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Have you missed your period? Did you take that pregnancy test yet? You are pregnant! A home pregnancy test should be positive at 5 weeks pregnant.
(Some women like to save the first pregnancy test as a memento. You might also consider collecting other keepsakes throughout your pregnancy. It might make a great addition to your scrapbook. Scrapbooking is a fun way to pass the time while you are waiting for your baby to come.)
Early Signs of Pregnancy
As you follow your pregnancy week by week, you will start to notice subtle changes in your body and soon the early symptoms of pregnancy will begin-the most noticeable being morning sickness. Breast tenderness and fatigue are two more common pregnancy symptoms that women notice first. Take it easy and get as much rest as you can.
Once your pregnancy is confirmed by your doctor, get ready for a rollercoaster of emotions - from disbelief that you're pregnant to joy at the great news to fear of whether you'll be a good parent. In nine months, your whole life is going to change!
Are you nervous? Keep in mind that educating yourself about what to expect during pregnancy will alleviate your fears and make you feel more in control. Follow our pregnancy week by week pages and you'll learn more than you ever wanted to know about pregnancy
Avoid Bad Lifestyle Habits
Now that your pregnancy is confirmed, you are probably reviewing your lifestyle and how it might affect your unborn baby. Perhaps you drank alcohol or smoked before you realized you were pregnant. If you did, you may be worried that you caused harm to your baby. Lay those worries to rest-it is still early in your pregnancy, and you most likely did not do any damage to your growing baby.
If you are over 35, you may be worried about the viability of your pregnancy. You may have heard that older moms face an increased risk of miscarriage and birth defects. While you do face an increased risk for certain pregnancy complications, prenatal care can offer an easy way to detect pregnancy complications early on, and in some cases, problems can be rectified at an early stage.
Don't get stressed! Simply enjoy your pregnancy!
Weight Gain During Pregnancy - Week 5
Your pregnancy weight gain at 5 weeks pregnant is around a pound. Though this does not sound like much, you’ll be surprised at all the changes that are occurring in your womb. You will only gain about five or ten pounds in the first trimester, but in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, that’s when you will gain the most weight.
Even though you won't feel pregnant for a while, dramatic changes are taking place in your uterus. At 5 weeks pregnant, your tiny baby is roughly the size of a lentil bean! That's pretty small, considering that an average baby weighs between six and eight pounds at birth, though some will weigh a little less and some a little more.
At this very moment, embryonic tissues are already forming a structure that will soon become your little one's heart. It won't be long before his or her little heart starts beating!
At pregnancy week 5, your baby's placenta is not yet developed, so your tiny baby is getting his or her nutrition from its yolk sac. The placenta won't be mature enough to take over until pregnancy week 10 or so. At this early week of pregnancy, the yolk sac might be as large as your little one.
The umbilical cord, which connects your baby to the developing placenta, is quite short at pregnancy week 5. Because it is early in fetal development, the umbilical cord hasn't yet developed any coils.
At this moment, your little Einstein's brain is developing quite rapidly. The brain is diving into three primary sections: the forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain. Each of these areas will eventually have a specific function, including controlling your baby's movement, vision and hearing, balance and coordination.
At 5 weeks pregnant, your baby's spine is in its earliest development. A fold down the back of the fetus marks the emerging of a spine. Your baby's neural tube is developing within the ectoderm (the upper layer of cells). (Keep in mind that taking folic acid now will aid in the spine's development, and it will prevent neutral tube defects in your baby.)
During the early weeks of pregnancy, many women start to worry about miscarriage. This is always a concern, especially if you planned your pregnancy, but don't fret. Unless you have a history of miscarriages or other health conditions that increase your risk, you should not feel too worried.
Sometimes called "spontaneous abortion," miscarriages occur in 15 to 20 percent of all pregnancies, and 50 percent of these occur before the woman even realized she was pregnant. Over half of miscarriages in the first trimester are caused by chromosomal problems in the fetus. These problems are unrelated to the mother or father's genes.
Other risk factors for miscarriages include advanced maternal age (over 35), infections, problems with the woman' cervix or uterus, and bad lifestyle habits (such as smoking).
Miscarriage
Signs of a miscarriage includes spotting or bleeding, heavy or persistent bleeding with or without cramping and pain, the passing of fetal tissue, and a gush of fluid from your vagina.
Sometimes, you may experience vaginal bleeding and possibly pain, but your baby is still alive. This is called a "threatened miscarriage," and it can suggest that a miscarriage may occur. Though there is no treatment that will actually prevent a miscarriage, your doctor can suggest you avoid certain activities, such as sexual intercourse. You may be put on bed rest until the warning signs disappear.
As the pregnancy weeks go by, your risk of miscarriage slowly decreases. Most miscarriages will occur within the first 13 weeks of pregnancy, or the first trimester.
Losing a baby after pregnancy week 20 is called a "stillbirth," or a baby with no heartbeat. Late pregnancy loss can be caused by many factors - including infections, uterine abnormalities, abnormalities in the baby, and problems with the shape of the woman's cervix.
Ectopic Pregnancy
In some unfortunate cases, you may become pregnant but the fertilized egg implants outside of the uterus. The most common place is inside the fallopian tubes. Called an "ectopic pregnancy," this pregnancy is not viable and it will need to be treated.
Ectopic pregnancies are extremely rare, affecting only one percent of all pregnant women. Risk factors include a history of pelvic or reproductive disorder, previous ectopic pregnancy, endometriosis, sexually transmitted diseases, and prior tubal surgery.
Signs of Ectopic Pregnancy
Warning signs for an ectopic pregnancy include
- Bleeding that is more than simple spotting
- Lower abdominal pain or one-sided abdominal pain
- Nausea and vomiting, fever, and general malaise
If you experience any of these symptoms, you should seek emergency medical care immediately.
If an ectopic pregnancy is untreated, the fallopian tube can rupture, causing internal bleeding in the mother. That's why treating ectopic pregnancies before rupture is so important.
Because the symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy often mimic those of an ordinary pregnancy, you may want to call your doctor to find out what type of care is best for you. Some women with an ectopic pregnancy will need to have surgery to correct the problem and preserve their future fertility. If you act promptly, there is a strong chance you will come out of this emergency situation safely and have an opportunity to conceive again.
Life After Miscarriage
Though you may be afraid of miscarriage, try not to dwell on the negative. Most women have normal and healthy pregnancies. However, if you do miscarry, you can try again and go on to have a healthy pregnancy.
You can ovulate and get pregnant again, almost immediately after an early miscarriage. Some women can get pregnant as early as two weeks after they have a miscarriage. If you want to recover before trying for another baby, you should use some form of birth control.
Always address any concerns that you have with your doctor. If you have a history of problems conceiving or miscarrying, you should always work with your healthcare provider or doctor to discuss your options.
Having a miscarriage is often very emotionally traumatizing. Some women say that they never forget the baby they lost. Remember that is okay to experience grief. Your feelings of grief may differ from your partner, since you were the one who experienced the physical symptoms of pregnancy. Try to talk to him about your feelings. If you need to, seek counseling to help you cope.
Never blame yourself for your pregnancy loss. In most cases, there is nothing you could have done to prevent the miscarriage. There's no proof that working, having sex, or even using birth control prior to pregnancy increases your risk of miscarriage.
Read About Your Pregnancy Week by Week - 6 Weeks Pregnant
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