5th Week of Pregnancy
How is pregnancy calculated?
There is always a lot of confusion when discussing the way in which pregnancy is calculated. Since most women do not know when they conceived, pregnancy is always determined from the first day of your last menstrual period (LMP). Given that this is the way pregnancy is calculated, your pregnancy will last around 40 weeks. For more information on how pregnancy is measured, please see our information on calculating your dates .
What changes are occurring with your body?
There are still not any changes noticeable to those around you at this time. You may begin to notice more pregnancy symptoms such as morning sickness. About 50% of pregnant women will experience morning sickness.
Morning sickness normally begins around the sixth week of pregnancy, but it is not too soon to begin preparing for how you will deal with it. Morning sickness can be experienced in the morning, throughout the day, or in the evening. For ways to help deal with the nausea that accompanies early pregnancy, read our tips for surviving morning sickness.
If morning sickness is so severe that you are constantly throwing up and not keeping anything down, consult with your doctor about the possibility of having hyperemesis gravidarum.*
What is happening with your baby?
Your baby looks more like a tadpole than a baby at this point. Your baby’s heart is beating at a steady rhythm, and the structures that will become the eyes and ears are forming. Your baby’s skeleton is also beginning to form.*
How big is your baby?
Your baby is still very small, but by the end of this week your baby will be ¼ of an inch long.*
What should you plan for this week?
If you still have not arranged an appointment for your first prenatal visit, then you should go ahead and do so. If you are still interviewing doctors/midwives, you would want to begin narrowing it down and choosing your provider.
Tips for making your pregnancy better:
You may be wondering how much weight you should expect to gain. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends a weight gain of 25 to 35 pounds during pregnancy for women who are at normal weight when pregnancy occurs. Underweight women should gain about 34 pounds, while overweight women should gain about 20 pounds. For more information see About pregnancy weight gain.
Tips for mom’s partner:
Try helping out with household tasks without being asked. This could be as simple as vacuuming, taking out the trash, or washing the dishes.
* The information that the American Pregnancy Association provides is used as a general guide for healthy pregnancy development, although development may vary due to the mother’s health or a miscalculation of ovulation. Each woman and pregnancy is unique and may be experienced differently. Remember that babies develop at different rates, even before they are born. The purpose of this developmental information is to give you a general idea of how your baby is growing, and you must remember that your baby’s growth may vary from that which is outlined.