FETAL DEVELOPMENT |
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At 8 weeks, you swam freely in the amniotic sac with a natural swimmer's stroke. Your mother didn't feel you until about 4 1/2 months into the pregnancy. At this stage you were approximately the length of an adult thumb. You could respond to painful stimuli, such as a needle prick, and could grasp an object and make a fist. Each of your organs were present. Your heart beat sturdily, your stomach provided digestive juices, your liver make blood cells and your kidneys began to function. |
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By 9 weeks, you were cute as a button - with large eyes, a fine little nose, and a mouth which occasionally sucked a tiny thumb. Since you were still so small and not cramped for space you had plenty of room to move. Even though your mother couldn't feel you yet, you had already perfected a somersault, backflip and scissor kick.
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By 16 weeks, you were 5 1/2 inches long and weighed nearly a pound. You had fingernails and eyelashes. Throughout your time in utero, you were nourished with food, water and oxygen by your mother through the placenta.
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"Birth" isn't the beginning of your life - it's just one chapter in a continuing story. In fact, you'll continue to develop, just like you did in the womb, until you reach the ancient age of approximately
23 years.
Information taken from Human Development Resource Council Inc.
Guelph & Area Right to Life
26 Norfolk Street, Guelph, ON, N1H 4H8
519.836.6311
email
