Early Fetal Development-Before, During And After Conception

A baby's development is a mysterious and complex process and it is fascinating for us lay people to have a better understanding of early fetal development, which once you know more definitely highlights the benefits of going for early pregnancy scans and ultrasound scans throughout the term of pregnancy.

The reality for many women is that certainly first time around this is virgin territory to them, and basic concepts such as the differences between gestational weeks and fetal age weeks can seem pretty strange and even confusing.

If a woman suspects that there is an early complication in pregnancy, it should be brought to her physician's attention immediately since they can diagnose the problem through blood or ultrasound tests. There are many technological developments that can save and protect a high-risk pregnancy.

Blood tests monitor progesterone and hCG levels. HCG stands for Human Chronic Gonadotropin. With ultrasounds, a doctor or nurse can virtually see the development and progress occurring in the uterus. There are many common questions about what is expected and involved in this early process.

Different sources have provided much information as to the guidelines of common early fetal development. It is important to remember that each woman is different, so every pregnancy is different as well. The following information is to be used as a guide for healthy development of a growing fetus.

Due to the fact that ovulation is often miscalculated from abnormal period and the health of the Mum-to-Be must be considered, the development may also differ. The last menstrual period (LMP) begins the gestational age of pregnancy. That is why recording your monthly periods is a good idea to do. The actual age of the baby is the fetal age. We have considered and listed both of these ages for clarity of the exact stage of the developing fetus.

Conception (Gestational Age) / Week 1-2:

Your body has just finished your menstrual period and is preparing for ovulation. It is most common for a woman's ovulation to occur 11-21 days after the first day of the onset of the last period. When intercourse occurs, millions of sperm are flushed into the vagina. Sperm is on route to the fallopian tubes through the cervix.

During conception, the egg is penetrated by the sperm and the result is a zygote, a set made of 46 chromosomes. The zygote is the beginning of the unique human being. The morula, or fertilised egg, takes a few days to travel the fallopian tube heading for the uterus, while dividing into cells.

It is during this division that chromosomal abnormalities can happen and often do. Many people miscarry at this point and do not even know that they were pregnant in the first place. If everything is normal, the morula turns into a blastocyst and finally reaches the uterus. The blastocyst will implant in the lining of the uterus around day 6-12 after conception.

The journey of early fetal development has begun. The weeks that are to follow are an amazing and wondrous time; and pregnancy and going for pregnancy scans can be made even more interesting by having a fuller understanding of early fetal development, so watch out for the next articles in our series.


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Jackie writes about early fetal development, the first article in a
series of three expert articles, for the blog of Merrion Fetal Health. She highly recommends Merrion Fetal Health, which is a medically led ultrasound clinic in Dublin 2-a centre of excellence, to see you through all stages of pregnancy scans.