What happens after fertilization?

                    The fertilized egg begins to divide as it travels down the fallopian tube towards the womb. By the time it enters the womb it has divided into a ball of about 100 cells. It settles on the wall of the womb and sinks into the surface, becoming firmly fixed. At this point, the female is pregnant.

 

 

 

 

What is an embryo?

                     For the first eight weeks of a pregnancy, the developing egg is called an embryo. A liquid-filled bag develops around the embryo to protect it. By the fourth week of pregnancy the embryo is the size of a grain of rice. It has a head and a tail, and the beginning of limbs, and its tiny heart begins to beat. The placenta is the embryo’s life-support system. It is a red, flattened organ that becomes deeply embedded in the wall of the womb. The placenta extracts food substances from the mother’s blood and passes waste material from the embryo back to the mother for disposal. The placenta is connected to the developing baby by a thick umbilical cord, which contains large blood vessels.

Pictures Credit: Google