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First trimester, weeks 1 to 12
You and your baby...
You are likely to experience a number of pregnancy symptoms during this period as your body adapts to pregnancy and your baby's major systems and organs are formed.
What's happening to your baby?
By the sixth week of pregnancy the embryo is already encased in an amniotic sac of fluid. It's grey in colour and jelly-like, but already has a heart the size of a poppy seed which is beating on its own.
By 9 weeks your baby measures around 3cm (1in) and is starting to look like a real baby.
Her limbs are developing and her fingers and toes are nearly complete.
A 12-week embryo measures around 8cm (3in), all her major body organs have formed and she's already making jaw movements, sucking and swallowing.
Second trimester, weeks 13 to 26
Starting to show...
Many of the discomforts of early pregnancy will have passed by now and your 'bump' will have started to show. During this middle trimester you will probably feel and look great.
How you're feeling now
By this stage you'll be feeling relieved that you've made it almost a third of the way through your pregnancy and the greatest risk of miscarriage has passed. The early pregnancy symptoms you've experienced over the past few weeks should start to fade as your body adjusts to hormonal changes and any nausea or sickness should begin to subside. This is also a time when you have to make lots of decisions about scans and tests and you'll need to decide where to have your baby.
What's happening to your baby?
The second trimester is when your baby becomes more recognisably human – his neck uncurls, his eyes are closer together and his arms and legs, fingernails and toenails are well developed.
Between 17 and 20 weeks you may actually start to feel him move – more a fluttery sensation than an actual kick at first. His growth will also accelerate. He can suck his thumb, hiccup and hear your voice. He has also started to grow fine hair called lanugo all over his body.
By the end of the second trimester at 24 weeks it would be possible now for your baby to survive if he arrives prematurely. He would require intensive care, but increasing numbers of babies are surviving at this age.
He weighs about 550g (just over 1lb) and measures about 20.5cm (8in) from crown to rump. Fat stores are beginning to be laid down and he can now wiggle his toes and grip with his hands.
Third trimester, weeks 27 to 40
The countdown begins
The countdown to meeting your baby has begun and your body starts to undergo even more dramatic changes as it expands to accommodate your growing baby and prepares for the birth.
How you're feeling now
Your relationship with your baby is getting closer as you become familiar with his movements and sleeping patterns. The physical discomfort of carrying extra weight may start to take its toll and you may experience common complaints, such as backache, breathlessness, indigestion and swelling of fingers and feet.Your body starts to prepare for the birth by relaxing muscles, producing 'practise' Braxton Hicks' contractions and stimulating the production of colostrum from your breasts.
What's happening to your baby?
By the start of the third trimester your baby is already laying down fat stores and her lungs are strengthening in preparation for birth. She measures 24.5cm (9 1/2 in) and weighs 1.1kg (about 2 1/2 lb). She is able to tell the difference between night and day and is starting to recognise your voice. Her skin is covered with vernix, a thick white grease, which protects her against absorbing too much amniotic fluid – this will usually have disappeared by the time she is born.
By 36 weeks your baby is close to its full term length of around 46cm (18in) and weighs about 2.75kg (6lb). His growth won't be as rapid now, but he should continue to gain weight at about 250g (9oz) a week. The vernix and lanugo – fine body hair – should be disappearing now.
By the time you reach the 38th week of pregnancy your baby will be ready to be born at any time during the next four weeks. He measures about 48cm (14 in) from crown to rump and weighs an average of 3.15kg (6lb 13oz) and his head and abdomen are about the same circumference. There's not much room left inside now so his movements won't be so vigorous.
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