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Month 1
Critical stage for brain and spinal cord development.
The lungs, stomach, and liver start to develop.
Egg attaches to lining of uterus
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Month 2
Face, eyes, ears, and limbs take shape.
arms and legs are well-formed.
Bones begin to form.
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Month 3
Buds for all 20 baby teeth appear.
fingers and toes complete almost, nostrils, mouth, lips, and eyelids form.
all organs present but still immature.
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Month 4
Can suck its thumb, swallow, hiccup, and move around.
The baby's eyes can blink.
Facial features become clearer.
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Month 5
Hair, eyelashes, and eyebrows appear.
The baby weighs about 10 ounces and is a little more than 6 inches long.
Teeth continue to develop.
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Month 6
Fat deposits under skin, but fetus appears wrinkled.
The baby responds to sounds by moving or increasing his pulse.
Breathing movements begin.
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Month 7
About 10-12 inches long and weighs about 2 pounds as month begins.
Has periods of activity followed by periods of rest and quite.
Changes position often at this point in pregnancy.
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Month 8
Moves into a head-down position.
The baby's skin has fewer wrinkles as a layer of fat starts to form under the skin.
Rapid weight gain continues.
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Month 9
Descends into pelvis, ready for birth.
The brain has been developing rapidly. Lungs are nearly fully developed. The head is usually positioned down into the pelvis by now.
Movements decrease as the fetus has less room to move around.
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The first defect: Hearing loss
Hearing loss. This is a common birth defect that can affect a baby’s ability to develop speech, language, and social skills. Hearing loss can happen when any part of the ear isn’t working in the usual way. Treatment depends on the cause of the hearing loss and whether hearing loss is mild or severe. Some babies with hearing loss may need hearing aids, medicine, surgery or speech therapy.
Source: marchofdimes.org
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The second defect: Microcephaly
Microcephaly is when a baby’s head is smaller than expected, compared to babies of the same sex and age. Babies with mild microcephaly often don’t have problems other than small head size. Severe microcephaly can happen if a baby’s brain doesn’t develop properly during pregnancy or if the brain starts to develop correctly but is damaged during pregnancy. Some need medicines to treat seizures or other health problems. -
The third defect: Cleft lip and cleft palate.
Cleft lip and cleft palate are birth defects in a baby’s lip and mouth. Usually, babies can have surgery to repair cleft lip or cleft palate. They may need more surgery, special dental care, and speech therapy as they get older. Speech therapy is therapy to teach your child how to speak more clearly or communicate in other ways.
Photo: cdc.gov
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The fourth defect: Gastroschisis.
This is a birth defect of the abdominal (belly) wall. A baby is born with his intestines, and sometimes other organs, outside of the body. Gastroschisis happens when the muscles that make up the abdominal wall don’t connect properly, forming a hole beside the belly button. A baby with gastroschisis needs surgery soon after birth to put his organs back in place and repair the hole.
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The fifth defect: Clubfoot.
Clubfoot is a birth defect of the foot. It’s when a baby’s foot turns inward so that the bottom of the foot faces sideways or even up. Clubfoot doesn’t improve without treatment. Treatment may include pointing, stretching, casting the foot and using braces. With early treatment, most children with clubfoot can walk, run and play without pain.
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How to prevent birth defects
Before pregnancy: Get a preconception checkup. This is a medical checkup you get with your prenatal care provider before pregnancy to help make sure you’re healthy when you get pregnant. Go for this checkup before you start trying to get pregnant.
During pregnancy: Take folic acid. During pregnancy, take a prenatal vitamin that has 600 mcg of folic acid in it every day.
Source: https://www.marchofdimes.org/complications/birth-defects-and-your-baby.aspx
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