Week 6 of Pregnancy

How is your baby developing? Are you feeling any different? Here is the low down on what is happening to you and your developing baby during the 6th week of pregnancy?

picture of embryo 6 weeks

Week 6 of your pregnancy it may start to become quite real to you that you are pregnant. The first signs of morning sickness and the other symptoms of pregnancy are usually quite evident this week. It will be around this time that you if not already had should have your first visit to your doctor or health care provider.

As the baby's legs are up against it's body throughout most of the pregnancy it makes measuring the baby a difficult thing to do so the baby is measured from crown to rump instead of from head to toe. The embryo is about 3 to 5mm in length and is beginning to develop facial features. There are dark spots where the eyes will be, openings for the nostrils and there are markings of where the ears will be. The brain is forming into the forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain. At this stage the embryo is fully enclosed in the amniotic sac.

There are buds which will become the arms and legs. Although the heart cannot be heard yet it is beating at about 150 beats a minute, is divided into the right and left chambers and blood circulation is now evident. The first signs of the pancreas, lungs and thyroid gland appear. The kidneys and liver are now growing rapidly.

This week the physical signs of pregnancy could be more evident. These can include morning sickness, food cravings, food aversions, tiredness, tender , swollen or sore breasts, and the need to urinate more often. These symptoms seem to be more obvious from this week due to the rapid growth rate of the embryo.

You may start to gain a little bit of weight. Most women will generally gain around 5 pounds in weight in the whole of the first trimester.

It is around this stage, week 6 up until week 12 that you may start to worry about miscarriage. It is common for you to do so. If you have any symptoms of a miscarriage you should contact your doctor immediately. Symptoms are usually bleeding, cramping or abdominal pain, passing of graying or pinkish tissue or blood clots. Not every drop of blood or cramp is a sign of a miscarriage, some women bleed during pregnancy and go on to have a normal childbirth. It is still important though for you to go and get yourself checked out.

You will feel more tired during this first trimester so it is important that you rest as much as you can. Exercise is important but do not over do it. If you are exercising check with your health care provider or doctor as to what exercise they recommend for you.

There are certain foods that you should not eat when you are pregnant click here to read our article on foods to avoid.

Week 6 I started to have small waves of nausea every now and again but nothing too major. I noticed that I went to the toilet more often than I would have normally gone. My emotions were all over the place and I felt quite tearful for no reason at all.

We had our first appointment with the doctor in week 6 to tell her I was pregnant. It was a complete waste of time. What should have been an exciting time making it all official we both walked out of her office feeling deflated. Our doctor did not even congratulate us, or even ask us if we wanted the baby, or how we were feeling. She told us that these days you did not have to see the doctor it was the midwife that dealt with everything. She did not even ask us when my last period had been and work out when the baby would be due. We can only hope that the midwife has a better bedside manner than the doctor had. Our first appointment with the midwife was scheduled for when we would be 7 and a bit weeks. I will fill you in on what happens at the first midwife appointment in the Week 8 article.

Remember that each pregnancy is different some people suffer different symptoms at different times. Some people may have bad morning sickness and others may not get it at all. It does not matter how sick or not sick you are or how tired or not tired you are the most important thing is that you try and keep yourself as healthy as possible by eating and exercising sensibly.

7 Weeks
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