Week 09: Your pregnancy

Your baby's growth: Muscles, nerves, and organs

Your baby has now grown to about the size of a peapod and weighs a little less than half an ounce.

Week nine begins a critical stage when your baby's muscles, nerves, and organs are forming. She'll move away if you press against the uterine wall when you touch your belly, but you won't be able to feel her moving for several more weeks. Genitals are beginning to develop, but it's still almost impossible to tell on ultrasound whether you're going to have a boy or a girl.

By week nine your baby’s growth includes:

• Increased body growth. Her head is quite large compared with the rest of her body, and it curves onto her chest. Her arms have grown, her hands are now flexed at the wrists, and her legs are lengthening. Her feet may be long enough to meet in front of the body.
• Digits. She’s developing clearly visible fingers and toes.
• Digestive system. This continues to develop.
• Eyelids. Developing eyelids begin to cover the eyes and fuse together. Her eyes won't open until about week 27.
• Ears. Development of the inner and external ears is almost complete.
• Brain. She’s far from being conscious, but she’s experiencing the first nerve connections in the brain.

What’s happening with you

• Increased blood volume. Although you still haven't gained much weight, your blood volume continues to increase. By the end of nine months your body will have produced 30 to 35% percent more blood to meet the demands of your baby.
• Congestion. If you're experiencing an occasional stuffy nose, nasal congestion, and nosebleeds, these may be caused by your hormonal changes. A vaporizer or humidifier may help lessen the severity of these symptoms.
• Fatigue. You may continue to feel tired, nauseated, and dizzy, but take heart: This will most likely fade away soon.
• Testing. If you're over age 35 or have a family history of genetic illness, at this stage you may want to talk with your doctor about a chorionic villus sampling (CVS). This prenatal test is usually given between 10 and 12 weeks and screens for birth defects and abnormalities such as Down syndrome. Although CVS doesn’t provide as much information as amniocentesis, the results are available earlier in pregnancy. Both tests though have risks of miscarriage (CVS carries a higher risk than the amniocentesis) that should be carefully discussed with your doctor.
  
  If you've been identified as being high risk for other disorders, such as Tay-Sachs or cystic fibrosis (based on your family health history), your doctor may want you to be tested for those as well.