[daughterofthenight]

i thought the baby was too big and well formed for 8 or 9 weeks, look at those tiny little fingers and toes, :) besides the mother may have only realized she was pregnant by the 4th, 5th, or 6th week, and then it might have taken time to schedule an appointment with an OB/GYN. this baby appears to be about 2 inches, so between it's size and appearance i'm going to guess it's between the 11th and 12th week.


WEEK ELEVEN: Neurons multiply
You are 11 weeks pregnant. (nine weeks after conception)
The fetus CRL, (crown to rump length) is about 1.5 inches (35mm) in size.
The fingers and toes have completely separated.
The taste buds are starting to develop.
Baby has tooth buds, the beginning of the complete set of 20 milk teeth.
Baby can swallow and stick out his or her tongue.
Whole body except tongue is sensitive to touch.
Cartilage now calcifying to become bone.
If it is a boy, the testicles are starting to produce the testosterone hormone.

The baby has an upper lip, toes and ears and twenty little teeth are now forming. The brain is growing rapidly and producing more than 250,000 nerve cells a minute. The heart is almost completely developed and very much resembles that of a newborn baby. An opening the atrium of the heart and the presence of a bypass valve divert much of the blood away from the lungs, as the child's blood is oxygenated through the placenta.

The eyelids have fused shut and will not open again until around week 27. The wrists and ankles have formed and the fingers and toes are clearly visible. Genitals have begun to form, but it is too early to tell the sex of the fetus. By this week of the pregnancy the placenta has developed enough to support most of the critical job of producing hormones.

By the 11th week of pregnancy, the crown to rump length of your growing baby is about 1.5 inches (35mm). The baby weighs close to 0.18 ounce (5g) and is the size of a small plum.


WEEK TWELVE: Fingernails and toenails appear.
You are 12 weeks pregnant. (fetal age 10 weeks)
The fetus is now about 2.5 inches (6cm) length and weighs about 0.7 ounce (20 g).
The feet are almost half an inch (1cm) long.
The fetus starts moving spontaneously.
The face is beginning to look like a baby's face.
The pancreas is functioning and producing insulin.
Fingernails and toenails appear.
The baby can suck his thumb, and get hiccups.

From this week you may well be able to hear the baby's heart beat through a doppler monitor on your tummy. You will notice that the rate is up to 160 a minute, double that of a normal adult.

Your baby now has a chin and a nose and a facial profile. Vocal chords are complete, and the baby can and does sometimes cry silently. The brain is fully formed, and the baby can also feel pain. The fetus may even suck his thumb.

The eyelids now cover the eyes, and will remain shut until the seventh month to protect the delicate optical nerve fibers. The hair is on the head and the fingers and toes have developed soft nails. The kidneys are developed and begin to secrete urine.

The 12 weeks scan [10 weeks fetal age] to the left shows a very active fetus. The mother who can not feel these movements, belly laughs as she looks at the screen and can see her tiny baby kicking out. GREAT VIDEO HERE! watch the baby jumping up and down in the ultrasound, it's so funny!
http://baby2see.com/development/week12.html

The nuchal translucency (NT) 12 week scan is a routine ultrasound examination carried out at 10 to 14 weeks of gestation. Most NT ultrasound scans reveal a healthy and normal baby, or sometimes multiples. A standard prenatal ultrasound exam usually takes about 20 - 30 minutes.

Your baby weighs between 0.5 and 0.7 ounce (14 to 20g), and crown-to-rump length is almost 2.5 inches (63mm). Your baby's size has almost doubled in the past 3 weeks.

there are a few tests for downs and two non invasive ones are done in the 12th week, Nuchal Translucency is measured by ultrasound, and the mom has a blood test where they look for and measure two hormones. if the level of these two hormones are favorable, it's a good sign the baby has not got Downs, especially when added to a good NT test.

between weeks 15 and 20 the mother can have an AFP blood test, (alpha-fetoprotein). it's somewhat controversial because of it's high false positive rate. they now offer other tests along with it.

[DiamondSmiles]

Originally Posted by PunkNana66 ↗

This is a 9 week fetus with trisomy 13...a fatal birth defect. It was from a suction abortion.

Sounds like a horror movie. I had to look it up since I never heard of it.

There are some photos here, too.

http://medgen.genetics.utah.edu/phot...trisomy_13.htm

[mikejudd]

Sometimes it's kinder on all involved to have a termination rather than cause untold suffering to continue for years by not choosing it. It must be a really difficult choice to make but one that society should support and accept none the less. Its amazing how many people who bang on about the rights of a foetus also ignore the suffering that individual may go through... Never giving to the homeless or helping the needy but crusading on in the hope of saving just one 'life'

[DiamondSmiles]

Originally Posted by WillArt ↗

I dont believe in abortion unless under extreme circumstances and depending on time of abortion. Downs not exactly a bad thing but depending on the degree,I couldnt do it either and one had it right that many struggling families are just not stable enough to do it.I know you probably shouldnt have kids if you are not stable,truth is how many of us are? We seem to be fine, a healthy baby is one thing. I will say this though our high school basket ball team got our asses kicked by another "special" school all having down syndrome. I played and believe me, they can run some ball. Though it was a joke until they mopped the floor with us. Much respect!

One of the groups of independent wrestlers hosts a few Special Olympics events during the year.

A few of the guys with Down Dyndrome can power lift nearly 1000 pounds! They have awards ceremonies and everyone has a great time.