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Embryo Development
A Month by Month Look at How Baby Grows
By Katherine Bontrager
During this time, the embryo is continuing to develop, mostly layers and layers of organized cells, Dr. Greenfield says. "The development of organs peaks around 5 weeks. The embryonic heart, which starts beating just 22 days after fertilization, is essential in this process as it pumps rich oxygen, enabling the cells to grow. After that point all the other organs start forming, including the intestinal tract, the kidneys, genital system and brain. Really by 10 weeks, pretty much all the organs have been roughly formed."
"The first trimester is all about development," Dr. Patton says. "It contains a critical period called organogenesis, which means the genesis or formation of vital organ systems. This is also referred to as the hyperplastic phase. That means that during the first trimester the embryo is actually growing and adding new cells to form organs. Pretty soon it will, for the most part, quit adding new cells and concentrate on growing the cells it already has."
Just 6 obstetric weeks along in this process, Dr. Greenfield says, the embryo from head to bottom measures about 1/8 of an inch and even has tiny buds that will grow into arms and legs.
By week 7, the arms and legs are beginning to emerge from their buds, she says. "And the tiny eyes, nose and ears are starting to develop," Dr. Greenfield says. "The stomach, liver and intestines are forming. The brain now has the same three divisions – forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain. The embryo measures about 1/4 of an inch."
"By 49 days, the embryo is a little less than an inch long, but actually is starting to look less like a tadpole and have a human appearance, with arms, legs, fingers and toes," Dr. Patton says. "The proportions are a little goofy, with the head taking up about a third of the length, but the embryo is really starting to look human. You still can't tell just by looking, though, if it's going to be a boy or a girl. It's not until just at the end of the first trimester, along 12 to 13 weeks, when it's almost 3 inches long, that you can look between the legs and tell if that pointy thing is going to become a clitoris or a penis, or those rounded things are going to become labia or a scrotum. Gender is an important matter, no need to rush into this!"
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