What are the various stages of development in the womb?
Many stages of prenatal development can be identified, especially in the early days and weeks of life when change takes place at an extremely rapid pace. The following are the primary stages: • Zygote—A single-celled human being from the moment of conception until the first cell division • Blastocyst—A human being possessing 40 to 150 cells in the shape of a tiny ball; the placenta will develop from the outer cells, while the body develops from the inner cells. • Embryo—A human being from the time of the first cell division up until approximately the eighth week of life • Fetus—A human being from about the eighth week of life up until birth To this list of stages of human development we might also add newborn, infant, toddler, child, adolescent, adult and senior—the continuum of human life which begins with conception.
