Pregnancy Week 1 - Timeline Of Fetal Development


by Julie Watkins - Date: 2010-01-10 - Word Count: 405 Share This!

During the earliest part of pregnancy week 1, a inherent code will have already been programmed in for your baby at the time of formation. Once the toughest sperm has penetrated the egg, known as a 'oocyte', it will get rid of it's tail which it no longer needs. The two adjoining cells of the egg and the sperm will now be known as a 'zygote'. This moment of conception is when your pregnancy has begun.

The passage along your fallopian tubes will commence within 24 hours as the 'zygote' develops into a 'blastomere' from rapid cell division. After arriving in your uterus, about 72 hours later, the cells will have grown into an active cell life called a 'blastocyst' It generally takes around 1 week from the time of formation for the blastocyst to finally connect itself onto the wall of your uterus using miniature finger-like projections. The blastocyst will then expel the hCG hormone to tell the body that it is now pregnant. This ensures that it continues producing progesterone as well which will aid to keep the pregnancy feasible.

The creation of these hormones will put an end to your menstrual cycle so that the blastocyst can stay carefully attached. . Also, in order to stop your immune system mistaking the blastocyst as a strange body and attacking it, an immunosuppressant protein will also be released during this process. Your body's acceptance of this new cell life will now allow it to go on with developing carefully within the womb. Three cell layers are formed in the first stages of pregnancy, known as 'germ layers'. Each layer is responsible for a particular growth purpose within the embryo.

Although your body is rapidly releasing numerous hormones during pregnancy week 1, it is doubtful at this stage that you will be aware that you are pregnant. . Your cervix will already start to condense and your uterine walls will have softened. Your pregnancy can be confirmed by detecting the hCG hormone using a home pregnancy testing kit although it is not assured in the earliest week as the levels of hCG will not be high enough yet. If you suppose that you may be pregnant then you will either need to wait until the end of the second week to effectively use a home testing kit or see your GP for a blood test - this will make certain of a 100% reading within the first week.

Related Tags: blastocyst, pregnancy week 1, timeline of fetal development, stages of pregnancy development, pregnancy first weeks, fetal development stages

Your Article Search Directory : Find in Articles

© The article above is copyrighted by it's author. You're allowed to distribute this work according to the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs license.
 

Recent articles in this category:



Most viewed articles in this category: