“
sperm and an egg meet, called fertilization, to make one cell called a zygote. That zygote doubles (divides in two) over and over to achieve 36 doublings (236 cells) over 270 days of pregnancy for a total of 68 billion cells at birth; that averages doubling about every 7.5 days. This growth happens in the lowest oxygen environment imaginable (the placenta delivers to the fetus a partial oxygen pressure of 30 millimeters of mercury (30 mm Hg), compared to the 100 mm Hg that the lungs deliver to adult cells). So how do fetal cells grow so fast with so little oxygen?
”
”
Robert H. Lustig (Metabolical: The Lure and the Lies of Processed Food, Nutrition, and Modern Medicine)
“
During pregnancy, arterial blood pressure follows a typical pattern. When measured in the sitting or standing position, diastolic blood pressure decreases beginning in the 7th week of gestation and reaches a maximal decline of 10 mm Hg from 24 to 26 weeks. Blood
”
”
Charles R.B. Beckmann (Obstetrics and Gynecology)