# Fetal development

Care topic · id `maternal:fetal-development` · Maternal & Newborn Atlas · release `c7fb95f1d15a7d13` (public)

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Browse, life stage: Pregnancy  
Browse, care area: The baby before birth  

## In plain language

How a baby grows and changes inside the womb. MedlinePlus says a normal pregnancy lasts nine months, in three-month stages called trimesters, and that the fetus grows and develops in each one. Regular check-ups and prenatal tests can spot problems with the baby, and in some cases the problem can be treated before birth. This page is the starting point for growth charts, scans, heart-rate monitoring, screening tests and stillbirth.

## Technical summary

Hub page. It groups the atlas records on fetal growth standards, ultrasound and Doppler, cell-free DNA screening, fetal heart-rate monitoring and stillbirth. The plain description follows the MedlinePlus Fetal Health and Development topic summary (NLM public-domain text). The growth standards have three separate study records, and the standards do not agree with each other (see the bottleneck page).

## Connected pages

- Gestational age at birth: Preterm birth (`maternal:preterm-birth`)
- MedlinePlus health information on this subject: MedlinePlus (`core:medlineplus`)
- Filed under this front: Imaging and monitoring (`maternal:front-imaging-and-monitoring`)
- Related to: Fetal growth restriction (fetus) (`maternal:fetal-growth-restriction`)
- Related to: Neural tube defects (fetus) (`maternal:neural-tube-defects`)
- Related to: Stillbirth (`maternal:stillbirth`)
- Related to: Alcohol exposure in pregnancy (fetus) (`maternal:prenatal-alcohol-exposure`)
- Investigated in: INTERGROWTH-21st Fetal Growth Longitudinal Study (`maternal:intergrowth-21st-fgls`)
- Investigated in: NICHD Fetal Growth Studies (`maternal:nichd-fetal-growth-studies`)
- Investigated in: WHO fetal growth charts study (`maternal:who-fetal-growth-charts-study`)
- Related to: Cell-free DNA screening for fetal chromosome conditions (`maternal:cell-free-dna-screening`)
- Related to: Electronic fetal heart-rate monitoring (cardiotocography) (`maternal:electronic-fetal-monitoring`)
- Related to: Pregnancy ultrasound (`maternal:obstetric-ultrasound`)

## Provenance

Content hash: 557cd402f901c490337fd65be0cd3d8fa6c385b7af3ed700132292885e07d056
Last substantive edit: 2026-10-14
Evidence last checked: 2026-10-14