Fetus weeks
The one concept that you need to be aware of if you are already pregnant is the concept of fetus weeks. This is mainly because your gynecologist is likely to refer to the fetus development in terms of fetus weeks since that is the one measure that is considered accurate. Monitoring the development of the fetus is very important since you can get to know what is going on inside and take any corrective measures if required. Sometimes the fetus may not be developing in a normal manner and therefore some serious ramifications can happen. There are set standard developments that should happen at each of the stages defined and this is what the gynecologist examines as each of the scan reports come in. For example, at four weeks the brain and spinal cord should have formed and the heart too begins to take shape. The arm and leg buds appear though they do not look like arms and legs at this stage. At around 8 weeks the major organs of the body start for form and the heart starts to beat. At this stage the doctor is likely to listen to the heartbeat at each checkup to ensure all is well.
The fetal heart gives a good indication of the health of the fetus and therefore it is checked at each stage after it has been formed. The rate of the heartbeat tells us that the heart is functioning normally and that all is well. Activity and movement start by the sixteenth week and becomes more prominent around week 20.
The fetal development becomes faster as the weeks go by and the mother soon starts to complain of pushing and kicking that the child starts to do. Before the third trimester starts the bone marrow, taste buds, footprints and fingerprints also start to form as do hair. The startle reflex also starts to happen at this stage.
A 32 week fetus is quite a full-fledged baby though it still cannot survive out of the body. The bones are formed and the eyes open and shut based on light and dark; something that the baby starts to get used to already. Some breathing practice also begins at this stage.
Since the baby is now bigger, there is a protective coating called the vernix that gets ticker to ensure better padding for the child. The body fat of the baby increases and at this stage the baby starts to put on weight rapidly. It is said that the maximum weight gain for the baby occurs during the last 4 weeks.
While the development of the baby is defined specifically, each baby does develop at his own pace and therefore there is no need to panic unless your doctor tells you otherwise. Sometimes there are babies that are born prematurely and even then they survive the ordeal. Fetus weeks just help us understand the process better.