By week 5, your period is late so you may begin to think that you could be pregnant and you may notice that your breasts are slightly bigger and tender to touch. But you may simply feel as if your period is about to start.
As soon as your period is a day late, you can do a urine pregnancy test. You can go to a doctor for a pregnancy test or you can buy a pregnancy testing kit from your pharmacy. Some women find that they are quite emotional during these early weeks of pregnancy – this is caused mainly by pregnancy hormones.
Some women may have already experienced nausea and vomiting by this time. This is known as morning sickness but can actually happen at any time of the day or night. The severity of morning sickness and how long into the pregnancy it lasts varies a great deal from one woman to another. For most women who do get morning sickness, the problem usually improves greatly by the end of the first three months, if not sooner.
By the end of week 6, your baby (called an embryo) has a heartbeat. Blood is pumping around the baby and out along the umbilical cord to the placenta. The placenta is an organ that acts as a filter. It allows oxygen and nutrients to pass to the embryo and carbon dioxide and waste products to be eliminated. The placenta is also called the afterbirth. Your baby’s head and body are now defined and tiny buds appear where arms and legs will develop.
By week 8 your baby’s limbs can be seen and hands and feet are taking shape … all this amazing growth, yet your baby is now around just 1.3 cm long!