• Grow from 1/200 of an inch in diameter to a full-grown newborn baby. At some points during pregnancy, upwards of 50,000 neurons per second are produced.
• In the first month, go from the fertilized egg to an embryo 10,000 times bigger
• Feel everything the mum feels, since all the mum's hormones move through the baby's tiny body
• In the eighth week, form teeth, fingers, and toes
• In the sixth month, hear sounds and respond to stimuli outside the womb

At birth,

• recognize his or her parents and even siblings based on sounds heard in the womb
• have a highly developed sense of smell
• feel pleasure, pain, and discomfort the same as we do.

While your baby is growing inside you, you're changing too:

• Your blood volume expands by 45-50%
• Your heart is displaced upwards and appears to increase in size by about 12%
• Your total lung capacity decreases and you begin to breathe faster
• Your kidneys increase in length and width
• Your weight increases, due to many changes including: the developing baby, the uterus, amniotic fluid, the placenta and membranes, changes in the breasts, and the increase in blood volume and other fluids
• Your skin, hair, and gums may change

In addition to physical changes, you may experience many emotional, physiological, social, spiritual, and relationship changes during pregnancy. It may be a time where you need extra support, or you may turn inward. If you've been pregnant before, that experience will profoundly shape what is occurring now. Doulas recognize that every pregnancy is unique. It's important to spend time really getting to know each woman and her story. A woman's well-being affects her physical health.

Services available