Your Pregnancy Week by Week: 9 Weeks

The following information -- and much more -- can also be found in the free weekly email Lamaze Pregnancy Week by Week. Sign up now to receive helpful information for your stage of pregnancy. Subscribers will be given the opportunity to complete a Lamaze Parent Satisfaction Survey after their pregnancy and receive a Lamaze Toys coupon. We want to hear about your birth experience and the impact that childbirth education may have had so that we can continue to make sure parents have the information they need for the safest, healthiest birth possible.

You're in week 9 of your pregnancy!

Choosing a care provider and choosing a birth setting (the two usually go hand in hand) are two of the most important decisions you'll make while you're pregnant. They can influence the path of your pregnancy, birth and early mothering. You may not realize all of the options you have. You can select a midwife, family physician, obstetrician or a maternal-fetal medicine specialist to provide your care, depending on you and your baby's needs. If you choose a midwife, you may consider birthing in a hospital, a birth center or at home. If you choose a physician, you will most likely birth your baby in a hospital. Start by reviewing the truths of childbirth to help you make informed decisions regarding your caregiver and birth setting.

What's New with Baby

At 9 weeks, finer details of your little baby's body are now forming. His nipples, hair follicles, and essential organs are developing. Elbows have taken shape and the gonads have become either testes in boys or ovaries for girls. Still, it will be some time before you can find out the gender of your little one. At about 1.5 cm long, your baby is now about the same length as an almond!

What's New with You

In pregnancy, as in life, there are many unknowns. You may worry that the alcohol you drank before you knew you were pregnant has affected your baby. Or, perhaps you've had a miscarriage before and fear that may happen again. This anxiety, while normal, can cause you to lose trust in your body at a time when you could be honoring the remarkable work it is doing.

One way to cope with a case of the 'pregnancy worries' is to have some daily quiet time with your baby. Set aside 15 minutes each day to love your baby and yourself. Send loving thoughts to baby, quietly visualize baby growing inside you or repeat positive affirmations to yourself, such as, 'I am growing a healthy, beautiful baby.'

Words of Wisdom from Another Mom

"I feel like I am a lucky person to have a provider that I trust as much as I do. I am comfortable asking her any question, and if she is unsure in any way, she will ask someone else and get back to me. She cares for me as a whole person. I am very lucky to have found her and have her involved in very important decisions in my life and the lives of my children."
- Listening to Mothers Survey Respondent

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