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 weigharound 1gram (0.04ounce). Your baby would fit into a wallnut shell and will weightaround 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 yourbaby has eyelid folds, nerve cells and the retina are also beginning to form inthe eye. Your baby should now have a tip to his/her nose and even the ears are developing,both internally and externally. Your baby should now have a tip to his/her nose and even the ears are developing,both internally and externally. Week 6By now the aortic and pulmanary valves are present in the heart. The tubes leadingfrom the throat to the functioning part of the lungs are branched, and even yourbabys’ trunk is straightening and lengthening out. Babys arms are coming along nicely now as well. The arms continue to grow and nowalready 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 developedsoon. You will also notice that your babys head is much larger in relation to therest of his/her body. The gonads are beginning to form as well and over the next few weeks they will developinto 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 developingbaby in our pregnancy media section. Don’t forgetthat 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 nowwill already be about the size of a grapefruit and although you wont be showingjust yet, you may notice your weight gain is beginningto 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 yourpregnancy although you shouldn’t be alarmed if you do not feel this as it does nothappen to all women. If you are experiencing cramping as well as bleeding, thenyou should contact your healthcare provider immediately. Miscarriage The first trimesterof any pregnancy is the most important, and it usually the most common time forcomplications 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 onit’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, thenyou should contact your healthcare provider immediately.