Fetal development at 15 weeks pregnant includes significant changes to the baby's appearance and behavior. While the mother-to-be may just be beginning to show signs of a baby bump, inside her belly the fetus is hard at work completing the...
The first weeks of pregnancy are a time of tremendous growth and change for the new organism that will eventually become an infant. During this time, a single fertilized cell proliferates into a complex cell ball, and unspecialized cells become...
Nicotine exposure (by smoking, using patches or being exposed to passive smoke) during pregnancy has harmful effects on at least three major types of fetal cells during early pregnancy. Nicotine's toxic effect on the development and function of...
Pregnant women are regularly preoccupied with wondering exactly what their baby looks like at that moment. While you don't have a window to your womb, medical science has taught us a lot about development in pregnancy. By knowing what is going on...
During the course of pregnancy, nature takes a microscopic dot of life and creates a 7 lb. baby in only nine months. Fetal development is explosive, particularly in the first few months.
During pregnancy, rapid growth is necessary to ensure the complete development of a baby within the 40 week gestational period. Pregnancy is broken up into three trimesters, each which feature significant developmental stages for babies.
Pregnancy is divided into three developmental stages: the first trimester, or first three-month period; the second trimester, from three to six months; and the third trimester, from six to nine months, according to the University of Iowa. Each...
The placenta is an organ that helps provide the fetus with oxygen and nutrients. It attaches to the uterine wall in the early stages of pregnancy and grows with the fetus until birth. There are several problems that can be associated with the...
Fetal development begins the moment the egg and sperm meet. These early days and weeks form the foundation for the unborn baby, who will change exponentially in the months from conception until birth. Early fetal development encompasses the first...
Carrying twins means you’ll have double the joy, but you’ll also have almost double the belly of a woman carrying one baby, since twins grow at nearly the same rate as single babies. By the time you reach the 24th week of your...
A teenage pregnancy carries physical consequences for the mother, and it can also affect the physical development of the unborn baby and his future development. It is possible for a baby born out of a teenage pregnancy to be healthy and...
Gender is determined immediately upon conception, report doctors at Pregnancy.org. The chromosome that carries the male or female chromosome is in the sperm that fertilizes the egg. During the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, the fetus grows rapidly....
Pregnancy consists of three stages called trimesters. Most healthy pregnancies progress at approximately the same rate, but many variables can affect fetal development during each trimester. For this reason, the American Pregnancy Association...
When the mother's egg is initially fertilized by the father's sperm, it is referred to as a zygote. This single cell develops into a ball of cells called the blastocyst, and then an embryo over the following two weeks. During week eight, it...
Testing for the hormone hCG is essential to ascertain if a woman is pregnant. Monitoring levels of hCG throughout pregnancy will indicate if the fetus is developing normally. If you are planning to have children, knowing when hCG develops in...
A normal pregnancy is 40 weeks in duration and totals 9 months of gestation. This is commonly broken down into trimesters lasting from 12 to 14 weeks each. There are many exciting milestones during fetal development and the process first begins...
Your unborn baby's brain development depends largely on the nutrients that your body provides. In order to make sure that your baby's brain develops properly in the womb, it is important to understand which foods can help encourage development and...
Fetal brain development is a complex process, and the nutrients you take in during pregnancy directly affect your baby's brain. While overall malnutrition can limit fetal development in general, there are some nutrients that are particularly...
Human brain development is an incredibly complex process involving a host of different signals from the mother and the developing fetus. Although the fetus is protected to some extent by the placenta, the developing fetal brain is vulnerable to...
Skin tags are one of the many skin changes that you may notice during pregnancy. They can appear at any point during pregnancy, but according to the book "Frankly Pregnant," they are more common during the second and third trimesters. One thing to...
Breastfeeding is healthy for both mom and baby, but when there's a new bun in the oven, you may wonder whether or not it is still safe for you to continue nursing your baby. For most women, it's perfectly safe to continue breastfeeding during part...
Lactose intolerance -- the inability to tolerate foods containing the sugar lactose, which is found in dairy products -- develops over time. Although lactose intolerance can be hereditary, the disorder rarely develops before age 2 and most often...
The fetal stage of development lasts from the end of the second month, or eighth week, until the end of the fortieth week. While all organs and organ systems are in place by the beginning of the fetal stage of development, this stage nevertheless...
A man's sperm in the woman's fallopian tubes fertilizes an egg. It takes a few days for the fertilized egg to move through into the uterus where it will grow. The implanted cells become the fetus and placenta, providing nutrients, oxygen and...
Your baby grows and changes each day throughout your pregnancy. Brain development is one of the most important ways your baby grows, and you can encourage a healthy brain by eating certain foods. Jonny Bowden and Allison Tannis, in their book,...
The journey through a pregnancy is a thrilling, scary, emotional ride. For nine months, you will have another human being growing inside of you--one that you helped to create. While you're busy readying your family for its newest member, shopping...
Any travel can put stress on your pregnant body, but traveling by airplane and visiting a developing country carries additional risk for both you and your baby. While many women will be able to safely travel to a developing country with minimal...
When you're pregnant, you're likely anxious about your impending arrival and curious about your baby's growth and development. While your burgeoning belly is an indication of your baby's growing size, learn more about organ development, learning...
Pregnancy begins when a sperm fertilizes an egg, which then implants into the lining of the mother's uterus. The average pregnancy lasts for approximately 40 weeks, when doctor's measure from the date of the woman's last menstrual period. Babies...
Demonstration of ultrasound use. Learn about obstetrics from a doctor in this video on understanding pregnancy.
Rubella, or German measles, is an often benign outbreak of little red bumps that usually pass in one to five days. Learn more in this health video.
Gestational diabetes is a rare diabetes develops in women during pregnancy. Watch this video for more on this unique condition and how to prevent and treat it.
