Respect Life Ministry

For more information, please contact Mike and Mary Kinderman - mikekindermanapp@aol.com

Week 1 
Though the baby has not been conceived yet, doctors start the gestational age here, with the end of the mother's last cycle. What is a calm scene in the womb will soon turn into a show of amazing growth and develpment over the next nine months.
Week 2
At the end of week two, fertilization occurs and a unique, complete human being with 46 chromosomes detailing her entire development throughout life has entered the world.
Week 3
The baby's cells are dividing and growing rapidly as she travels down the fallopian tube to implant in the wall of the womb so mother can nourish the developing child.
Week 4
The baby is the size of a period at the end of a sentence, and cells in the baby have separated off to form the placenta which will nourish the child until birth. The baby has already communicated to her mother's body with hormones to let her know whe is growing in the womb.
Week 5
Organ systems are beginning to develop and the baby's heart starts to beat, just 21 days after fertilization.
Week 6
The Baby's neural tube closes, eventually becoming the fully-formed brain and spinal cord. The baby's tiny heart is already pumping blood and beats 80 times a minute, and she is 1/2 of an inch long.
Week 7
Tiny nostrils are visible and the baby's hands and feet are beginning to take shape.
Week 8
The baby is 1/2 of an inch long. Only six weeks after coming into existence fingers, ears and eyes can be seen. Taste buds are forming on her tongue and tooth buds are taking shape.
Week 9
The baby has grown a quarter of an inch in just a week and her teeny tiny toes are now visible.
Week 10
The baby's eyelids close to protect the wonderfully complex eyes while they form. Each minute the baby's brain develops 250,000 new neurons and she can now move her muscles.
Week 11
The baby is two inches long. She has reached the end of the embryonic stage and is now known as a "fetus," Latin for "young one." Her kidneys are developing and produce urine for the first time.
Week 12
Fingernails have begun forming on the baby's small fingers.
Week 13
Bones are beginning to harden in the baby's head, arms and legs.
Week 14
The baby is 3 1/2 inches long and if we had a window to the womb we could tell if she was a girl or if he was a boy.
Week 15
The baby's hair pattern on her head is forming. Researchers argue whether her widow's peak is the result of her genetic code and her own self directed growth in the womb.
Week 16
An ultrasound at this point would reveal the baby moving her legs and arms and maybe even sucking her thumb. It might also be able to determine her gender.
Week 17
Fat begins to form to keep the baby warm and cozy afterbirth.
Week 18
The baby is 5 1/2 inches long and might hear her first sound with her developing ears.
Week 19
A waxy substance called vernix begins to cover the baby's skin to protect her from the amniotic fluid.
Week 20
Halfway through 40 weeks, the baby's mother might begin to feel her tiny movements for the first time.
Week 21
The baby is now 10 inches long, measured head to heel. Her digestive system is getting exercise as she swallows amniotic fluid.
Week 22
Hair becomes visible. The Baby's eyebrows might even be visible and her body is covered in small, fine hairs called lanugo to help hold the protective vernix to her skin.
Week 23
We could take the baby's fingerprints and rapid eye movements start occuring. Is the baby dreaming, and what does a baby in the womb dream about?
Week 24
The baby is almost 12 inches long and has been regularly sleeping and waking. Her mother might be able to guess what she is doing based on her movement.
Week 25
Her mother's voice and other familiar sounds are recognized by the baby, who responds to them.
Week 26
Lungs are getting stronger in the baby, who is 14 inches long now. Her teeth buds are apparent in her gums.
Week 27
The baby has reached the end of the second trimester. Every major body system is present and has been functioning, and only 13 more weeks of exercise in the womb are needed to make her ready for the wide world.
Week 28
Eyelids have reopened and the baby's eyelashes are present.
Week 29
The baby's bones have finished forming, though they are soft in preparation for continued growth.
Week 30
The baby's eyes are wide open now and she has a full head of hair.
Week 31
The baby's brain has developed enough to control breathing and her own body temperature independent of mother.
Week 32
The baby's first haircut happens as lanugo begins to fall off.
Week 33
Small pupils in the baby's eyes can function, dilating and constricting in dim or bright light.
Week 34
Fingernails have now fully grown out on her finggers as the baby reaches more than a foot and a half in length.
Week 35
In prepartion for birth, the baby begins to gain lots of weight, about a half a pound every week.
Week 36
The baby is getting quite cramped in the womb now, but she is still able to move around. What a big change the next month will bring!
Week 37
Almost ready for birth, the baby begins positioning head down in the womb to make birth easier.
Week 38
The baby has a firm grasp with her hands and is considered full-term at this point.
Week 39
While she continues growing in the womb, the baby's family is anxiously waiting and preparing for the moment they can see her with their own eyes for the first time.
Week 40
The big day arrives and the baby experiences a whole new world on a day forever remembered. It's an experience more than a million of her fellow babies are deprived of every year in America.