Baby’s Heartbeat May Begin As Early As 16 Days After Conception

A new study from a team at the University of Oxford found that a baby’s heart may begin to begin in the womb as early as 16 days from conception. The team studied how the heart forms in mice embryos and extrapolated their findings to the human heart (the heart development process is similar in mammalian species). Researchers found that the heart muscle began to contract in an earlier stage of heart development than thought previously. The heart is the first organ to form during pregnancy.

(Source: University of Oxford, “First of our three billion heartbeats is sooner than we thought” October 11, 2018)