Your Baby is More than an Embryo
During the first 4 weeks of fetal development, your baby is just an embryo consisting of two layers of developmental cells that with time will generate the different organs and parts of your baby’s body.
It is during this early stage of pregnancy when fetal development begins its continuous process of life. After four weeks, your baby is a quarter inch in length, and his digestive system, heart, backbone and spinal cord begin to form.
The embryo, that was the result of a single fertilized egg released by your ovaries, grows up to 10,000 times larger than size it was at the moment of your conception. It is also during the first month of pregnancy when the baby’s placenta begins its development.
While the miracle of life is developing inside your body, often your life goes on without even noticing it, but feeling the first symptoms and signs of pregnancy.
Because the fetal development process has just begun, you will begin to experience an increasing fatigue with no apparent cause that is easily coped with extra sleep every day. As soon as you realize that you are pregnant, avoid caffeine, eat well, and avoid stressful situations.
Depression and mood swings are often associated to fatigue in this early stage of pregnancy, occurring in about 10% of all pregnant women, causing lost of interest in your daily activities, changes in your eating patterns and sleep disturbances, among the most noticeable changes.
Your baby begins to grown, leaving behind the embryo state and demanding food that may result in the first pregnancy cravings, although for most women it that the first sign that the new mother notices instead of cravings.
An excess in salivation and urination also occur during the first four weeks of pregnancy, an unpleasant sensation that does not cause harm to you or the fetus, but announce its development.
Meanwhile, your breasts seems to be growing by the minute, and you will probably know that a baby is approaching the first month of pregnancy and the time to provide him with vitamins and other measures will be necessary to compensate the morning sickness and food aversions that you could be experience by then.
After the first four weeks of pregnancy, you must be aware of the fetal development. If the embryo has grown smoothly, there is nothing to worry about. However, if you are suffering from cramps in your stomach or getting occasional spotting, call your doctor immediately.
These symptoms are the way in which the embryo says that something is going wrong. In the early stage of pregnancy, prompt medical attention and an eventual fetal surgery can save yours and your baby’s life.
Prego! December 5th, 2008, 8:37 am
Pregnant women do you call your unborn child a baby, a fetus, or and embryo?
I think that when I get pregnant right from the begining I'm going to start calling him a baby. A fetus and embryo sound to harsh and like not something thats living. I've heard many women and doctors say it's not a baby its an embryo/fetus. And I think thats mean for some reason.
I totally agree with you Sara K
momofmodi December 5th, 2008, 1:39 pm
I always called mine babies. I think embryo and fetus are too medical/scientific sounding.
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Steph December 5th, 2008, 1:41 pm
zygus (sp) then embryo, fetus the baby
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Barbara S December 5th, 2008, 1:43 pm
I never called my daughter anything other than a baby from the minute I knew she had been conceived.
Best of luck.
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Mommy to a 12-week old.
Mommy2Be Baby#1 December 5th, 2008, 1:45 pm
I call mine a baby. There is noo way I would call my baby an embryo or fetus!!!
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27 weeks and 3 days with baby 1!
gypsy g December 5th, 2008, 1:47 pm
I don't think its mean, but it made it not seem real somehow. I called it the baby.
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twons517 December 5th, 2008, 1:49 pm
he's my baby! from day one until the end of time!
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Brooke G December 5th, 2008, 1:51 pm
I called her baby girl. or by her first name, Savannah right from the beginning.
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christylyn8 December 5th, 2008, 1:53 pm
Your baby starts off as an embryo, grows into a fetus and then finally into a baby. I've always called it what it is. Embryo in the beginning, then fetus, then baby. It's just a way to connect with what is going on in your body. Politically correct. Not harsh in my book.
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helkat922 December 5th, 2008, 1:55 pm
I am 21 weeks and have always called my little one a baby! Yes, in the medical world, they will refer to it as the correct term: fetus etc.
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Michaels Baby Girl ♥I love you♥ December 5th, 2008, 1:57 pm
Baby is what i would call it i have never been prego yet
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luv_the_red_head December 5th, 2008, 1:59 pm
babies!!!!!!!!!!
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ღIrish Mommy2be-IT'S A GIRL! December 5th, 2008, 2:01 pm
Good question.
Each person has diff perspectives.
I have called my baby a baby from the start… ofcourse when I'd look online or speak "literal" to the dr I might've said, and sometimes typed online to find info "fetus" and "embryo".. but when I talk to her(ever since I got pregnant), I call her baby..and now Lorelei, since she's a girl :o). I understand what u mean, I feel rude to ay anything less….even though its not rude, I already had a connection from conception :o).
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G&E December 5th, 2008, 2:03 pm
I have a friend who calls the baby "Cletus the Fetus". I think that is SO cute.
I think you cannot help but refer to the unborn child as the baby or he and she once you learn the gender once you get more and more pregnant. It's amazing how you can love someone that you have never met or seen!
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Almost 32 weeks!
kat December 5th, 2008, 2:05 pm
I called mine a baby and once I knew the sex, I called them by their name.
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It's a boy Austin james 8/30 December 5th, 2008, 2:07 pm
I never called him anything but a baby, maybe a little peanut or jelly bean. I have considered him a baby from day one.
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Danielle S December 5th, 2008, 2:09 pm
baby
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daisy mcpoo December 5th, 2008, 2:11 pm
I called mine an embryo, then a fetus as it grew, and after seeing it in the ultrasound, I called it a baby. I don't think it makes a difference though. Just because it is the clinic term doesn't mean you don't love it!
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Life Is Good December 5th, 2008, 2:13 pm
I'm on my 3rd pregnancy, and they have all been my babies. My older boys still are, and always will be "my babies" lol.
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melli December 5th, 2008, 2:15 pm
I'm on number 3 and I call it a baby. I mean I know that medically there are names for the different stages, but a baby is a baby- a life is a life no matter what name you put on it
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curious December 5th, 2008, 2:17 pm
It is a baby from the moment of conception!
I think some people just use those other terms so they don't feel like its actually a human baby. It really upsets me when someone gets an abortion and is like well, its only a embryo/fetus its not a baby.
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DoulaKaren December 5th, 2008, 2:19 pm
I call it an embryo until about 8 weeks, at which point it's a fetus. I don't think that sounds harsh to me at all. I don't think it's mean to call something by a scientific term. I do tend to mentally switch over to baby around the time I start feeling movement.
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~Baby D~ December 5th, 2008, 2:21 pm
I call my baby a baby. I will call it by name as soon as I find out the sex in 2 weeks!
I love my baby!
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19 weeks pregnant
Anyone December 5th, 2008, 2:23 pm
I think most women would call theres a baby. I do. There's no need for us to be so technical with our child.
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secretsoftruth08 December 5th, 2008, 2:25 pm
I always say "the baby"…even with this one being likely twins..untill I have a firm confirmation at 8 weeks I still say "the baby".
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mom of 2,and just over 6 weeks pregnant with what looks like twins(2 sacks on ultrasound at 5 weeks. confirm in 1 week 4 days)
♥ღ♥Jess ♥ღ♥ 29wks Baby#3 December 5th, 2008, 2:27 pm
A Baby of course! =)
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Due in Aug! December 5th, 2008, 2:29 pm
He was my baby from the start, nothing less and thats what i call him!
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Eliza Doolittle December 5th, 2008, 2:31 pm
I call mine little baby boo.
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6 weeks and 1 day
Nolan's Mommy December 5th, 2008, 2:33 pm
baby of course
I was more comfortable calling him that than embryo…I don't think I've heard someone say 'hey my fetus is kicking' lol I think baby is more personal, but I did notice it became a habit and instead of saying 'nolan is awake' i would say 'the baby is awake'
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sara k December 5th, 2008, 2:35 pm
I started calling her a baby girl before i even knew what I was having, I just knew I was having a girl and I am:) I think calling the baby a fetus or embryo is a very harsh thing, makes them seem less human. I think it gives the women who get abortion a better feeling because they never referred to it as being a child.
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thirty weeks with baby number 1 kyra adiana 07/08!
Faye December 5th, 2008, 2:37 pm
I would call it "baby" or by its name if I was absolutely positive that the name was going to be its name.
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Sophia's Mama : ) December 5th, 2008, 2:39 pm
Neither "fetus" or "embryo" should be considered harsh or mean - They are merely the medical terms for the tiny human growing inside a woman's uterus.
Having said that, I refer to my baby as a baby.
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adrianne M December 5th, 2008, 2:41 pm
I never , would never, and will never call my unborn baby a zygote , embryo or fetus. I think that's harsh sounding , even if they are the correct terms. women don't go around saying, geez, the fetus is kicking really hard today. I mean, that's just silly . I always call my unborn , my baby. always will.
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chi_cay December 5th, 2008, 2:43 pm
i called it a baby now since i am half way there. it depends on the stage of pregnancy if it still a embryo, then the remaining time its a fetus.try not to get so upset over something so trivial, these are medical terms. i had a rough start and wasnt sure if it would make it, so i really didnt speak on it, i was afraid to get attached but now at 18 weeks i am more confident
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jessica j December 5th, 2008, 2:45 pm
I called my baby a baby from day one, fetus and embryo just sounds stupid, we actually called the baby "Scooty" then we found out the sex and gave her a name
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38 weeks prego with #1
*Jessy* December 5th, 2008, 2:47 pm
When I was pregnant my baby was my baby, whether he was as big as a grain of rice or a newborn. He still is
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Marissa S December 5th, 2008, 2:49 pm
You realize that in a technical sense the baby is only an embryo for the first 8 weeks of life, then a fetus until he/she is born. I don't think it's mean to refer to the baby by the correct terms. Although I usually do refer to him as the baby and not as a fetus.
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Lauren December 5th, 2008, 2:51 pm
Well it is a baby not matter what ppl think…. so i would call it a baby.
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andrew's mommy December 5th, 2008, 2:53 pm
i always called mine a baby… never a fetus or embryo, its too scientific sounding.
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mommy of a six month old boy
Carolina_79 December 5th, 2008, 2:55 pm
I agree with you those names are very harsh. At the beging I called him: my little chicken, or funny stuff like that, pretty much spanish words, but when my belly started growing I always called him my baby.
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Expecting #1**** 5 weeks along December 5th, 2008, 2:57 pm
im only 5 weeks and since I conceived, i called my baby a baby.
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impala400sb December 5th, 2008, 2:59 pm
i always called mine a baby :o)
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gigimae101 December 5th, 2008, 3:01 pm
well medically those are terms that the health care providers call the child as it is developing inside the womb. I agree with you 100 %. When someone is expecting… they are carrying a baby, not a blob of tissue. It is right to say my baby is in there. you should go to pregnancy . com to see what happens even in the first 21 days after conception. it will be excting for you to watch the baby growing inside. take care and good choice
love gigi
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marset617 December 5th, 2008, 3:03 pm
I mostly call my unborn child a baby. On the rare occasion, I will be saying something and slip in "little fetus" but it's always in that endearing tone of voice. I definitely think of the baby as part of the family now, so why not treat him/her like one?
I think it's easier for people to go on with their lives like normal when they disconnect from the baby a little by calling it an embryo/fetus. Also, some people don't actually consider it a baby until it's born. Me, personally, I've thought of my child as a baby since I found out he/she was in there! But some people just aren't really ready to connect with the baby until birth. And then, of course, there are those who decide not to have the child, in which case it would obviously far more traumatic for them to consider it a baby.
I wouldn't worry too much about being mean. After all, it is technically a zygote/embryo/fetus. I mean, calling a person a human isn't mean unless you are intending it unkindly.
As long as you take good care of him/her and behave lovingly towards your baby, I don't think it really matters what you call him/her.
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Velken December 5th, 2008, 3:05 pm
I called him "Baby". Once we found out the sex, he's been called Duncan. Even at 4 weeks when I first peed on the test and saw 2 lines, this tiny child has been a child to me. Born or unborn, this is my 4th child. I've wanted him since I was pregnant with my first child. To me he's as real as my older kids, even though he's still inside me.
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29 weeks with #4
T@sh December 5th, 2008, 3:07 pm
yea, i thought even when i was as early as 6weeks that my baby was a baby! and now im 22wk 3d i call her by her name..goodluck
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jo-jo December 5th, 2008, 3:09 pm
At first it was lima bean. But now that I know it is a boy its junior. Even though his name will be something else. Yes technically it is a fetus but that fetus is my baby! If I lost him I would morn a child!
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Kay T December 5th, 2008, 3:11 pm
I'm not pregnant, but have two children. Whether you call it an embryo, fetus, or baby depends on the stage of development technically, and on your own preference personally. It isn't mean, just a set of facts. At first, it is just a ball of undifferentiated cells. This is not a living being, but has the potential to become one. Then it is an embryo. When it forms into a human, but is too small and way too early to be born, it is a fetus. Some people continue to call it a fetus until it is born. I believe it is a baby after it is fully formed. There is nothing wrong with calling it a baby from the start if you want to, it just isn't a biological fact at that point. By the way, I did refer to mine as the baby from the start.
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Loving me is easy December 5th, 2008, 3:13 pm
He's my little baby or my bambino
we actually already call him by the name we will name him
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14 weeks 5 days with baby# 1:)
GarnetAir December 5th, 2008, 3:15 pm
'Baby,' although I did tell my older two, the technical terms.
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Mom of three, and my last BABY is due, this Fall!