9th to 12th Week of Life

The tiny child tries to grab and makes a fist when its palm is touched. To avoid trouble, it will turn its head away. The fingers show delicate fingernails. Hands, arms and legs begin to move. If you touch the infant’s cheeks and lips, they will twitch, as if to smile. The size of the fetus is now about 5 cm long.

The fetus is now 60,000 times as large as the original egg. It begins to suck its thumb and may even do summersaults. It regularly drinks the amniotic fluid and it enters into its blood and leaves through the kidneys. This is how the mother and child exchange fluids and food. The fetus is now 6 to 7 cm long.

All internal organs are active. The child breathes, swallows, digests and urinates. It is very sensitive to pain. It is capable of learning and experiencing new things such as noises and will sleep when its mother sleeps. Hair starts to grow on its head. The baby continually learns and gets steadily closer to the day of its birth. The fetus is now about 9 cm long.