All about baby
The embryo is about the size of a 5p piece and has straightened out from a comma shape to looking more like a tadpole. Its body is covered in a thin layer of translucent cells, through which veins are clearly visible.
A huge amount of development is going on. From now until the half way mark of your pregnancy, your baby will grow rapidly. Tiny lungs are taking shape, the eyelids are beginning to form and the tip of the nose is distinct. Your baby's heart now has a right and left chamber. In its little mouth, the palate and teeth are forming. Its ears are also continuing to develop.
Although you can't feel it yet, the embryo is beginning to move and these first movements can be detected by ultrasound.
- Measures about 9mm crown to rump
Over to you
Huge hormonal changes in your body may be making you feel tired, faint or dizzy at times and, as your basal metabolic rate (BMR) increases, you may get increasingly hungry. Added to that hormones are also playing games with your sense of taste, which could be giving you some interesting cravings (jam and sardine sandwich anyone?) - that is if nausea isn't putting you off food altogether! To make matters worse, you may experience constipation and have occasional bouts of indigestion.
Some women enjoy a pregnancy bloom - all the extra blood pumping round the body can give you a healthy glow! But you may find that your skin becomes spotty thanks again to all those helpful hormones. Try to enjoy a healthy diet, drink plenty of water, take vitamin supplements (check they're suitable for pregnancy first) – and remember your folic acid supplements. If you are concerned about any of your symptoms, it’s always worth discussing them with your doctor.
Sadly some pregnancies won't go much beyond this stage because they end in miscarriage. Most occur early on, before the pregnancy has been confirmed, but there is still a small risk of miscarriage - about a three per cent - at 7 weeks. It's reassuring to know that this risk diminishes as the weeks go by, reducing to no more than 1 per cent at 12 weeks.
In the know
It’s good to find out about the type of antenatal care available to you and never too early to think about where you would like to give birth. Your antenatal care options will depend on where you live, as it differs around the country.
Antenatal care options
Shared care: Most women have the option of shared care for antenatal appointments between their GP and midwife.
Midwife-led care: This can be in GP practices or community clinics / hospitals.
Domino scheme: Your appointments are with a team of community midwives during your pregnancy. One member of the team will care for you in labour and after discharge from hospital, which can be as early as you wish.
Consultant-led care: If your pregnancy is in any way complicated, you will be under the care of a consultant obstetrician. This means you will have your appointments at a hospital clinic and see a midwife and the consultant.
Choosing a hospital
The vast majority of babies in Britain are delivered in hospital. Your midwife will make the necessary arrangements for your hospital birth. Before making your choice of hospital, it’s worth visiting the labour ward at your local maternity unit to ensure that you are satisfied and familiar with the facilities available. You can also find out what services your local hospital offers and what its rate of intervention is by asking your midwife, or looking at the hospital's website.
Different types of hospital care
Consultant-led units are larger maternity hospitals led by consultant obstetricians, while midwife-led units are birthing centres led by midwives who care for women having normal births, without intervention such as epidurals and caesareans. Smaller cottage hospital maternity units may be run by GPs and midwives working in partnership. If you don't want to go to the hospital that's in your catchment area, you can ask to be referred to another hospital - your GP/midwife should arrange this for you.
Home birth
Always fancied a having your baby at home? Many research studies have shown that a planned home birth is as safe as a planned hospital birth in normal, low-risk pregnancies. A home birth enables you to give birth in a relaxed, familiar environment, with your family close by and with less chance of medical intervention, such as forceps or ventouse. However, your pain relief options are more limited and if you have problems during labour, you may have to transfer to hospital at a very late stage, which can be uncomfortable and may put you and your baby at risk. If you decide you want a home birth ask your midwife to book it for you – you can still change your mind at any stage.
Go to next week's article: Pregnancy Week 8
Please note that the contents of this section are for information only and are not intended as medical advice or as a substitute to your doctor's advice. For medical care and advice, you should consult your doctor on a regular basis. If you have any problem which concerns you, consult your doctor immediately.
