When the sperm fertilizes the mature egg, an embryo comes to life. This is why people and especially women tend to get more interested in the embryonic development stages. This embryo needs to get implanted into the lining of the uterus, where the fetus will develop.
Week 1 of the development stages of the embryo
This week is the equal of the Carnegie stage 1,2,3 and 4. During this time the embryo looks nothing like a real baby. In fact it looks just like the egg. However you should know that the cells already begin to multiply and this is considered to be the first step of the development of the future baby.
Week 2
At this stage of embryonic development there is an outer cell layer known as the trophoblast and we can also talk about the inner cell mass, known as the embryoblast. This is the stage when implantation takes place. Starting with this point you could use a homemade pregnancy kit to know whether you are pregnant or not.
Week 3
This is a pretty interesting stage of the development of the embryo, because at this point it doesn’t look like the egg anymore. In fact this is one of the most important stages of them all because the nervous system of the little one starts to develop.
Week 4
This is also an important one of the embryonic development phases because it marks the development of the heart. If we take a look at the baby, we can see that now it looks something like a real baby, having a spinal cord (or something that looks like it) and gaining in size.
Week 5
In this development phase of the embryo we can see that the baby still has something that looks like a tail. Later this will become the tailbone. This stage is the same as Carnegie stages 14-15. During this stage the nose and the eyes appear with the retinal pigment being visible and the brain is also developing rapidly.
Week 6
At this phase of embryonic development we can see that arms and legs developing, although at this point they appear only in the form of buds. The trunk straightens a bit with the head growing bigger. At this point it is possible to see the tiny fingers of the fetus even though the little one still has a tail.
Week 7
This is an important phase of the development of the embryo. The inner ear develops at this stage and the toes also become visible. The trunk is becoming straighter and straighter and the brain and heart continue their development along with the nose and the eyes.
Week 8
This is considered to be the last phase of the embryo development. During this time the elbows are bent, and the hands are getting closer to each other. The external ears and the eyelids develop. The head becomes rounder and the limbs are better defined and longer.
There is a lot to know about the embryo development stages so if you are a curious future mommy make sure you research the topic further.
