Your Baby's Development

This series of videos produced by Baby Center, will give you a realistic and factual account of what is taking place inside your body. Stage by stage, you will be able to view the progress of your pregnancy and the development of your baby.

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The fertilized egg makes its way to the uterus; new life has begun! The cells begin to give shape and form to vital organs. By the end of nine weeks, the unmistakable body of a baby is formed.

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Weeks 10 to 14

At 10 weeks, your baby is entering the fetal stage of development. Facial features are defined and tooth buds are beginning to form.  Over the next weeks, tissues and organs will rapidly grow and mature.

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Weeks 15 to 20

Between 15 and 20 weeks, your baby will more than double in size.  As the baby’s body grows, its nervous system is rapidly maturing. At this stage, your baby may be able to hear your heartbeat and voice!

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Weeks 21 to 27

When you rub or gently press on your belly, you may feel your baby squirm or kick in response. Your baby can feel its own face now, as well as anything within reach, including the umbilical cord.

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Weeks 28 to 37

At 28 weeks, your baby weighs just over 2 pounds and will more than triple its weight between now and birth. Your baby can open its eyes now and see the light that filters through your womb.

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Labor and Delivery

Your Changing Body

Being pregnant means that you are in store for a lot of changes. Simply on the physical level, your belly will grow as your baby develops. Changing hormones may cause you to feel different emotionally at times, and you may suffer from some unimaginable food cravings.

Most women will find these changes challenging to accept at times. Nine months isn’t really long enough to become accustomed to you new body.  It is important to remember that you haven’t lost your old self completely – this is still your body, only with some great new additions! It may also help if you remember that your body is only changing in order to nurture your child. Your new pregnant body is a special place for you to share with your baby – it is something to embrace and to love.

Emotional changes can often be responsible for shifting your body image. During pregnancy, changes in hormone levels may cause mood swings. You may feel a little bit depressed from time to time and it is easy to displace this mood by focusing on how much you hate your body. Yet often it really isn’t your changing body that is the culprit but what your mood happens to be at the time. It is important to stay relaxed and remember that your body is nurturing the life of another human being.