$Unique_ID{PAR00430}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Pregnancy:  The Seventh Month:  Your Growing Baby}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{
Editors of Consumer Guide
Ellis, Jeffrey W
Ellis, Maria}
$Subject{Seventh Month Growing growth wrinkled skin open eyes hair sexual
organs sensitive light ears sounds touch pressure pain taste smell brain nerve
nerves lungs nutrition proteins minerals vitamins nutrients umbilical cord
oxygen blood vessels artery arteries placenta vein umbilicus}
$Log{
Your Growing Baby (Seventh Month)*0043001.tif
29-30 Week Fetus, female*0060213.tif
31-Week Fetus, male*0060214.tif}

Miracle of Birth


The Seventh Month:  Your Growing Baby


     Over the last month, your baby's weight has doubled to between
two-and-a-half and three pounds, and she is now about 14 to 17 inches long.
She is becoming bigger, stronger, and more able to cope with the world outside
your body.  With each week that goes by, her chances of living outside your
body improve.  Even though she is nearly two months away from her expected
delivery date, if born now, she could probably survive with the help of
intensive medical care.
     On the outside, your baby is rapidly filling out her body, but her skin
still appears quite wrinkled.  Her eyes are open, she has a full head of hair,
and her external sexual organs are clearly developed.
     Your baby is now even more sensitive to her environment than before.  Her
eyes can perceive light and objects, her ears can detect sounds both inside
and outside your body and her skin is highly sensitive to touch, pressure,
and pain.  Her senses of taste and smell are also highly developed, although
she will not need them for several weeks to come.
     Internally, numerous changes are taking place that will better prepare
your baby to survive outside your body.  Within the brain, many new nerve
connections are forming that will enable her to react better to her new
environment.  Her lungs are also maturing.
     During the final three months of pregnancy, the baby will gain nearly
half of her birth weight, or about three to five pounds.  Because of this
rapid growth, she needs proper nutrition from you to ensure that she has all
of the proteins, minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients necessary to build a
strong and healthy body.  Poor nutrition at this critical stage of growth can
severely retard her development and may lead to serious problems after birth.
     The umbilical cord, which is now about 14 to 18 inches long, forms the
lifeline through which the baby receives oxygen and nutrients from your body.
For this crucial function, it contains only three blood vessels--two arteries
that carry blood from the baby to the placenta, and one vein that brings blood
back from the placenta to the baby.  The point where the umbilical cord
attaches to your baby becomes the umbilicus--more commonly called the
navel--after birth.  Inside the umbilical cord is a thick, jellylike substance
that surrounds and protects the delicate blood vessels.  The firmness of this
jelly prevents the blood vessels from being kinked or pinched off if the baby
moves around or pushes up against the cord.
     Since the umbilical cord is nearly the length of the baby during the last
three months of pregnancy, it is possible for it to become tangled around the
baby and sometimes even to loop around her neck.  This is a common occurrence
and usually causes no problems, since the doctor can easily untangle the cord
from around the baby during her delivery.