Pregnancy: A Long, Eventful Life Experience Pregnancy occurs everyday world wide. Many women dream of the day they can start their own family. Although some women enjoy pregnancy, it can seem like the nine months take forever to come to an end for some people. The nine months of pregnancy are equally divided into three trimesters. Pregnancy, an event of developing a baby, is separated by months and trimesters and is a long, eventful life experience. Months one, two, and three are the first trimester and include weeks one through twelve of a pregnancy. During week one of pregnancy, the egg and sperm join to make a cell called a zygote. The zygote divides multiple times and the bunch of cells move towards the uterus. Then during the second week the dividing zygote, now called a blastocyst, goes into the uterus and burrows into the side of it. During week three, part of the blastocyst will develop into the placenta that will help provide the baby with nutrients. It will also produce a hormone called HCG that will stop the woman’s menstrual period and make the body produce increased levels of estrogen and progesterone hormones that will begin growth of the placenta. The fully formed placenta will be the life support system for the baby (Dattel 13). In week four, the heart and lungs of the baby will begin developing, and the baby will have a heartbeat (14). By week five the baby is approximately 0.5 inches long, and the arms and legs will appear as short stumps. At the time of week six the baby’s heart is beating eighty times per minute. The nose, mouth, and ears are also beginning to form. During week seven, the bones start forming but are not hard. Fingers and toes are present and genitals start to develop. Eyelids also form but stay closed. By week eight, all major organs and body systems have started developing and brain cells begin connecting (15). In week nine,