Prenatal Development: Week 7

It's now four weeks after conception and your baby is about the size of a grain of rice. Your baby is only between 0.2 to 0.52 inches (5 to 13 millimeters) in length and about 0.03 ounces (0.8 grams) in weight. The arms and legs continue to grow, although fingers and toes haven't quite started to form just yet.

Pregnancy Tip   Help promote the healthy growth of your baby's nervous system and protect against neural tube defects by taking with increased levels of vitamin B12 and folic acid, like those from Biotegrity. Designed to give you the nutrients you need during your first trimester, these vitamins also have higher amounts of vitamin B6 to help ease morning sickness.

The Beginning of Something Great
The lenses of the eyes, nostrils, intestines, pancreas and bronchi are all now developing. Your baby's face is also starting to take shape; the mouth perforation, ear indentations, miniature nostrils and the pigmentation in the irises of the eyes are all happening this week.

In addition, the umbilical cord, which gives nourishment and disposes of the baby's wastes, develops from the implantation site of the blastocyst. The baby's digestive tract and lungs are also continuing to form.

Expecting Twins? Even though you are only seven weeks pregnant, it is still possible to tell whether or not you're having twins. If you are pregnant with twins, some of the early signs of pregnancy are:

• Faster rate of weight gain - women carrying twins can gain ten pounds in their first trimester!
• Greater tendency to retain water
• Increased fatigue
• Morning sickness that is often more severe than that experienced by women carying one baby.

If you are starting to experience any of these pregnancy symptoms and twins run in your family, you could be a contender! Additionally, your health care provider can sometimes hear two heart beats as early as 10 weeks.

Prenatal Development
Around this time you'll develop a mucous plug, which forms in the opening of the cervical canal and seals off the uterus to protect your growing child. Eventually you'll lose this plug as your cervix dilates in preparation for labor.

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Week 2	Week 12	Week 22	Week 32
Week 3	Week 13	Week 23	Week 33
Week 4	Week 14	Week 24	Week 34
Week 5	Week 15	Week 25	Week 35
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Week 7	Week 17	Week 27	Week 37
Week 8	Week 18	Week 28	Week 38
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Week 10	Week 20	Week 30	Week 40

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