Week 8 is next in our week-by-week pregnancy series. The weeks are progressing, your baby is growing. So, what happens at 8 weeks of pregnancy? How much has the baby been in the 8th week, how does it look?

Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Yeditepe University Hospitals and IVF Specialist Prof. Dr. Erkut Attar explained what happened in the 8th week of pregnancy.

The Size of the Baby at 8 Weeks of Pregnancy

In the 8th week of pregnancy, your baby is about the size of a kidney bean. The head-to-butt length is about 11 to 14 millimeters.

Your baby's head is still larger than its body and leans towards the chest. Its facial features are becoming more defined as its upper jaw and nose take shape. Small bulges are forming where the auricles will grow and the eyes are more open, the eyelid folds partially covering them. The upper lip and nose are formed. The torso and neck begin to straighten.

The nerve cells in your baby's brain are branching to form early neuronal pathways. The part of the brain responsible for the sense of smell is also forming. Your baby's hands are developing ridges on which fingers will form. Its legs are forming and the shape of its feet is beginning to be chosen, but it does not yet have fingertips. The legs and feet develop on average five days later than the arms and hands. The embryonic tail has almost disappeared and is retracting to form the tailbone (coccyx).

1 Question | 1 Answer about Pregnancy

• Is hair coloring, manicure, pedicure, and creams dangerous during pregnancy?

Dyeing hair during pregnancy, and using products containing various chemicals, actually exposes the mother to many agents that can have a toxic effect on the body.

Although there are no adequately proven studies, it is thought that these products may accumulate in the body and damage fetal tissue, which is the most sensitive structure. Therefore, if it is necessary to use these products, it is recommended to use them after the 12th week, when the fetal effect may be less. During activities such as pedicures and manicures, there is the possibility of infections such as hepatitis and HIV, which are transmitted by blood in society. When such infections occur during pregnancy, they can adversely affect the fetus and cause congenital infections or neonatal infections.

Laser hair removal applications can be performed during pregnancy. Laser is a technique that uses light energy. The resulting electromagnetic radiation is different from X-rays used in roentgen and cannot travel through tissue. The beam only affects the area where the procedure is performed, for example, the face, and its area of effect is limited to a few millimeters. Therefore, it cannot reach or harm the baby in the womb. However, it is still appropriate to leave such applications after 3-4 months of pregnancy.