Your developing baby – week 9

by Kaiser Permanente |
Fetus at week 9, illustration

By the time you’re 9 weeks pregnant, your baby is about the size of a grape.

Your baby's facial features are more recognizable.

  • Eyelids form and cover the eyes. Your baby’s eyes will not open again until around week 28.
  • Tooth buds form that will later become your baby’s teeth.

Your baby's body continues to develop. The amniotic sac is filling with fluid each week to meet the needs of your growing baby. Your baby's:

 

  • Head is large, about half the size of the entire body
  • Arms and legs are long and thin
  • Fingers can make a fist
  • Genitals continue to develop, and the sex of your baby becomes clearer
  • Internal sex organs (testes or ovaries) start to develop
  • Liver is now actively producing red blood cells
  • Spinal cord is now almost even with the body, so the appearance of a tail is nearly gone
  • Heart rate is about 150 beats per minute, or about twice as fast as your heartbeat

 

This article has been created by a national group of Kaiser Permanente ob-gyns, certified nurse-midwives, pediatricians, lactation consultants and other specialists who came together to provide you with the best pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and newborn information.

Some of the content is used and adapted with permission of The Permanente Medical Group.

Tags: