Pregnancy & Early Development
A Closer Look At Your Pregnancy
Before making any pregnancy decision, you deserve clear, honest information about your health and fetal development. This includes knowing how far along you are, whether the pregnancy is in the uterus, whether cardiac activity can be detected, and whether there are signs of miscarriage or another medical concern.
According to Mayo Clinic, about 10% to 20% of known pregnancies end in miscarriage, and most miscarriages happen during the first trimester. The actual number may be higher because some occur before a woman knows she is pregnant. view source
Some women who are thinking about abortion may already be having a miscarriage and may not know it yet. An ultrasound can sometimes show that the pregnancy has stopped developing or that more testing is needed.
If the pregnancy has already ended on its own, an abortion procedure may not be needed. Knowing this before an abortion can help you understand what is happening and receive the appropriate medical care for a miscarriage.
8 Weeks Pregnant — Approximately 6 Weeks After Conception
Pregnancy is measured from the first day of your last menstrual period (LMP) rather than the day conception occurred. As a result, someone who is eight weeks pregnant has generally been pregnant for about six weeks after conception.
Although the embryo is still very small, remarkable development is already taking place. At approximately six weeks after conception, the embryo:
- Measures approximately ½ to ⅝ inch (12–16 mm) from crown to rump, roughly the size of a raspberry.
- Has a beating heart, with cardiac activity typically visible on ultrasound at this stage.
- Has a rapidly developing brain, spinal cord, and nervous system.
- Has developing arms and legs, with the beginnings of hands and feet becoming more defined.
- Has increasingly recognizable facial features, including developing eyes, ears, nose, and upper lip.
- Has all major organ systems beginning to develop, including the heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, and digestive system.
- Is developing within the amniotic sac, while the placenta and umbilical cord continue to develop and support the pregnancy.
8 Weeks Pregnant
Approximately 6 weeks after conception
The Earliest Stages, in Motion
The two videos below offer a visual look at human development during pregnancy and can make the changes taking place at different stages easier to understand.
We are sharing them for educational and informational purposes only. Our goal is simply to give you clear information, a fuller picture of fetal development, and another way to understand what may be happening at different points in pregnancy.
Life Before Birth
What makes Life Before Birth unique is that it shows real images of a developing human embryo and fetus inside the womb—not just drawings or animation. These actual images offer a clear look at human development as it takes place during pregnancy.
Baby Olivia
The Baby Olivia video uses age from fertilization/conception rather than standard LMP-based gestational age. It is a medically reviewed, computer-generated 3D animation that follows human development from fertilization through pregnancy. Unlike Life Before Birth, it is an educational animation rather than real in-utero footage, offering a clear visual guide to major stages of embryonic and fetal development.