Pregnancy and birth are the two most important events, a mother will experience in her life. Both deserve careful and thoughtful planning.
From conception to birth
The countdown to a baby’s birth actually begins about two weeks before it is conceived or the first day of the woman’s last menstrual period. Conception can only occur during ovulation, which happens about the middle of the month of menstrual period.
An average full term pregnancy consists of a nine-month growth period-approximately 280 days. During the first three months, also known as first trimester, the baby develops all its internal organs, arms and legs. During the second trimester, which is from 4th month to 6th month, the baby continues to develop its eyes, head, bones and other external organs. The third trimester is from 7th month to 9th month or until birth.
Fetal development
First month- In this initial stage, the baby is only ¼ inches long. Heart, backbone and spinal cord begins to form.
Second month-Baby is now approximately 1/8 inches long. Eye, nose, lips and teeth starts to form. Heart functions at this stage.
Third month-Baby is now 21/2 inches long. It now develops to a recognizable form. Most internal organs and tissues grow in this stage.
Fourth month-Baby is now 61/2 inches long. Fingers, palms, tooth buds starts to grow. Gender is identifiable by this time. The pregnancy really begins to show from this month onwards.
Fifth month-Baby is about 8 to 10 inches long. Mother begins to feel the fatal movement inside the womb. The hair begins to grow on baby’s head.
Sixth month-By this time, the baby is 14 to 16 inches long. It is during this period that bones harden, growth and weight gain are rapid and baby’s movement is visible from outside.
Seventh month- Baby is now 14 to 16 inches long. During this month the eyelids, which formed in the second month begins to open. It can see as well as it can hear.
Eighth month-Baby is 16 to 18 inches long. Most body organs are developed by this time except lungs.
Ninth month-Baby is 19 to 29 inches long. Growth finally begins to slow, as the baby is ready to come out. Now the baby is fully developed in form and can survive outside the mother’s body.
This is the order in which a new life progresses from conception to birth. When the beautiful little baby enters the world, on an average, the weight will be anywhere from 6 to 9 pounds and measure between 18 to 25 inches.
From birth to 2 years of age
Watching a baby grow and develop new skills is an exciting time. Many factors can affect a baby’s development. These include inheritance, culture health, opportunity, freedom and most importantly, love and affection.
A baby’s development is monitored in the following areas:
1. Physical development
2. Intellectual development
3. Language development
4. Emotional development
5. Social development
From birth to six month-The first six months of a baby life are little critical in their development. Within a very short span, they do many things like roll over, sit up, crawling etc. Although your baby is tiny and helpless, their brain is very active at this period. A child of three months can lift its head when lying on tummy. At four, the child is able to roll from its tummy to back. Babies can sit without support when they are about six months old.
From 6 month to 1 year-Six months to one year is a prime time for babies to develop hand skills. They have learned to balance the head; they can almost balance the body, they know how to co-ordinate both hand and eye simultaneously. Everything will be taken to the mouth now, including feet. They can focus on near objects and can follow other people’s movements. They can distinguish between the family members and the strangers. The child of this age can respond to the nursery rhymes with clapping and jumping to the tunes.
1 to 2 year-During this time, the child is increasingly more mobile and aware of himself and others. The desire to explore each new object will increase. The baby will recognize himself in the mirror; imitate the behavior of others especially of adults. He will form simple phrases and sentences, follow instructions, recognize familiar names.
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Posts Tagged ‘Third Trimester’
Your baby grows and changes from a small group of cells to a fully developed baby ready to begin life. The designation between “embryo” and “fetus” is somewhat arbitrary. During the first 8 weeks of development (10 weeks of gestation), the developing baby is called an embryo. From 8 weeks of development until delivery, it is called a fetus. The great changes your baby goes through to become a fully developed baby are easier to follow if we look at them in each trimester.
Trimesters: The length of your pregnancy is divided into three trimesters, each about 13 weeks long. First trimester development. The first trimester represents the greatest change for any developing fetus. In the first 13 weeks of development, your baby grows from a collection of cells the size of the head of a pin to a fetus the size of a softball. Organs begin developing, and your baby begins to look more like a baby. Very few, if any, structures in the fetus are formed after the 12th week of pregnancy. This means your baby forms all of its major organ systems by the end of the first trimester. These structures continue to grow and to develop until your baby is born. Second trimester development. At the beginning of the second trimester (14th week), your baby weighs less than 1 ounce (28g) and is only about 4 inches (10cm) long. Third trimester development. Your baby weighs about 1-1/2 pounds (0.7kg) at the beginning of the third trimester (27th week), and its crown-to-rump length is under 9 inches (22cm). {Crown-to-rump length is the measurement from the top of the baby’s head [crown] to the buttocks of the baby [rump].) When it is delivered, your baby will weigh close to 7-1/2 pounds (3.4kg) and be about 21 inches (53cm) long. Baby’s Size and Weight: Birthweight varies greatly from baby to baby. However, the average weight of a baby at term is 7 to 7-1/2 pounds (3.3 to 3.4kg). Ultrasound is the test of choice to estimate fetal weight. A formula has been established to help estimate fetal weight using this technology. Several measurements are taken, including the diameter of the baby’s head, circumference of the baby’s abdomen and length of the femur (thighbone) of the baby’s leg. Occasionally other fetal measurements are taken. A drawback of using ultrasound for estimating fetal weight is that estimates may vary as much as half a pound (225g) in either direction. However, the accuracy of predicting fetal weight with ultrasound continues to improve. The size of the fetus’s head surprises many of my patients. When you are 13 weeks pregnant, your baby’s head takes up about half the crown-to-rump length (measurement from top of the head to the baby’s buttocks). In 2 months, when you are 21 weeks pregnant, the head will be about one-third of the fetal body. At birth, your baby’s head will be one-fourth the size of its body.
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Any parent having a kid allergic to peanuts would know how difficult their lives could get along with their children’s’. Shopping food items could take hours as every label on the food packet needs to be checked before the purchase is made so that it is ensured that there is no trace of peanuts. Peanut free food needs to be arranged with such children’s school in later course of time and also in case of the child’s birthday party. Such things could at times become more than just a night mare. Peanut allergies are quite common and sometimes prove as fatal allergies for the child. Few kids are very sensitive to peanuts and can get the same just by coming into contact with some other’s skin that has the allergy. Peanut allergies could lead to things like anaphylactic shock which could be a severe allergic reaction proving fatal.
Until the child reaches around the age of two or sometimes three, peanut allergies are not diagnosed. Parents having history of peanut allergies in their family are advised to wait for at least until the time when the child reaches the age of three, before peanuts and items containing peanuts, can be given to them. Pregnant mothers are often advice about not eating peanuts, especially in their third trimester despite the fact of hereditary allergy of peanuts existing or not.
The main reason for any allergy relating to peanuts to develop is by getting into contact with small traces of peanuts. This makes the child to later have severe allergic reactions when peanuts are consumed. Initial sensitizations could occur right from the time of pregnancy. It has been seen that very little amount of peanut protein could cross the placenta. Recent studies have revealed that in case of consuming peanuts or items consuming peanuts during pregnancy could develop the allergy in the child in the later years. This was compared to women who consumed peanuts and those who did not.
It doesn’t mean that you need to totally ignore peanuts at all costs, especially when there are no instances of nut allergies in your family. Factually, peanuts and items with peanut factor are quite beneficial to yourself and your baby. Peanuts are sources of proteins and folic acid, which is significant to a growing baby. Peanut butter or standalone peanuts are said to help in getting rid of morning sickness during the first trimester of pregnancy tenure. Every woman should know that, many women who had no instances of peanut related allergies in their families and hence consumed excessive amounts of peanuts and related food stuff, later delivered babies who were prone to peanut allergies.
Before saying a stern no to jelly sandwiches and peanut butter, ensure that you have a word with your doctor. Your doctor would be helpful in creating a well balanced and healthy eating plan for you for your entire tenure. You would have to mention about your family history of peanuts allergies and matters concerning the same. If any woman is uncomfortable eating peanuts, she need not change her mind about the same as event woman for that matter has the rights to make decisions about her child and her body.