Week 2

Your Baby:

Pregnancy is usually measured in weeks from the last menstrual period, although the baby has been formed before. Starting from this week the embryo, that consists of 3 layers which are: The endoderm: where the skin is formed, the inner coat where the respiratory and digestive systems, the bladder, the eardrum, the thyroid, pancreas and liver. Mesoderm: here is formed locomotion system (bones, muscles and cartilage), the vascular system (heart, veins and arteries), blood cells, genital and urinary system (except the bladder), spleen and adrenal glands. The ectoderm: where the nervous system, skin, the sensation organs (eyes, ears, nose), nails, tooth enamel, pituitary gland, hair, mammary and sweat glands will form.

Your baby is now formed of a head, a trunk and a curly tail. The first weeks are very important because while it still being an embryo, it begins to develop the foundations of what will be its organs, features & nervous system. The neural tube begins to develop & converts to the brain, spinal cord, nervous system & vertebral column. The placenta also begins to be formed, your blood volume increases by 50 % to afford the needs of fetal oxygen. Inside, your body begins to create a safe house for your baby that can protect it from the outside world.

Baby weight now: less than 1 gm

Baby size now: 0.2 mm

Your Body

Female sex hormone called estrogen increases and gives a warning sign to the uterus that you are pregnant. The uterus will begin to create a lining where the fertilized ovum will be linked up and begin to create the placenta that will nourish the baby. One of the symptoms that the mother may feel are pain in the side of her abdomen with the tenderness of her breasts. The baby's sex is determined at the moment of fertilization, which can occur at the end of this week: the 46 chromosomes that make up the genetic material of the baby, two chromosomes, one of sperm and the other of ovum that determine the sex of the baby. The ovum that women have is defined by the female X chromosome and a man's sperm can have female chromosome X or male chromosome Y. If the sperm has an X chromosome and meets an ovum of X chromosome, the baby will be a girl, and if sperm has the male Y chromosome and meets the ovum female X chromosome, your baby will be a boy.