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APPENDICES
Selected Steps in the Development of the Unborn Child
The appendices are easy to use. Appendix
1 lists the chronological development of the unborn
child from the moment of conception onward, including
information on how the parts of the body unfold as well
as on how the child breathes, moves, learns, and develops
the senses of hearing, smell and taste. Much of the
data refers to the first eight weeks (the embryonic
period) when the vast majority of parts of the body
first appear. After this time, development consists
mostly of the growth and maturation of these organs,
systems and structures. The embryonic period has been
studied by scientists in much greater detail than the
fetal period, which begins on the 57th day of pregnancy
and continues until birth. When possible, I have added
information regarding developmental milestones during
the fetal period. The data are organized on a week-by-week
basis, with day-by-day development noted when available.
Appendix 2 rearranges
some of the data from Appendix 1, listing development
of the parts of the body in alphabetical order. A general
category, "Prenatal Development", focuses
primarily on broad changes that occur during the 3rd
to the 8th weeks. Appendix 2 also includes important
definitions and information on measuring methods
Appendix 3 rearranges
the rest of the information from Appendix 1, focusing
on the ways that the child moves in the womb and when
these movement patterns begin, with the entries arranged
in alphabetical order. This appendix also highlights
information about prenatal learning and the development
of the senses, including data on how the child might
experience pain. It also contains information describing
certain physiological functions such as breathing, swallowing,
and squinting.
Interpreting the Appendices
Some of the information in the appendices may seem
repetitive. For example, there are three separate entries
in Appendix 2 saying that the eye begins to develop
on day 28 after fertilization. However, since these
entries come from two different sources (Moore and Sadler),
the accuracy of the observation is enhanced. The development
of the eye in the same time period is further confirmed
by Larsen's assertion that the eyes begin their development
early in the 4th week. When multiple sources confirm
a finding, it is more reliable. Multiple sources are
included so that readers can form their own judgment
about the information.
Sometimes the sources differ and the best we can say
in these cases is that the part of the body in question
begins to develop over a range of time instead of on
a given day. Of course, no two persons develop at exactly
the same rate anyway, so that even the most highly confirmed
data would not necessarily apply to an individual case.
The data presented here are not intended to be an exhaustive
layout of the day-by-day development of the unborn child.
Some parts of the body were not covered in the sources
cited. Other information was not included in order to
keep the report to a reasonable length. As a caveat,
it should not be assumed that a part of the body appears
for the first time on a given day unless the text says
so. In all cases, however, a part of the body is present
on the day indicated
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