human embryo

Pregnancy has got to be the time when the human body changes the most between the changes happening to the body of the mom-to-be and the tremendous amounts of change that occur to the tiny body within the pregnant body!

Bodily changes for the mom-to-be:

Bigger is the theme of pregnancy. Your body, mainly the abdomen, gets bigger to accommodate the growing life inside the womb. The breasts are also enlarged in preparation to nourishing the baby. The average weight increase for each breast during pregnancy is 1 to 1 1/2 pounds each breast. The skin will also stretch to an unbelievably large amount right up to the last month in order to allow for these changes in breast and abdomen. Your skin will go through many other changes including a darkened line of skin from naval to pubic bone called the linea nigra and the mask of pregnancy which are brown splotchy markings seen on the cheeks, nose and under the eyes of the mom-to-be.

A pregnant mom-to-be may notice tiny red elevations called vascular spiders or telangiectasias. They appear on the face, arms, neck or upper chest. These red vascular spiders will disappear after the baby is born. Another noticeable change that includes the color red is the occurrence of red palms. Red palms can happen to women of dark or light skin and is the result of an increased estrogen in the body because of the pregnancy. After you gave birth, your palms should return to a more normal skin tone. Other skin changes include skin tags (bumps or lumps of skin), pimples, stretch marks and itchy skin.

There you have it – the bigness and redness of pregnancy, and what’s next? How about moles and skin tags. Examine your skin during your pregnancy and you may be surprised to observe that your skin has all of a sudden sprung a new group of moles, or moles you have before the pregnancy may grow larger and darker.

Body changes for the developing baby within:

Your future baby’s changes start the moment fertilization occurs in the 2nd week of your cycle. Week 3 finds fertilization happening, week 4 is when the embryonic changes are happening. Week 5 is maybe the most important change of all – when the little one’s heart begins to beat. Week 6 will see the neural tube closing. Week 7 is all about the umbilical cord as it makes it’s appearance. Week 8 is when the changes in embryonic development have the baby developing webbed fingers and toes. Week 9 has the embryo starting to make movements. Week 10 is when the baby’s vital organs have basically been formed. Week 11 finds the baby deciding to show the sexual preference and to round off the first 12 weeks, the baby is now approximately 3″” inches long and about 4/5 of an ounce. Toenails and fingernails are formed.

Filed under: Pregnancy