Fetal Development

I believe the average is approximately 15.5 oz.

The human fetal heart begins beating about 22-23 days after conception. (Though the heart is not yet fully formed, cardiac muscle contractions have begun.) That's called the 5th week of pregnancy, since it's 5 weeks after the last period. The fetus at this stage is between 2 and 3 mm in size.

Sometimes it's possible to detect the heartbeat, with a Doppler instrument, almost this early, but usually the first such detection is later, around week 10, or at least by week 12. By week 21, the heart can be heard with a standard stethoscope.

Your baby is about 1/3- 1/4 inch long. He/she weighs less than one gram (which is about the weight of a paper clip!!!). At week 7, the baby's brain cells are growing 100 times a minute, arms/legs are starting to bud, and his face is becoming more defined this week! His eyes are open, although the does not have irises yet!

Babies are not ever in the mothers stomach they grow in the mothers uterus, in a placenta.>>>

I am improving the previous answer. Babies do NOT "grow in a placenta". The placenta is what the OTHER end of the umbilical cord is attached to (inside the mother, in the uterus)...this is the way it gets nourishment from the mother. Babies develop in the uterus after the mother's egg is fertilized by the father's sperm via sexual intercourse, or artificial insemination (a procedure performed by a doctor when a couple are having a hard time conceiving, 'getting pregnant', a baby.) The placenta is delivered within a few minutes of the baby.

my step sister had a baby and she had her first ultra sound at 2 months so yes i believe it's still early. Actually I had an Ultrasound done at 5 weeks and 5 days. They were able to see the sac, baby and pick up the heart beat at 122 bpm. So no, it it not too early to get an ultrasound.

According to a longitudinal study published in 1991, and done in the 1980's in Jamaica by Melanie Dreher, RN, PhD, FAAN, and funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the March of Dimes, at 3 days after birth, there was no difference in babies who were exposed to cannabis, and those who were not. After 30 days, the exposed babies did better on comprehensive evaluations than non-exposed babies. After 4 years, there was no significant difference between the two groups. At 5 years of age, after the children had started school, the McCarthy scale and something called "the home scale" again showed no difference between exposed children and non-exposed children. A video of a presentation of this study by Dr. Dreher at the Patients Out of Time Conference in Asilomar in July of 2008 is available <a href> http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=39313123&searchid=b4885688-abdb-4dac-b6b8-1ab5e62b525a

"here" </a>. NIDA did not continue funding the study at this point, because the study did not show the harm they expected to see.

You are 36 weeks pregnant. (fetal age 34 weeks) * The baby is about 19 inches (48 cm) long. * Weight is around 6 and a half pounds (3 kg). * The baby's body is becoming chubby as fat layers build. * Between now and birth they may gain about an ounce (30g) a day While it says that your baby weighs six and a half pounds this week and measures 19 inches long, this is only an estimate. In general, babies are gaining half a pound per week now. Baby continues gaining weight as fat deposits and is forming creases in the neck and wrists.

http://www.baby2see.com/development/

The doctor should be able to hear the babies heart beat with a Doppler after about 16 weeks. If you are more than 16 to 20 weeks pregnant and the doctor can not hear a heart beat then you need an ultrasound to make sure the baby is ok.

Yes. All fetuses have a heartbeat, they're all alive.be happy. Hi Franky, Gustavo, and Alexis ! I told you a fetus has a heartbeat, it's in the answer. ;D

In the first three weeks, the embryo has formed the forebrain, the midbrain and the hindbrain. In your second trimester, the major structures of the brain are in place and functioning. From this point the brain and organs continue to develop.

Yes, it is the onset of a condition known as infinifetus, in which fetuses grow inside each other with no end, the result being a horrific M.C. Escher-esque conglomerate.

Or you could just learn to use Google. Until you do, search for 'Fetus in fetu', should be relevant to your interests.

You will be able to touch your abdomen and begin to notice the increased size of your uterus usually around the same time that you begin to "show", near week 10 of most pregnancies. You may start to feel the movement of the baby around the fifth month (20 weeks). Women who are overweight usually don't feel it as soon as smaller women, but most will feel the movement, pokes, and kicks by week 21.

In the second month, the embryo is only about an inch long. However, it's beginning to look much more like a baby at this stage.

The tail is gone, and arms and feet (along with fingers and toes) have formed. Eyes are developed with eyelids sealed shut. Also formed are the ears, a nose tip, and a tongue.

All major body organs and systems are present, but they all still have a great deal of development to go through.

Then embryo will make spontaneous movements, but it will be many weeks before those movements will be strong enough for you to feel them.

The placenta, which serves as the baby's life support system, is currently being busily built.

At week 26, the fetus can survive outside the womb. That is at about 6 1/2 months. Anything before this, the lungs will not be developed enough to live. Even at 26 weeks the lungs are extremely premature. A substance called surfactant is usually given to the newborn which basically makes breathing easier.

Answer: Usually at 5 weeks a fetus is a little bigger than the size of a quarter. So by about 8-9 weeks, which is 2 months, a fetus is about the size of a half-dollar coin. The baby is 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) and already has fingers. You can already see the baby's veins. The heart has divided into right and left chambers

The fetal heartbeat can be heard with a fetal scope between 22 and 24 weeks.

Most home use fetal dopplers can detect the heartbeat at 12-15 weeks.

Clinical level fetal doppler machines that your doctor uses can usually hear the heartbeat between 6-8 weeks.

I just had a US done today, at 6w0d gestation, so i;m about 7.5 weeks on the calendar. The HR was 104bmp. I'm really nervous about it, last m/c i had the hr was 120 at 6w4d, and i lost the baby at 8 weeks. SO, i just saw you question wasn't answered yet, so hopefully your babies HR is higher than mine, but the doc didnt say i should worry ( he say that last time too tho).

Feels pretty much like a pop. Sometimes you can actually see your stomach popping up and down depending on how often the fetus kicks or move.

A new test has been developed, called FASTER (First and Second Trimester Evaluation Risk), with which Down syndrome will be able to be detected during the first trimester of the pregnancy - about 11 weeks after conception - with 87% accuracy.

One of the most common phrases involving pregnancy is that the fetus undergoes what the mother undergoes. so, where can you even begin to answer this question?

Obviously any drugs, including alcohol, cigarettes, and coffee will negatively effect the fetus.

Healthy foods will probably help it. Definitely try to gain weight during pregnancy so that the baby will consume the appropriate nutrients to survive.

Vernix Caseosa