Baby Chris is Five Weeks Old

[This is part 6 of a multi-part series chronicling a pregnancy through the lens of “Baby Chris.” Click here for other parts.]

Animation via Virtual Human Embryo

Five weeks after his or her conception, Baby Chris is rapidly developing new organs. The kidneys have appeared, the liver is producing blood cells, and the yolk sac is providing germ cells for the nascent gonads (ovaries or testes). In the digestive system, the stomach, esophagus, pancreas, and intestines are present.

Although Baby Chris has no access to air, respiratory system development is nevertheless underway. The airways repeatedly branch off to form the “bronchial tree” structure in the lungs. Key structures are also forming in Baby Chris’s eyes: the optic cup, optic vesicle, and primitive retina. You can also see four limb buds, which will become Baby Chris’s arms and legs.

Sadly, babies at 5 weeks are at a high risk for abortion. According to the Guttmacher Institute, a think tank allied with the abortion industry, approximately two-thirds of abortions in the United States occur at or before 8 weeks of pregnancy as measured by the last menstrual period (LMP) method—which is equal to 6 weeks post-fertilization (actual age).

Thankfully, Baby Chris’s mother has rejected abortion and has a supportive pro-life community to care for her through the rest of Baby Chris’s nine-month journey to birth and beyond. Keep following their progress by downloading the free “See Baby” app on your smartphone!