The A-Z of pregnancy: H-N

placeholding invisible text

Average rating:

Hearing
Your baby's ears begin to form at around week eight of your pregnancy. By week 18 they can hear the sounds of your body, and by the 25th they can hear your voice outside the womb.

Implantation
Around seven days after you ovulate, the fertilised egg that will become your baby enters your womb and burrows into the lining, causing
the placenta to start developing.

Jawbone
Your baby's jawbone is formed by around week 10 and already contains the buds for all those tiny milk teeth.

Kicks
Your baby gets a kick out of you, and this stage of pregnancy can be really uncomfortable at times! Although you might get the odd boot in the bladder, it's reassuring to feel those tiny feet poking you.

Lanugo
This fine, downy hair covers your baby's skin in the womb.
It wears off in later pregnancy.

Meconium
This greenish-black tar-like substance is basically your baby's poo, made up of dead skin cells he's ingested during the pregnancy from swallowing amniotic fluid. He'll fill his nappy with this in the first few days after he's born.

Neural tube
Your baby's neural tube begins to form three weeks after fertilisation and will eventually develop into his brain and spinal cord. At birth, your baby's brain will have 100 billion cells!

- Read on for more: O-U of pregnancy