the first nine months
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baby emily
Like you, Emily began her life from the moment of conception as a single cell. She spent approximately 40 weeks in her mother's womb growing and preparing for her final entry into the world.
There will never be another like her. Not even from the same parents. Such is Emily. Irreplaceable like her own set of fingerprints, her own genetic codes.

Day 1
The sperm rush in and home around the egg. This becomes a competition: which sperm will be first to enter the egg? Each carries its own genetic programme and is different from the rest, including whether the child will be a boy or a girl. One sperm manages to penetrate the egg and is zipped in, tail and all. This is the moment of fertilization. The newly conceived one-cell child - Emily - has a normal quota of 46 chromosones; 23 furnished by her father and 23 furnished by her mother.. In their pairing up, the maternal and paternal chromosomes brush against each other. uniting their genes. 

Day 4
She communicates to her mother aksing for nourishment. She sends a hormonal code, aiming at the maternal centers. The mucous lining of the womb hurries to satsfy her by becoming soft enough to nestle and nourish her.

Day 7
The cells burrow into the lining of the uterus. They are genetically different from her mother but suppress their genetic markers and instead give out signals that can be compared to a universal password. Therefore, her mother's cells do not mobilise defences against the new arrival because they recognise it as friend not foe. 

Day 18
By the 18th day, Emily has developed rapidly! In the crown of her head cerebral vesicles have budded; the eyes are appearing, the lungs, the intestine, the stomach and her heart has started beating! Her brain is also developing  and the foundations for  her nervous system have been established. 

4 weeks
Emily is now 10,000 times larger than the original fertilized egg and developing rapidly. Her heart is pumping quantities of blood through the circulatory system. The placenta forms a unique barrier that keeps the mother's blood separate while allowing flood and oxygen to pass through the embryo. Her backbone and the muscles are already forming. Arms, legs, eyes and ears have begun to show.  

5 weeks
Emily has now grown to about a third of an inch long. Her head takes up about one third of the body's total volume. The beginning stumps of the arms and legs stand out darkly. Her arms develop faster than her legs do. At this point her skeleton has barely begun to form. No bone has yet been formed. Brain waves are detected from about 40 days and have been recorded. 

6 weeks
Emily is now half an inch long. The  amnion sac is wrinkled because some fluid is seeped out. Just over her head is the vein lined yolk sac, attached by its blood filled stalk. Her eyes are now wide open, though still without eyelids or irises; the black colour is the reflection at the back of the eye. Her fingers, growing fast, have reached the first joint, though they are still webbed, as are the toes.

7 weeks
Emily's liver is producing blood cells, and the brain begins to control movements of muscles and organs. Her mother is about to miss her second period. Emily is moving spontaneously. The jaw forms, including teeth buds in the gums. Soon the eyelids will seal to protect her developing light-sensitive eyes and will reopen around the seventh month. 

8 weeks
The formation of all her organs are complete. Everything is now present that will be found in a developed adult. The heart has been beating for more than a month, the stomach produces digestive juices and the kidneys are functioning. Forty muscle sets begin to operate in conjunction with the nervous system. At this stage the cartilage begins to change to real bone cells. 

9 weeks
Fingerprints are already evident in the skin. Emily will curve her fingers around an object placed in the palm of her hand. Rapid growth means that Emily needs an abundance of supplies. To extract these extra nutrients she multiples her roots in the lining of the uterus so that the placenta ultimately develops into the consistency of a large spongy disc weighing about a pound.

11 weeks
Emily is now two inches long. She now begins to urinate. Muscle movements are becoming more co-ordinated. Although she is totally immersed, she keeps inhaling and exhaling just enough to send the salty fluid into and out of her lungs. But she does not drown because she gets oxygen in her blood brought in by the umbilical cord, not from the air, Her ribs are now rapidly forming. 

12 weeks
Her features are now becoming more defined. Her lips open and close, she wrinkles her forehead, she raises her eyebrows, she turns her head. Her eyes are covered by eyelids if they don't seem to be. Fingernails grow on the hands and feet, the spinal column becomes bony and little outgrowths of breasts appear upon the young chest. 

14 weeks
Emily's heart now pumps several quarts of bloods through her body every day. Fine hair has begun to grow on her head and her sexual differentiation is apparent. Nails on her fingers and toes are well formed, From now on the overall proportions change: The growth of the head slows down and the rest of the body catches up, the neck is formed, the legs and arms lengthen. 

16 weeks
Emily is now nearly 6 inches long. Her body has filled immeasurably. It has begun to crowd its living quarters. Her head, neck and spine curve to follow the circular uterine cavity. She now occupies all the room in her mother's pelvis. The first thin transparent layer of skin begins to replace the temporary protective membrane. The eyes are still closed and her nose, eyes and lips and ears are shaping up. 

18 weeks 
More than six inches long, Emily now sucks her thumb. This practice prepares her for feeding after birth. Her skin is so transparant that you can see the thin veins and is vulnerable to her fingernails; she may scratch her face. She is very active and energetic. She goes through the motions of crying and is equipped with a complete set of vocal cords, but without air, cannot make a sound. 

20 weeks
Emily is about 12 inches long and weighs about 1 pound. Her mother has definitely begun to feel movement by now. If a sound is especially loud, the baby may jump in reaction to it. Her mother will also feel Emily's hiccups. She might sit upright with straightened back and legs crossed in a yoga-like position or she could be lounging back with her arms folded under her head. She may pedal her legs, make crawling movements, roll over or turn somersaults.  

22 weeks
Last month Emily occasionally swept her eyes from side to side but only with her eyes cast downwards. Now she can lift her eyes to eye level and turn them slowly from side to side, on and on, for prologed periods. At other times her eyes dart quickly back and forth, someimes smoothly, sometimes jerkily. After one or two weeks of horizontal eye movements, she starts to be able to roll her eyes up and down and all around. 

24 weeks
Her oil and sweat glands are functioning. The delicate skin is protected from the foetal waters by a special ointment called vernix. She opens her eyes when the eyelids become unsealed. She scans the darkness. She may blink if there is a sudden noise. For the last few weeks she has virtually all the neurons she will ever have in her brain. Variations in her heart beat can be recorded. She drinks the amniotic fluid and will survive outside the womb if she was born early.

30 weeks
She is now using the four senses: vision, hearing, taste and touch and recognises her mother's voice. There is still space enough for her to straighten up, as she puts her hand to her mouth to suck her thumb. Her eyes are open, her eyelids are fringed with lashes and she often moves her eyes as if searching for something to see. The amniotic fluid is reduced by half to allow her room to grow. She is gaining weight quickly and by the end of the seventh month may weigh 4 pounds. 

35 weeks
Emily's skin is beginning to thicken with a layer of fat stored underneath for insulation and nourishment. Antibodies are building up. She absorbs a gallon of amniotic fluid per day; the fluid is completely replaced every three hours. Her taste buds are developed and she seems to have a sweet tooth. She is responding to familiar noises such as her mother's voice and music and she will gain two more pounds this month. 

38 weeks
She is likely to add only one pound now because she will get less nourishment from the ageing placenta in the run-up to birth. An essential part of her weight gain, about one pound of it, is laid down as covering fat which will help to keep her warm. It will also make her more attractive as her body becomes more chubby. Her face fills out more as her cheeks fatten up. She will soon take up her position for birth.

birth
Emily has taken up her position for birth perhaps a month or only days in advance. She may achieve this position by making small stepping movements and to push her feet off a the firm wall of the uterus. As her feet push, her head becomes well lodged in the exit and she cannot get out. This is her engagement for birth. `When her head becomes engaged in the cervix, her mother will feel the "lightening" as the mass of the baby sinks lower.

The baby's head takes the leading part in the birth. The head has the largest diameter of the body and therefore once it is through, the rest can follow. When the "waters break" the baby is awash in what may be a gush or only a trickle of fluid. She tunnel's her way through the birth canal, a tight squeeze all the way. This can take up to two hours. Contractions in the mother's uterus help her along the way. Finally she arrives. Her head emerges. Her birth cry is brief, soft and pleasant. She is born.