What’s happening to the mother?
During the first weeks of pregnancy, few people recognise any signs that they are pregnant. Week four is normally the time when your next period should start. If you miss this period or you experience an abnormally small amount of bleeding, this may be a sign that you are pregnant.
The length of a pregnancy is calculated from the first day of bleeding in your last period, which is around two weeks before you became pregnant.
Some women can feel changes in their body, but most people do not notice any changes so early in their pregnancy. In week five, many people experience signs of pregnancy. It is common to feel:
- The need to urinate frequently
- Tender and enlarged breasts
- Aching in the lumber region
- Gentle pressure or swelling around the lower abdomen
Many women also experience fatigue and nausea. Most women find that any nausea disappears during pregnancy weeks 12-14.
As early as possible in your pregnancy, and preferably before you get pregnant, you should take a supplement containing folate. You should take 400 micrograms per day, up until the 12th week of pregnancy.
Folate supplements can prevent spina bifida and neural tube defects in your baby.
Development of the fetus
Once the blastocyst has attached itself to the uterine lining, it is called an embryo. The embryo is only a few millimetres long and consists of three layers of cells which will later form all the organs and tissues. For example, one layer will become skin, hair, nails, eyes, the brain and the nervous system. The second layer will become muscles, bones, the heart and blood vessels. The third layer will become the stomach, liver, thyroid, lungs and urinary bladder.
At around this stage, the first hint of a placenta forms. Amniotic fluid is produced from your blood.