Friday, November 30, 2012

First Trimester : Week 5

5 weeks pregnant

By the time you are 5 weeks pregnant, you may be getting very suspicious that there is something going on. Your period hasn’t come when you expected it to and you are at least a week overdue. You may even be starting to feel distinctly different to how you usually do but could be passing this off as your imagination. If you haven’t already confirmed you are pregnant with a urine test, this is the week to do it. Remember, the best time to check is with your first wee in the morning, when your levels of pregnancy hormone (HCG) will be at their highest.

Many women don’t have their first ante-natal appointment until the end of the first trimester. If you do go to your doctor or midwife now, they will be able to work out your baby’s due date. Alternately, check with one of the on-line calculators which will ask you to type in the first day of your last period and then estimate your EDD (Estimated Date of Delivery). The count down has officially begun.

Although early pregnancy symptoms are fairly classic, e.g. nausea, wanting to wee a lot more frequently, many women just describe just a sensation of feeling strange, as if they are not quite “with it”. Even your partner may have noticed you being a bit more sensitive and moody than you normally are. Although you don’t look any different, you are officially in your 2nd month of pregnancy, with only 7 more to go.


Your baby’s changes this week
Pregnancy Week by Week – 5 Weeks Pregnant
  • This week your little embryo is the size of an orange seed or a nailhead and can just be seen on an ultrasound.
  • The baby looks like a tadpole and has a primitive heart which has already started beating and circulating blood around its little body. It is sometimes possible to see the heartbeat on an ultrasound when you are 5 weeks pregnant. Vaginal ultrasounds pick up more detail than abdominal ones at this stage.
  • Although the heart doesn’t look like it eventually will with its 4 chambers, the tube like channels which are present now are doing a perfect job.
  • Your baby’s brain and spinal cord are forming but are still open. They are yet to close.

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