A Look Inside Your Baby's World: Stages of Fetal Development
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Just a few inches below the surface of your skin, nestled safely deep within your body, your baby is changing at a truly amazing pace.
View the different stages, by week
Here are some pictures to help give you an idea of the incredible ways your litle one is growing!
Week 2 - Just two weeks after conception, your little one is a mere 1/100 of an inch long... that's roughly the width of three of the hairs from your head!
Week 4 - Now having been in existence for a month (since conception), your little one is about 1/6 of an inch long and has a head and a trunk. Limb buds -- early arms and legs -- are starting to be apparent.
Week 8 - Your baby is now 1/3 of an inch long and weighs about one gram. Although he's tiny, little fingers and toes are beginning to form. An early tongue and twenty little baby teeth buds are in his mouth, and he now has nostrils.
Week 10 - Your baby is now about 1-1/5 inches long (about 4 centimeters) -- and his head takes up about half of that size!
Week 12 - Your baby is about 2-1/2 inches from head to rump, and weighs just about 1-1/2 ounces. His heartbeat should now be detectable with an electronic doppler (or heart monitor).
Week 16 - Your little sweetie is about 4 to 4-3/4 inches long from the new fine hair on his head to his bum. He weighs about 3 to 4 ounces -- that's about as much as your average kiwi fruit!
Week 20 - Weighing in at a hefty 10 ounces, your baby is now about 6-1/4 inches long from head to rump. He's big enough now that you may feel him moving!
Week 24 - His lungs are just starting to develop to the point that some babies -- with major intensive care -- may survive, albeit with difficulty and some chance of disability.
Week 28 - From head to bum, your baby is about 10 inches long and tips the scales at about 2-1/2 pounds. (Yeah, that's about the size of half an average bag of sugar.)
Week 32 - Just about an inch short of being a foot long, your little one weighs more than 3 pounds already.
Week 36 - Your baby weighs somewhere between 4 and 6 pounds, and is growing rapidly (especially in the fat department).
Week 40 - Baby will be here any time now! Term babies are usually about 20 inches long (about 14 inches from head to rump) and, on average, weigh about 7-1/2 pounds.
For additional guidance
To help you explore more of what is going on at each stage of pregnancy, click the links represented beside the icons below on each of the image pages. They will offer you more information, such as...
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See some ultrasounds A variety of sonograms, sorted by week | |
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Take a peek at some featured pregnancy diaries | |
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Read a few articles Find out what you might expect this trimester | |
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Real Moms talk What other expectant moms had to say | |
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Like this page? Click here to send this page to a friend! |
See other weeks here:
Note: These images and information are not meant to convey precise detail, but rather the general shape and progression of your baby as he or she develops. These drawings are not to scale, and are for educational purposes only. Every baby is different, and this information should not be construed as medical diagnosis or advice.
For more on your baby's development and changes in your body, be sure to check out our day-by-day pregnancy calendar!
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Important notice: The Pregnancy & Baby site is for educational purposes only, and presents information of a general nature. This is not medical advice. If you are concerned about your health or the health of a family member, or have questions about whether or not you are pregnant, please consult with a healthcare professional. This information is not a substitute for personal medical attention, diagnosis or treatment. Coincide Media, LLC accepts no responsibility for damages resulting from the use of this information and make no warranty or representation, either express or implied, including but not limited to, any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. This information is provided as is, and you, its user, assume all risks when using it.
