Week 8 of Pregnancy: What's Going On Inside

Topic Overview

Pregnancy can be exciting, mysterious, and exhausting. During pregnancy, your body does a ton of work to support the growth of your baby. And even though you can't feel it yet, your baby is growing and changing very fast.

Wondering what your baby looks like now? As you enter your third month of pregnancy, your baby is about the size of a jelly bean. Average baby length is 12.7 mm (0.5 in.).

How your baby is changing

Here are some of the important facts and developments around 8 weeks.

• The embryo starts out looking like a tiny seed, and then like a tadpole with a tail, and then more human by the end of the month.
• When you are 6 weeks pregnant, your embryo has the beginnings of a brain, eyes, ears, heart, lungs, liver, and other organs. There are tiny bumps where arms and legs will grow.
• When you are 8 weeks pregnant, the heart and brain have divided into their major parts. Your embryo has webbed fingers and has arms that bend at the elbow. The legs and feet will take a little more time to grow. Muscles will soon start working.