In the fourth month of the Second Trimester, the baby will have developed a strong heartbeat. The expectant mother should now be having physical signs of her pregnancy. Because the baby has a developed digestive system it will become more active because of the food, water and oxygen it is now receiving. This month the eyebrows and the genital organs have also developed (although the sex of the baby was determined at conception).
In the fifth month of the Second Trimester, the baby's eyelids are still fused shut. The internal organs - with the exception of the lungs - are maturing rapidly. The baby will have grown enough now that when it moves the mother may be able to feel it. The baby now has a pattern of waking and sleeping, it can cry, hiccup and starts to do uterine acrobatics (that's what it feels like anyway).
In the sixth month of the Second Trimester, the baby starts accumulating fat and weighs approximately 1 to 1 1/2 pounds now. The expectant mother will surely feel movement if she hasn't already and she may feel the baby hiccuping also. The baby can open its eyes and month and their little eyelashes are visible. The baby's bones start to harden, technically referred to as ossification. At the end of the sixth month, the baby's lungs are still not mature enough for the baby to be born.
In the Third Trimester (the seventh, eighth and ninth months) the baby's chances of survival get better every day as the lungs continue to mature. The baby's length doubles and the baby gains approximately six pounds in the final months before birth.
The birth process is next; if the mother has a normal vaginal delivery, there are three stages of birth. In the first stage, the uterus starts to contract sporadically and then gradually it becomes a rhythmic pattern. In the second stage the mother pushes the baby out through the birth canal and in the final stage the placenta is removed. If a Cesarean delivery is necessary, the baby is delivered through a surgical incision made through the abdominal wall and then through the uterus. The baby is then pulled out and the mother's abdomen is stitched up to begin the healing process.
This is the order in which a new life progresses from conception to birth. Now the parents can bond with their newborn baby and take great joy in watching the baby grow and learn.
Written by Dena Lambert
(http://mo.essortment.com/developmentstag_rjlp.htm)
FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM
The uterus, or womb, is a muscular chamber about the size and shape of a pear. This is where a fertilized egg can implant and mature as a pregnancy progresses. The de-veloping baby receives its nourishment from the mother while inside the uterus.
The cervix is the opening through which sperm can enter to fertilize an egg and through which a baby leaves the uterus. The vagina is the passage between the uterus and the outside of the body. This is the canal through which a baby is delivered and where the penis is placed during sexual intercourse. The ovaries are two walnut-size structures located on either side of the uterus. Each holds thousands of tiny egg follicles - clusters of cells that contain an immature egg. The ovaries also produce hormones.
The fallopian tubes connect the ovaries and the uterus. About four inches long, they each begin at an opening on either side of the uterus and end in a funnel that surrounds each ovary. Each tube is thin and narrow, no wider than the head of a pin.
OVULATION
About once a month, the endometrium, or lining of the uterus, begins to thicken in preparation to receive and nourish a fertilized egg. Meanwhile, several egg follicles begin to mature, but usually only one develops fully, with a mature egg inside. It moves to the surface of the ovary, and the follicle ruptures, releasing the egg into the fallopian tube. This process is called ovulation.
Over the next few days, the sides of the fallopian tube squeeze periodically, pushing the egg down into the uterus. If the egg is not fertilized during this time it will disintegrate in the uterus. Since the thickened uterine lining is no longer needed, it will be shed over a period of three to eight days. This discharge, containing blood and other secretions, is the menstrual flow, or a "period." The time interval from one period to the next is called the menstrual cycle. ()
