What is pregnancy?

Pregnancy is the state of carrying a developing embryo or fetus within the female body, specifically in the uterus.  Human pregnancy lasts for ten lunar months or approximately 40 weeks from the first day of the last normal menstrual period.

Pregnancy is the carrying of one or more offspring in an embryonic or fetal stage of development by females, between the stages of conception and birth.

Childbirth usually occurs about 38 weeks from fertilization, approximately 40 weeks from the start of the last menstruation. Thus, pregnancy lasts about nine months. Though this time length is an average, the actual length of pregnancy depends on various factors, such as fetal development and health and the mother's health. In general, the first pregnancy tends to last longer than subsequent pregnancies. Fewer than 10% of births occur on the due date; 50% of births are within a week of the due date, and almost 90% are within two weeks.

Before pregnancy begins, a female oocyte (egg) must join with a sperm in a process referred to in medicine as "fertilization" or commonly known as "conception." Fertilization usually occurs through the act of sexual intercourse, in which a man ejaculates inside a woman's vagina, thus releasing his sperm. However, artificial insemination has made it possible for women to become pregnant when pre-existing medical conditions from either the woman or the man make fertilization through sexual intercourse difficult, or if a woman chooses to become pregnant without a male partner.

After fertilization, the combination of the egg and sperm is called a zygote. The zygote becomes embedded in the uterus wall where it can begin growth. The human zygote undergoes cellular division to become an embryo. The term embryo is used until the end of the eighth week of gestational age, when it is then called a fetus or unborn baby until birth.

Human pregnancy is divided into three trimester periods. The first trimester period carries the highest risk of miscarriage (natural death of embryo or fetus). During the second trimester, the development of the fetus can be monitored and diagnosed more easily. The third trimester often marks the beginning of viability, or the ability of the fetus to survive, with or without medical help, outside of the mother's womb.

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