Fetal Development
Parenthood can be one of the most challenging and rewarding times in your life. Knowing that you or your partner is pregnant can bring extreme happiness along with unexpected anxieties about how your baby will develop during pregnancy.
Luckily, with the help of an ultrasound, parents can see how their baby undergoes fetal development during the three stages—first trimester, second trimester, and third trimester—of pregnancy.
In the first trimester of pregnancy the embryo produces a placenta to connect to the mother, and develops a heartbeat, some internal organs, and facial features. In the second trimester, the fetus grows from being 3 inches to about 10 inches long. Sex organs, muscles, eyelids, fingernails, and toenails start to develop. The mother often begins to feel spontaneous movement from the fetus in the second trimester. In the third trimester, the eyes and taste buds finish developing. The fetus can breathe and even cry. At the end of the third trimester, the fetus is able to survive outside the mother’s womb.
You too can experience the miraculous changes a baby goes to from being a zygote to an embryo to a fetus by watching our amazing Pregnancy Show videos on Fetal Development.
These videos capture week-by-week stages a baby undergoes starting from conception to a baby’s first movement, to just minutes before labor.
The Pregnancy Show videos on Fetal Developmental provide a fun and educational way to learn more about the stages of pregnancy. You can also witness a baby’s first smile in one of the Fetal Development videos in this section.
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