Pregnancy Week 8
How big is your baby?
By the end of the 8th week your baby will measure between 1.6cm (0.63inch) and weigh around 1gram (0.04ounce).
Your baby would fit into a wallnut shell and will weight around the same as a
book of matches by the end of the week.
Your baby's development
 Your baby is continuing to grow and develop at a very fast pace. By now your baby has eyelid folds, nerve cells and the retina are also beginning to form in the eye.
Your baby should now have a tip to his/her nose and even the ears are developing, both internally and externally.
By now the aortic and pulmanary valves are present in the heart. The tubes leading from the throat to the functioning part of the lungs are branched, and even your babys' trunk is straightening and lengthening out.
Babys arms are coming along nicely now as well. The arms continue to grow and now already have elbows, which will cause the arms to curve slightly over the heart. The digital rays in the fingers are now notched, so the fingers will be fully developed soon.
You will also notice that your babys head is much larger in relation to the rest
of his/her body.
 The gonads are beginning to form as well and over the next few weeks they will develop into either testes or ovaries.
The cerebellum, which is the area of the brain which coordinates muscle movement,
is beginning to develop
You can view week 8 ultrasounds as well as an artists impression of your developing baby in our pregnancy media section. Don't forget that you can also upload your own images to the Pregnancy Gallery.
Your development
Before you fell pregnant your uterus was about the size of your fist, but now will
already be about the size of a grapefruit and although you wont be showing just yet, you may notice your weight gain is beginning to make your pants feel tight around the waist.
You may also begin to feel cramping in your lower abdomen or your sides and this is fairly common.
This is caused by your uterus which is contracting. This occurs throughout your pregnancy although you shouldn't be alarmed if you do not feel this as it does not happen to all women. If you are experiencing
cramping as well as bleeding, then you should contact your healthcare provider immediately.
Miscarriage
The first trimester of any pregnancy is the most important,
and it usually the most common time for complications to arise. It is also the
most common time frame for a
miscarriage.
A miscarriage is when a pregnancy ends before the embryo or fetus can survive on it's own outside the uterus, usually in the first 20 weeks of a pregnancy.
Common signs of miscarriage:
 Vaginal bleeding
Severe cramps
Pain that comes and goes
Pain that begins in the small of the back and moves towards the lower abdomen
Loss of tissue
Should you experience any of these signs, or be concerned about your baby, then you should contact your healthcare provider immediately.
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