Note: Information provided on this page is for general education only, growth of baby inside womb depends upon many factors and growth of your baby may differ slightly than indicated below, please seek medical advice whenever in doubt.
In 1st month of pregnancy ...
Pregnancy month one begins on the first day of last menstrual cycle and includes pregnancy week 1 to 4, where the 1st week of pregnancy covers menstruation and in 2nd week of pregnancy generally towards the end of this week, Ovulation occurs and the released egg is now ready to be fertilized. In 3rd week, fertilization occurs in one of the fallopian tubes and in 4th week, fertilized egg known as a zygote is implanted in walls of uterus.
The baby will grow to average length of about 0.1 inch or 2.5 mm measured Crown to Rump (CR) towards the ends of this month.
(Before Fertilization ...)
In 1st week of this month (pregnancy week 1)- Uterus is shedding its lining and hormones are preparing another egg for release.
- You’re not really pregnant yet, however the pregnancy is counted from the first day of your last menstrual cycle, so even though pregnancies are said to be of 40 weeks long, you actually carry your baby for an average 38 weeks only.
- Keep record as when your period started and how long it lasted, this will help you track the length of your cycles and when you are more fertile and most likely to conceive.
- Start taking pre-natal vitamins which include folic acid supplements. The recommended dose in early pregnancy is 500 mcg/day, ideally this should be started couple of months before you plan to be pregnant. Low folic acid intake is linked with a higher incidence of neural tube defects in babies.
- Try to stay healthy and active and do some exercise each day and eat sensibly.
- Avoid taking medication unless it has been prescribed to you. Inform your doctor that you are planning to conceive while he prescribes any medicine to you. Some medications are harmful to the baby, especially in the early weeks of their development.
- Have a medical check-up to make sure you are in the best possible shape and prepared to conceive.
In 2nd week of this month (pregnancy week 2)- Ovulation occurs and released egg is ready to be fertilized.
- Your baby has still not been conceived in this week, even though you are officially two weeks pregnant.
- Entire genetic of your baby is contained in a single cell you will release from one of your ovaries midway between your cycles and the sperm cell it will unite with.
(After Fertilization ...)
In 3rd week of this month (pregnancy week 3)- Fertilization occurs in one of the fallopian tubes wherein sperm cell fuses into released egg and will begin its 4 to 7 day journey to the uterus.
- Cell division begins at breakneck speed immediately and continues throughout this journey.
- Implantation will occur in this week wherein fertilized egg sticks itself to nutritious lining of uterus and once it has implanted your baby is called a blastocyst and is about 0.1 to 0.2 mm in diameter.
- So far your baby is barely a size of a pinhead; it is still a cluster of cells and rapidly dividing and multiplying each day.
In 4th week of this month (pregnancy week 4)- The fertilized egg known as a zygote is implanted in the wall of the uterus and the placenta and umbilical cord begins to form.
- This week your baby is the size of a full-stop, or a poppy seed. It is still barely visible to naked eye.
- In this week there is a lot of organization and cell separation in progress and three distinct layers of cells start to form viz. the ectoderm (outer layer), mesoderm (middle layer), and endoderm (inner layer).
- Ectoderm, the outer layer, will eventually become the baby's skin, eyes, hair, their nervous system, their brain, and even the enamel of their teeth.
- Mesoderm, the middle layer will become their skeleton, muscles and kidneys, tissues and vascular (blood) system.
- Endoderm, the layer on the inside will eventually become their internal organs.
- Once a cell has a specific function, it can't become a different type of cell. Every one is pre-programmed from the start and knows what to do and what it is to become.
- Towards the end of this week and into next week, a transvaginal ultrasound can show a gestational sac. Yolk sac that helps feed your baby until the placenta is fully functional.
- Baby will grow to average length of about 0.1 inch or 2.5 mm Crown to Rump (CR) towards the ends of this week.
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