Fertilization occurs at what is perceived as the third week of pregnancy, and this is when the baby development stages really begin. Fertilization is the process that occurs when a sperm and an egg connect, forming a single cell which is known as a zygote. Zygote is a Greek word that means "yoked together". Here is what is going on during the third week of your pregnancy, as far as baby development stages are concerned:

• By the time you reach the third week of your pregnancy, the zygote, which is microscopic in size, is going to divide over and over at an astounding rate within your uterus.
• By the time you reach the third week of your pregnancy, your baby has already developed all the genetic material needed for life, with half of his or her 23 pairs of unique chromosomes coming from you and the other half coming from your partner.
• By this point, the gender of your child has already been determined by his or her genetic makeup.
• Within a period of 38 weeks, your baby is going to grow from being a single solitary cell, into being made up of more than a total of 2 trillion different cells!
• Within approximately 12 hours following fertilization, the single cell zygote that is your baby is going to divide into two completely identical cells. Each of these two cells is going to split again, creating a total of four cells, and then this split becomes eight cells. This is going to continue over and over again, as the total number of the cells in the baby is going to continue to double over and over again with every passing twelve hours.
• When single zygotes split into two separate zygotes, each possessing the same genetic makeup, then the result is identical twins.
• During this third week of your pregnancy, the zygote is just in the beginning stages of moving down through your fallopian tube to reach the uterus.

In addition to these baby development stages, your body is also going through some other changes and experiences as well. It is too early yet for you to experience any outward symptoms, and you have not yet missed a period. However:

• At three weeks of pregnancy, your baby is currently in a phase known as blastocyst. The developing placenta is currently beginning to produce a hormone known as human chorionic gonadotropin or hCG, which is the hormone that is detected in pregnancy tests to determine whether or not you are pregnant.
• At this point, you can take a home pregnancy test in order to detect the hormone after between six and twelve days following fertilization.

Photo Credits: sean dreilinger

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astounding rate, baby development stages, cells, chromosomes, egg, fallopian tube, fertilization, genetic makeup, genetic material, greek word, identical twins, pairs, solitary cell, sperm, trillion, twelve hours, uterus, week of pregnancy, zygote, zygotes