Explore this week-by-week visualization of pregnancy

Fetal development, week by week

Gestation is the period of time between conception and birth when a baby grows inside the mother's womb. Changes occur constantly over the course of these 40 weeks. At week 17, for instance, the skeleton of a fetus begins changing from soft...

What happens during the first eight weeks of pregnancy?

The first weeks of embryonic development, known as embryogenesis, are one of the most critical phases during pregnancy. This simple breakdown from the Khan Academy illustrates what we know about how the complex process unfolds.

Explore this interactive visualization of the IVF journey as a parent or child

This step-by-step graphic takes the viewer through different challenges and stages of the IVF journey, from a parent's and a child's perspective, including a parent's struggle when other families become pregnant around them, even as IVF is not working for their family.

How women grow tiny humans inside of them

Pregnancy is a complex biological journey, lasting about 40 weeks. When a sperm fertilizes an egg, that event triggers intricate cellular and hormonal processes, driven by hardwired cellular instructions, which lead to cell division, differentiation, and development—ultimately culminating in the birth of a baby.

A pregnant woman's brain sheds gray matter, perhaps explaining 'baby brain'

The brain areas involved in processing information and emotions decrease by an average of almost 5% during pregnancy. Researchers discovered in a 2025 study that this mostly temporary change—the brain hadn't fully returned to its normal size six months after pregnancy—seems to be associated with self-reported improved bonding and less hostility toward the child postpartum.

Babies taste food in the womb via amniotic fluid, and it may influence future taste buds

Some estimates suggest that around Week 16 during pregnancy, a growing fetus can begin to taste amniotic fluid that contains flavors in the food that their mother consumed, due to taste bud formation. Scientists think those early flavor experiences may influence future taste preferences. Other scientific resources put that time much later, however—around Week 30.

Explore how the placenta acts as lungs, kidneys, and more in the womb

This temporary organ, formed from maternal and embryonic tissue, ultimately attaches to a fetus via the umbilical cord. It transports nutrients, oxygen, antibodies, and more from the mother to the developing fetus. It also carries carbon dioxide and waste away from the fetus. The placenta—which forms only during pregnancy—is expelled during childbirth, or it needs to be removed to prevent toxic maternal infections and extreme blood loss.

Each day, about 60 US pregnancies end in stillbirth

This online memorial for families who experienced the unexpected death of a fetus 20 weeks or older is the result of ProPublica reporters inviting 60 families to share their baby's name and answer some questions about their unfulfilled wishes for their children. About 21,000 babies are stillborn in the US annually. About the same number of children die in the US during their first year of life.

Watch a salamander grow from fertilization to hatching

New microscopy techniques have allowed scientists to image the development of animal embryos with unprecedented detail. This six-minute time-lapse reveals the development of a salamander from initial fertilization to hatching from an egg.

The human body in 3D

Zygote Body is a free human anatomy tool that allows users to explore the intricacies of the human body in stunning detail. With the click of a mouse, users can isolate by body system or view anatomical structures from any angle. Check out this...

The World Bank’s population data bank

This website by the World Bank provides visualizations for demographic data from around the world. Specific demographic data, such as total population, can be viewed through maps, charts, and graphs. Results can be filtered by sex, country, or year....

Track the changes in US immigration law throughout history

This interactive timeline tracks the development of US immigration law, overlaid with time-series data on percentages of the foreign-born population. Explore how each major policy development correlated with immigration levels, revealing the relationship between legislation and demographic change.

Explore the rise (and fall) of baby names over time

Baby names popularity and trends in the acclaimed interactive graph of baby name popularity. Watch as baby name trends rise and fall over time.

Gestational diabetes occurs when the body can't produce insulin during pregnancy

Globally, pregnant people are increasingly at risk to develop gestational diabetes due to rising maternal ages and obesity rates. The condition is associated with heavier fetal weight, congenital abnormalities, and perinatal mortality, which includes stillbirths and deaths of babies younger than 7 days old.

Visualizing obesity rates across the US

Nearly 70% of adults in the US are either overweight or obese, rates that have tripled over the last 60 years. Severe cases have risen tenfold during this period. Factors like location, income level, and demographics contribute to various obesity levels across the US. Visualize the statistics with this article and chart series.

A gallery of medical illustrations from NIH

The National Institutes of Health provides educational materials for broad use. The institute hosts a Flickr account with many different image galleries, including this one (with over 70 images to date) that illustrate and annotate curious phenomena, from the life cycles of a malaria parasite to the comparison of male and female bladders. Explore the gallery here.

How stress affects every organ in the body

If you are a visual learner, this resource is for you. Not only does this article from the World Economic Forum outline the causes of modern stress along with helpful strategies, but they have created an approachable infographic to show exactly how stress manifests throughout our different bodily systems. Pair this visual guide with our other resources to gain a deep knowledge of stress and the human body.

See the progress of the war in this interactive, visual timeline

Follow the progress Russian/Ukrainian War through this interactive map. Watch as events develop, get a daily overview of movements, and switch back and forth between different dates and time periods during the conflict. Results will change in real time and depending on all available information about troop movements and more.

What are the phases of migraine?

Migraine attacks don't happen all at once. This interactive walks users through the phases of migraine. Scroll through this visual guide to migraine phases to learn more about migraine, related symptoms, and brain activity.

The syncytiotrophoblast is the outer layer of the placenta and the largest human cell, spanning an area about twice that of a king-sized bedsheet.

Visualizing 100 years of Pulitzers

This fascinating data visualization breaks down a century of Pulitzer Prizes. Award categories are laid out against a timeline, and the symbols used to represent each winner indicate the topic of the winning work; the number of prizes won by that outlet thus far; and whether the prize was awarded to an individual or a newsroom. For the best viewing experience, zoom in using the magnifying glass on the cursor until it hits full-screen mode.

See the geographic spread and incidence of malaria

This graphic shows the estimated global burden of malaria in 2025 as new cases per 1000 people at risk.

This site sums up your entire life in statistics

If you’re able to read this statement, a lot has happened since you were born…and these statistics summarize what you have lived through! Input your birthday to find out about how many times your heart has beaten, how many breaths you’ve...

See a day in the life of an Aztec midwife

This illustrated story follows Xoquauhtli, a midwife in the Aztec Empire, as she juggles childbirth duties during the festival of Teteoinnan, navigating the tension between professional responsibility and participation in the empire’s religious ceremonies, including ritual sacrifice.

Calculate the salary of a mother's work

While traditional parenting roles are changing, mothers do a ton of work at home, from cleaning and cooking to managing household finances. This quick calculator estimates the salary a mother (or caregiver) should receive based on number of...

Explore a visualization of curved spacetime under general relativity

While depictions involving bends in elastic fabrics are common to illustrate gravity, they are circular representations that rely on gravity in the real world to depict gravity in the model. The river model instead shows how bends in spacetime convert speed through time into speed through space, producing acceleration.

Use this tool to calculate the dollar value of your parental mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care, then see resources that help generate solutions.

Visualize the path of every solar eclipse from 1900 to 2099 and see what each looks like when observed from different locations on Earth.

Explore the animals that populate the depths of the ocean, from fish and coral in the first few hundred feet, all the way down to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

A century of Billboard issues documenting the evolution of popular music.

This real-time tracking of the hantavirus cruise ship outbreak in May 2026 offers a unique glimpse into the global reach of the outbreak and whether the virus sickened passengers and their communities around the world.

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by more than 1.5 million Muslims each year.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

See images of medical cases of firework injuries shared on this 'Instagram for doctors.' (Warning: Graphic content)

See the evolution of Ebola vaccine and treatment development.

After 25 people used virtual reality headsets to practice flying with virtual wings—flapping their arms—their visual cortex responded to the wings almost as if they were real arms, treating them as body parts.

Planarian flatworms are small, aquatic worms with exceptional regenerative capabilities. When cut, the worms can regenerate multiple bodies in a matter of weeks.

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.

This site reaches millions of visitors who are tired of AI chatbots and seeking human connection. Pretend to be an AI chatbot and ask questions, provide answers, and draw for people in real time.

Objects can be 3D printed with light by projecting 2D computerized tomography (CT) scans onto rotating cylinders of resin, which solidify upon exposure.

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

Browse a detailed visual analysis of over 200,000 similes—comparisons that often use 'like' or 'as'—from popular fiction to see how frequently writers the same idiomatic expressions.

Explore an interactive map of battles from the American Revolution, along with detailed summaries of each engagement

Explore fun facts from the USPS, including unique post office buildings, a stamp that traveled past Pluto, and more.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

Walt Disney's early film 'Alice's Wonderland' was a groundbreaking innovation in the silent film era

El Niño, Spanish for 'the boy,' was named after Jesus Christ because the phenomenon resembled the weather changes observed around Christmastime.