Development of the Preborn In the
Womb
Although a dozen sperm may be close to
penetrating at the same time, when one
finally succeeds a remarkable thing
happens: The ovum's outer wall changes
its chemical composition and shuts tight,
preventing any of the other sperm from
entering. Once the head of the sperm has
pushed its way through the inner wall of
the ovum, its tail breaks off.
It is our faith and our belief that all
preborn babies possess a soul from the
MOMENT OF THEIR CONCEPTION.
During the time of pregnancy, the
mother is the custodian of the physical
as well as the spiritual components of
the preborn child in her womb. We pray
that she prays as she considers the fate of
her preborn child.
5 Weeks
The above picture shows the eye
developing slowly in the child, lagging
behind the brain, an appropriate
sequence because a refined eye is useless
without a refined brain to read and
interpret messages it sends. The eye is
one of the most prominent and easily
identified early formations of the child.
At five weeks a socket is formed.
6 Weeks
In the above picture a rudimentary heart
has already formed, as well as an early
eye. The tail will disappear within a few
weeks, but a few small tail like shrunken
vertebrae stay behind permanently. Six
weeks after fertilization, arms and legs
are extremely short but starting to take
shape. The red blob in the chest of the
child, a tiny heart, now beating about
150 times a minute, twice as fast as the
mother's. No bones have formed in the
skull, so the early brain is easily seen
above the eye. The child has its own
blood supply separate from the mother's,
but the placenta brings the two systems
next to each other. This allows the
mother to nourish the child and the child
to dispose of waste products.
11 Weeks
The above photo shows the child before First Trimester:
3 months have passed and the fingers are
now quite visible. Weeks 0-4:

Seven days after the egg is fertilized the

blast cyst in your uterus starts to produce
human chronic gonadotrophin (hCG)
hormone.

Week 5:

The embryo is now around 5mm long. Little

13 Weeks buds form, which will become the lungs.

Week 6:
The above photo shows that by the 13th
week the eyes is well developed and the He's now 10mm long. The first signs of his
lid has shut. It will remain closed until kidney appear and his hands begin to form
the child is about seven months old. By at the ends of the arm buds.
28 weeks the eye is so sensitive to light
Weeks 7-8:
that if a physician peers into the uterus
with a fetoscope, the child will try to Separate fingers can be identified. The foot
shield its eyes with its hands. plate and external part of the ears also begin
to develop.

Weeks 9-12:

During this phase his eyes form, his head

and brain grow and his face takes shape.
He's around 6cm long. Ovaries or testicles
have formed. His jaw and mouth have also
formed and tiny milk teeth buds are in place.

17 Weeks Week 13:

The placenta maintains the pregnancy and

The above photo shows that by the 17th substitutes for lungs, liver and kidneys.
week, the nails have grown on the
fingertips, and the forearm and upper Second Trimester
arm have lengthened and begun to
assume their natural proportions. At four Week 14:
months feet and toes are developed and
the legs are beginning to take on their Your baby is floating in the amniotic sac. He
natural proportions. By the third or can hiccup and flex his legs.
fourth month the hand can grab and the
Week 15:
foot can make weak, small kicks too
gentle for the woman to feel. Blood vessels are visible under your baby's
skin. He grasps the umbilical cord and sucks
his fingers.

Week 16:
 practicing breathing.
Your baby's legs are longer than his arms.
His skin is covered with downy hair Week 26:
(lanugos).
His eyelids may open for the first time.
Week 17:

Your baby is now about the size of a large Third Trimester

banana. He measures about 14cm and
weighs about 200g. Week 27:

Week 18: The amniotic sac contains about 770ml of

fluid and your baby can move about quite
He makes breathing movements and takes freely.
amniotic in and out of his lungs.
Week 28:
Week 19:
Your baby is about 26cm long and weighs
Your baby swallows amniotic fluid which about 900g. His heartbeat is around 120 to
passes into his bowels. This me conium will 140 beats per minute, about double an
constitute your baby's first bowel movement adults heart rate.
after the birth.
Week 29:
Week 20:
If your baby is in the breech position, don't
Your baby is around 15cm long (about the worry, he should turn between 32 and 34
size of a large bunch of grapes) and weighs weeks.
400g. Eyebrows and lashes start to grow.
Weeks 30-31:
Week 21:
Your baby can hear both your own and your
His head and body are now more in partner's voice, despite his watery
proportion. Fat is being distributed under his surroundings. Your baby's taste buds are
skin. now developed and he can distinguish
between sweet and sour and bitter tastes.
Week 22:
Week 32:
His eyelids and ears are well formed. A cycle
of waking and sleeping may be established. His eyes are open for some of the time. His
skin is covered with a layer of vernix which
Week 23: prevents it from drying out.

Growth now begins to slow as your baby Week 33:

matures in other ways.
His lungs secrete a soapy fluid which keeps
Week 24: them open, ready for breathing.

He has a strong sense of touch and can feel Week 34:

his surroundings. His hearing is developed
and he can respond to music and loud He's now 32cm long and weighs 2kg. His
noises. He may recognize your voice and head should be down, ready for birth,
may move when you speak. although around four per cent of babies are
born bottom first - this is the breech position.
Week 25:

His nostrils have opened and he is now Week 35:

 In the Womb
The different parts of the baby can be felt
through your tummy.
Before it takes its first breath, a human
Week 36: baby has been through an incredible
transformation from a single cell to a
Your baby is around 34cm long and weighs complex, self-sustaining organism.
about 2.8kg.
Watch this amazing process in real time
Week 37: inside the womb.

His head mat have engaged (moved through

the opening of the pelvis), especially if this is
your first baby.

Week 38-39:

Your baby is now quite plump. There is no

longer move for him to stretch out and make
big movements, but he can still lift and turn
his head.

Week 40:

Your baby is around 35-37cm long, weighs

around 3.5kg and is ready to be born.

Review Summary
Advanced technology opens a
fascinating window into the wondrous
world of the developing fetus in a
National Geographic documentary that
utilizes revolutionary 3-D and 4-D
ultrasound imagery to offer an
unprecedented look at the nine-month
development of a child as it develops in
the womb. Each trimester is explored in
the most minute of details as cutting-
edge technology shines light on one of
mankind's greatest miracles and doctors
go in utero to perform a rare fetoscope
operation in hopes of correcting life-
threatening complications before the
mother gives birth. ~