Many people wait until they are financially secure before deciding to have a baby. I have found the financial security needed to afford the new arrival never comes. There is always something more to do and buy. However, all usually works out for the best.When you decide to start a new family there are many things that need to be considered. The most important issue that needs to be addressed is nutrition, for without a balanced diet that contains all the essential vitamins and nutrients, you may not enjoy a normal healthy pregnancy and this may place baby at risk.This may sound alarming, but the latest medical research has shown that if the mother's nutrition is inadequate, then the result could be birth defects, lower birth weight and below normal intelligence for the baby. This improvement in nutrition must start before conception, as the development of the new child begins at the moment of conception.Let's now discuss the changes that occur to the mother-to-be and the developing baby after conception.After the male sperm fertilizes the female egg, the egg (ovum) undergoes a change called 'cleavage' or 'cell division'. These divided cells are called blastomeres. This cell division continues to double until the embryo forms a solid mass about the size of a match head at about five weeks. At seven weeks the arms and legs have started to appear, not looking much like arms and legs but within a week they soon develop and the embryo starts looking like your new baby.From the time of conception to full term or birth is 280 days or 10 lunar months. A lunar month is the time it takes the moon to go through a complete phase of 4 weeks. The length of the pregnancy is calculated from the first day of the last menstrual period to birth. This will give the probable date of the birth. Your practitioner may arrange an ultrasound scan during the pregnancy that will help determine a more accurate date.*1/199/5*
