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Charlotte Lozier Institute

Phone: 202-223-8073
Fax: 571-312-0544

2776 S. Arlington Mill Dr.
#803
Arlington, VA 22206

The
Voyage of Life
Weeks 1 and 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
Weeks 15 & 16
Weeks 17 & 18
Weeks 19 & 20
Weeks 21 & 22
Month 6
Month 7
Month 8
Month 9 and Birth

Week 14

Goal-oriented hand movements

Human Prenatal Age
  • Post-conception Week 12
  • 4 Months Pregnant
  • Gestational Week 14
Highlights

  • The preborn child makes goal-oriented hand movements.1

  • Mature tastebuds start to cover the tongue and connect with cranial nerves.2

  • The fetus produces a variety of hormones.3

In week 14, the fetus grows rapidly and increases his body weight by over 50%.4 The fetus’s body finally starts growing faster than his head,5 and his arms become more proportional with the rest of his body.6  Starting in the next few weeks, babies start growing at different paces, with some faster than others. Nevertheless, they all follow the same developmental path.

The unborn child makes goal-oriented hand and foot movements. (Image Credit: Priests for Life)
First conscious movements

When scientists studied ultrasounds of fetal movements at 14 weeks gestation, they found that the fetus has goal-directed movements toward her own eyes and mouth as well as the uterine wall. Before this age, the fetal movements were jerky and ballistic, but now the hands slow down as they approach their target. Furthermore, if the fetus has a twin, some of her movements will be directed towards the twin as well.7 Additionally, the fetus moves more gently when reaching towards her twin’s face.8 Similarly, by 18 weeks, the fetus will reach for her eyes and mouth faster and with greater precision when she uses her dominant hand.9

This week, the fetal intestine develops villi, finger-like structures that increase the surface area in the intestine so that it can absorb more nutrients. The cells in the intestinal walls have been absorbing water and glucose for over a week, but the villi make this process more efficient.10

Finally, sporadic eye movements start between 14 and 16 weeks.11 These have been detected using ultrasound. Scientists will use eye motion to tell whether the fetus is awake, in quiet sleep, or dreaming (rapid-eye movement sleep). However, rapid-eye movements are usually only detected after 23 weeks.12

Dive Deeper
Viral Transmission in the Womb: Zika and Coronavirus
Why do some viruses, like Zika virus, infect the unborn while others, like COVID-19, rarely do...
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COVID-19 Vaccines
Several COVID-19 vaccine candidates used abortion-derived cell lines in laboratory testing
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Back to The Voyage of Life
Sources
  1. Umberto Castiello et al., “Wired to Be Social: The Ontogeny of Human Interaction,” PLOS ONE 5, no. 10 (October 7, 2010): e13199, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0013199.
  2. M. Witt and K. Reutter, “Embryonic and Early Fetal Development of Human Taste Buds: A Transmission Electron Microscopical Study.,” The Anatomical Record 246, no. 4 (December 1996): 507–23, https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-0185(199612)246:4<507::AID-AR10>3.0.CO;2-S.
  3. Sadler, Thomas W. Medical Embyrology. 14th ed., 2019.
  4. Brenner, William E., David A. Edelman, and Charles H. Hendricks. “A Standard of Fetal Growth for the United States of America.” American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology 126, no. 5 (November 1, 1976): 555–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/0002-9378(76)90748-1.
  5. Torvid Kiserud et al., “The World Health Organization Fetal Growth Charts: A Multinational Longitudinal Study of Ultrasound Biometric Measurements and Estimated Fetal Weight,” PLOS Medicine 14, no. 1 (January 24, 2017): e1002220, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002220.
  6. Sadler, Thomas W. Medical Embyrology. 14th ed., 2019.
  7. Umberto Castiello et al., “Wired to Be Social: The Ontogeny of Human Interaction,” PLOS ONE 5, no. 10 (October 7, 2010): e13199, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0013199.
  8. Umberto Castiello et al., “Wired to Be Social: The Ontogeny of Human Interaction,” PLOS ONE 5, no. 10 (October 7, 2010): e13199, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0013199.
  9. Valentina Parma et al., “The Origin of Human Handedness and Its Role in Pre-Birth Motor Control,” Scientific Reports 7, no. 1 (December 1, 2017): 16804, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-16827-y.
  10. Montgomery, Robert K., Andrew E. Mulberg, and Richard J. Grand. “Development of the Human Gastrointestinal Tract: Twenty Years of Progress.” Gastroenterology 116, no. 3 (March 1, 1999): 702–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-5085(99)70193-9.
  11. Horimoto, N., Hepper, P. G., Shahidullah, S., & Koyanagi, T. (1993). Fetal eye movements. Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology: The Official Journal of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology, 3(5), 362-369. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1469-0705.1993.03050362.x ; Birnholz, J. C. (1981). The development of human fetal eye movement patterns. Science, 213(4508), 679-681. DOI:10.1126/science.7256272.
  12. Birnholz, J. C. (1981). The development of human fetal eye movement patterns. Science, 213(4508), 679-681. DOI:10.1126/science.7256272.
See Full Bibliography

All images and illustrations on The Voyage of Life were reviewed by credentialed scientists for accuracy.

Medical art animation was used to provide a schematic representation of fetal development, with some features, including timing, not to scale. The animation was chosen as an ethically uncompromised guide to fetal development. There are many real human images at each developmental age showing the most accurate fetal forms throughout development. A concerted effort was made to use images and material in which the human embryo or fetus did not undergo any known harm.

Page last updated on November 22, 2023