$Unique_ID{PAR00410}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Pregnancy:  The Third Month:  Your Growing Baby}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{
Editors of Consumer Guide
Ellis, Jeffrey W
Ellis, Maria}
$Subject{Third Month Growing Baby growth organ development physical activity
head ears mouth eyelids cornea lens retina baby teeth hands bones muscles
internal organs kidneys brain glands hormones}
$Log{
Your Growing Baby (Third Month)*0041001.tif
11-Week Fetus*0060207.tif
11-12 Week Fetus, in its amniotic sac, with uterus*0060205.tif
13-Week Fetus*0060208.tif}

Miracle of Birth


The Third Month:  Your Growing Baby


     Your baby's third month brings new growth, further development of organs,
and more physical activity.  By the end of the month, your baby will have
grown to about three inches in length and will weigh about one ounce.
     During this month, your baby's head will be enlarging rapidly.  Her face
will become even more human in appearance as her ears and mouth continue to
form.  Her eyelids, which are just now developing, are tightly closed and will
remain sealed for at least three more months.  Even now, all the structures
needed for your baby's eyesight--the cornea, lens, and retina--are being
molded from specialized cells.  Parts of her mouth and throat are also coming
together; this will enable her to suck and swallow in the coming months.  Tiny
buds that will develop into baby teeth are just being formed, and distinct
lips are appearing.
     Your baby's tiny hands are now fully formed, as are her fingers and
fingernails.  As her cells continue to multiply and grow, your baby's bones
and muscles strengthen.  She can now move around easily in her amniotic sac,
exercising her new muscles and using her newly formed nervous system to direct
her muscles to make these movements.  Your baby can now kick her legs, make a
fist, turn her head, open her mouth, and squint her face--but she is still too
small for you to feel.
     The sex of your baby is not yet apparent on the outside, even though it
was already determined during the fertilization of your egg.  Only by looking
at certain sex organs within the baby's body would you be able to tell the sex
of your baby at this time.
     Your baby's internal organs are continuing to rapidly grow and mature.
By the end of her third month, all of her organs will be formed and ready or
nearly ready to function.  The heart has grown rapidly and is now beating and
pumping blood through a simple system of blood vessels.  Within weeks, all of
the major blood vessels in her body will have reached their final form.  Blood
now being produced in your baby's bone marrow will be needed in the weeks
ahead to supply oxygen to all parts of her rapidly growing body.
     Other organs in your baby's body are also beginning to function.  Her
kidneys are starting to produce small amounts of urine, her brain is sending
nerve impulses throughout her body, and her glands are beginning to produce
hormones.
     Over a three-month period, your baby has grown from a single cell into a
clearly human being with organs that now perform complex functions.  Your
baby's perfect development up to this point has involved a delicate series of
steps.  Since her tissues and organs are growing at a tremendous rate, she
needs constant support from your body--in the forms of proper nutrition and
avoidance of harmful substances such as nicotine, alcohol, and other drugs--to
provide the building blocks for her continued normal development.