subcutaneous fat layer increases more and more intensely. However, his hair and nails are already fully formed, and he gets so big that he has almost no room to move, so he ends up moving a lot less than in the previous stages.

Finally, the baby’s formation process has come to an end: it is now completely ready for delivery and the midwives consider it a full-term pregnancy from 37 weeks onwards. The lanugo eventually disappears from your body and may occasionally remain on your hands and legs. As there is almost no space left in the uterus, the mother may feel the baby begin to move more intensely. In fact, the force of the blows increases, because the child’s muscles finally formed and became stronger.

The first minutes after birth

The infant’s lungs continue to develop until birth, and only at birth do they secrete the correct amount of surfactant, a substance that prevents the alveoli from sticking together after the first independent breath. Very soon, the baby will announce its birth with its first cry and start its long journey through this big and interesting world.