Birth Defects Injury

Click and drag a slider bar underneath an image window to see the process of embryonic and fetal development.

The placenta provides the baby with nutrients and oxygen from the mother and carries away fetal waste...more...

The growing embryo requires nutrition and oxygen, and a disposal system for the waste products of its own metabolism. All of this is accomplished by the placenta, which allows the growing embryo to eat...more

Hypertension caused by pre-eclampsia can adversely affect the fetus by causing constriction of the placental arteries. Arterial constriction may result in severe reduction..more...

A woman is born with all of the egg cells she will release throughout her lifetime. Starting at about age 12 through menopause, a woman's reproductive cycle releases an egg about once a month...more...

One of the first signs of labor starting is the appearance of a mucus plug, or what is sometimes called...more...

Ultrasound is a useful procedure for monitoring the baby's development in the uterus. Ultrasound uses inaudible sound waves to produce a two-dimensional image of the baby...more...

Select a week by clicking one of the three buttons. Next, click and drag the slider bar to see an illustration of the baby's position gradually appear. With the cursor, roll-over the image to identify the various structures of the fetus.

When the cervix dilates to 10 centimeters, the pushing and delivery phase of childbirth begins. During this phase, the baby starts the journey down the birth canal...more...

Parents-to-be must weigh merits amid barrage of marketing