Human Lifestages

Mandy Wellens Unit 8

Assignment 2

Conception

Every human being begins life as a single cell, formed when father's sperm fertilises mother's egg. Fertilisation normally takes place in the mother's Fallopian tube, which connects the uterus (womb) with the ovary. The uterus is the size and shape of a large pear: it is made of muscle and it stretches to allow the baby's growth throughout the months of pregnancy.

Pregnancy and Birth

After fertilisation the single cell splits into two, then the two cells double to four, four to eight, eight to sixteen and so on to form a small cluster of cells. The journey along the Fallopian tube continues and growth increases. By the time the womb cavity is reached, the cell cluster becomes hollow and fluid-filled, and is known as the blastocyst. Meanwhile the uterus is forming a spongy lining within which the embryo will implant. To achieve this, the embryo burrows into the wall of the womb and is covered over by the lining of the womb. This begins 6 days after fertilisation and is completed within the next 7 days. When the placenta has formed, the baby is connected to it by the umbilical cord. Baby’s food and waste travels through this. By 25 days from fertilisation the body is developing. By 21 to 25 days the baby's heart is beating. Other internal organs are present in simple form and functioning as they grow. Early facial features appear. By 30 days, the baby - one quarter of an inch long, has a brain, eyes, ears, mouth, kidneys, liver and a heart pumping blood he has made himself. As the pregnancy progresses, the baby’s body grows and develops. Baby starts to move more; he can suck his thumb, make faces, hear and recognize voices, stretch and yawn. Through pregnancy, antenatal appointments and ultrasounds monitor baby’s development. In the last weeks of pregnancy the baby lies head downwards, as the head is normally the first part to emerge at birth. Occasionally, if a baby's position has not changed to fit in with the...