Conception: Usually about 14 days before the next expected period coz this is when ovulation happens. For those with regular 28 day cycles, calculating this is no problem; for those with regular longer/shorter cycles, remember, ovulation time is fixed to 14 days before the next LMP. The time before this alone can be longer/shorter; for those with irregular cycles - well, that's a toughie to calculate!
Day One: Fertilization or conception. Usually at the far end of the uterine tube. The fertilized ovum rolls down slowly into the uterine cavity. The little thing is protected by a covering called the 'zona pellucida' which prevents it from sticking to the tubes and growing there. Once it safely reaches the uterine, the zona pellucida discreetly disappears and lets the 'trophoblast' covering of the embryo stick to the uterine wall and allow the little one to grow.
Any damage to the tubes (like earlier infections that have left their scars) that can slow down the movement of the fertilized egg into the uterus or any other factor that pre-maturely makes it stick to the tube can cause a Tubal Pregnancy. This is dangerous for mother and baby.
Day Two: Your little darling is made up of just two cells!!
Day Three: Morula. Whew! a sixteen celled little ball like a small mulberry!
Day Four: Blastocyst. Some nutritious fluid has entered the embryo and pushed the cells to a corner, called the 'embryonic pole'. The Blastocyst digs into mommy's uterine endometrium (the lining of the uterine cavity, which becomes enlarged and soft this time, as it waits for a baby!) till it 1s snugly ensconced in the uterine endometrium. Now its time to lie low and grow! The beginnings of the future umblical cord are also formed.
Day Eight: Bilamminar disc. Simply means, the embryo has a disc shape, with 2 layers of cells - the future 'ectoderm' or outer layer (that makes our skin covering, etc) and the future 'endoderm' or inner layer that makes the mucosal lining from our mouth, food pipes, through the stomach, intestines to all the way out!)
Day Fourteen: Prochordal plate and Primitive streak. The Prochordal plate - is the area of the future oral cavity. A 'Primitive streak' appears below it, which will play a major role in creating the third or middle layer, the future everything-else between the gut mucosa and the outer skin - the heart, lungs, kidneys, other layers of intertine, liver, spleen, muscle, bone, etc.
Any harm to the baby before Day 14 is incompatible with life. The embryo will be aborted without the mother even knowing it. Any harm after Day 14 to end of 3 months is what is responsible for major birth defects, as this is the time period in which all the organ systems are being formed.
Day Seventeen: The heart tube is seen! Also seen is the beginning of the formation of the urinary system.
Day Twenty Three: The neural tube is formed! This is the future brain and spinal cord.
Happy going!!
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