A fetus is a fetus until it is born at which time the umbilical is cut and it becomes a child. An other argument is that the foetus ceases to be a fetus at the time it is a viable human being and can live without the mothers support.
I belive my doctor said sometimes as soon as 16 weeks
Yes. that's 16 weeks. but, no worries, it's not like actually giving birth. the embryo is still underdeveloped at this stage in the pregnancy to be considered a baby. If you were farther along in your pregnancy it would be a lot more diffucult. At 16 weeks abortions are still allowed, in most states. At 16 weeks it is VERY MUCH the same birth process. It is not an embryo, it is called a fetus which is a baby. All you have to do is look up photos of what a baby looks like at 16 weeks.
At 16 weeks of pregnancy, the fetus is still quite small and has enough room to move around, so its position can vary. While the cephalic (head-down) position is common later in pregnancy, at this early stage, it's normal for the fetus to be in any position, including breech or transverse. The baby will continue to change positions as it grows and develops.
The size of fetus is 4 to 5 mm at 5 weeks pregnancy and about half an inch or 1.25 cm at 7 weeks of pregnancy. Fetus grows by geometrical proportion with time. So you can calculate the size of fetus at 6 weeks by mathematical calculation. Say the size be X mm at six weeks. So you have 4 mm, X mm, 25 mm in the series, So X squred equals to 4*25=100. X is equal to 10. So the size of the fetus will be 10 mm at 6 weeks.
At 5 weeks of pregnancy , the fetus is still in the process of organeosis. It will take 3 months for to complete this.
For the first 8 weeks the developing human is called an embryo after that it is called a fetus.
Eye components start to develop on a fetus at 7 weeks. It isn't until the 23 weeks that all of the eye components are developed. At 26 weeks the eyes can open and close.
Yes, the baby (fetus) start moving at 7 weeks but you can not feel movements until your are between 16 to 20 weeks. At 12 weeks your baby still too small for you to feel the kicks, specially if it's your 1st pregnancy. Cangrat!!!
At 12 weeks of development, a fetus does not have the neurological development to feel pain.
Check out this link and you can see what a fetus looks like at 16 weeks. Apparantly it can get the hiccups at this stage! http://www.paternityangel.com/Preg_info_zone/WeekByWeek/Weekly16.htm
the fetus will start kicking around 25 weeks
By 7 weeks gestation the human has every organ present, at 16 weeks the the fetus measures nearly 5 inches (12cm) from head to buttocks. Can hear, dream and make expressions with his/her face.