Fetal Development: Week By Week Guide: Month 8

The eighth-month pregnancy – You are almost there! Your body is getting ready for the big event. In spite of being constantly uncomfortable, you are eagerly waiting to hold the baby in your arms. Let us discover how your baby-to-be is developing week by week in eight month.

8 months – Week 01:

Length: Nearly 42 cm

Weight: Nearly 1.6 kg

· Fetal movement is rigorous. The kicks and hiccups of the baby are strong enough to wake you up at night.

· Baby senses are developing making him respond to distinct sounds, familiar voices, and music.

· The hair on the head: Some babies have a full head of hair by this week while others are bald.

· Eye development: The iris color starts to appear. Pupils respond to the light and darkness by dilating and contracting.

· Fat accumulation: Fat is accumulating under the skin.

8 month – week 02:

Length: 43 cm

Weight: 1.8 kg

· Fat layer underneath the skin is growing thicker.

· The nails are completely formed.

· Reproductive organ: In boys, the testicles descend from the groin into the scrotum. In girls, the clitoris is relatively prominent.

· Sleep time: Baby has established his sleep-and-wake cycle. He sleeps most of the day.

· Decrease in baby’s movements due to lack of space in the uterus.

· Response to stimuli: The baby responds to the environment, mother’s feelings and stress level.

· Lungs are maturing and heart rate is slowing down.

· Skin is translucent and the skeleton is hardening.

8 month – Week 03:

Length: 44 cm

Weight: 2 kg

· Baby’s organs, skeleton, muscle mass and body are well formed. But skull bones do not fuse together allowing overlapping of bones during delivery.

· The nails and hair are completely grown.

· Breathing practice: Though the baby gets oxygen from the placenta through the umbilical cord, the baby is still practicing breathing by swallowing amniotic fluid by opening and closing the mouth and exercising the diaphragm muscles.

· Brain cells, neurons, and synapses are developing – These help the baby to have the skills to thrive as an infant.

· Due to lack of space in the uterus, the movement of the baby will slow down.

· The diameter of the head is about 8.5 cm.

· The baby fuzz or lanugo is disappearing and being replaced by actual hair.

· The baby consumes a pint of amniotic fluid each day and urinates the same amount.

· Nails of the baby are as long as the tip of a finger or beyond.

· The head of the baby is directed downwards in preparation to delivery.

8 month – Week 04: 

Length: 45 cm

Weight: 2.3 kg

· Senses of the baby are fully developed. Your baby can now see and hear.

· The brain of the baby is working effectively. It can learn, remember and form a memory.

· Your baby can close his eyes while sleeping and keeps them open while awake. He can also blink. He can even dream in his sleep.

· The weight your baby gains now is stored as fat and this helps him insulate his body against the cold when he takes birth.

· Baby will be in vertex position by this week – the position where the baby’s head is down and rear is up. But a few babies may still be in breech position – with the bottoms or legs towards cervix.

· Baby can breathe with his lungs without any problem.

· Size of the brain triples in size in the first year of birth and by the first birthday of your baby, the brain will be ¾ the size of an adult brain.