Pregnancy Week 8

Mother:

You have probably scheduled the first office visit by now. Some practitioners do not want to see you for your first visit until after you've missed two periods. This will decrease the numbers of false pregnancies and miscarriages. Many things will take place at the first prenatal visit.

Every practitioner has a different schedule and each visit will not be as lengthy as this initial visit. This is a good time to ask any questions that have come up or to go over the list of questions for choosing a care provider.

Baby:

Your baby will be about 8-11 mm CR by the end of the week. The baby's hind brain is clearly visible. This week the baby's gonads will become either testes or ovaries. And spontaneous movement begins! There are a lot of things that we do know about life before birth. Bones and joints this week have many things going on. Elbows appear and the process of ossification (hardening of the bones) begins. Toe rays become present, almost ready for you to count!

Twin Tips:

Indigestion, heartburn and other gastrointestinal problems can start earlier when there is more than one baby. This caused by both the greater expanse in the uterus at this point as well as an increase in hormones from a single pregnancy.