9 Weeks Pregnant

By 9 weeks pregnant your baby is 3cm long and weighs about 3g. The body has begun to straighten and the shape is more defined. Limbs have developed and the embryo tail has almost disappeared. Your baby now looks like a baby and is known as a fetus.

By nine weeks the basic structures of all the major organs are in place. The heart is a four-chambered fully-formed organ that beats around 180 times per minute, which is twice the speed of an adult heart. The brain is four times the size it was at six weeks. The cells are now starting to form that will allow the nerve endings to send messages to the brain.

The mouth, intestines and stomach are developing rapidly but do not function yet. The intestine grows so quickly that it protrudes from the baby’s stomach.

The placenta is now much more formed but still does not perform all the placental functions, of breathing, digestion and excreting, of which it will soon be capable.

There may be little outward sign that you are pregnant but by now your breasts may be feeling quite tender and you may notice that you feel different emotionally from usual. This is all perfectly normal.

From 10 weeks onward it's possible to hear the baby's heartbeat with a fetal heart monitor or Doppler. Many parents love to have one of their own throughout the pregnancy: it's great for making the rest of the family feel involved with the baby. One of the best is available from Healthcheck Systems - see below for any special offers they have.