Pregnancy is one of the most difficult yet highly rewarding phases of life. While you might have heard about the morning sickness, annoying symptoms, weight gain and more about pregnancy, the first week of pregnancy is not the time when you’d start experiencing these.
As a matter of fact, you’ll not even know that you are pregnant in the first week. As far as the symptoms and weight gain is concerned, they too have at least a few weeks to start being noticed.
The only reason that you’ll hear the term “1st week of pregnancy” is because doctors count the beginning of your pregnancy from the first day of your last period. In other words, you are not technically pregnant during the first week.
It can take 2-3 weeks before you actually conceive the baby. However, this date would be used by the doctor to calculate your EDD (Estimated Due Date).
Pregnancy Trimesters
In the first week of pregnancy, you don’t even know that you are pregnant as technically you aren’t there yet. But if you are planning to get pregnant, there are definitely a few things like the pregnancy trimesters that you should know about.
A normal pregnancy generally lasts for 40 weeks but can be between 37-42 weeks. These weeks are divided into 3 trimesters and every trimester is about 3 months or 12-14 weeks long. Right from the hormonal changes in your body, the growth of your baby, to obstetrician’s appointment, a lot depends on the trimester you are in.
Most women who’ve been pregnant agree that it is generally the first trimester that is the most difficult. As the body is experiencing the changes for the first time in the first trimester, things can get aggravating. However, what you should know is that every pregnancy is different. While some women experience severe to very severe symptoms, many other navigate through the first trimester without any major inconvenience.
Even if you have been pregnant in the past, this pregnancy would surely be different from the first. Just focus on what the outcome of this whole process would be and try to be with your partner and loved ones as much as possible and rest assured that by the end of it you’d be stronger.
Baby’s Development in the First Week
If you are planning to get pregnant, you might be really excited to know how the baby develops in the 1st week. But as mentioned above, the 1st week of your pregnancy is only used by the doctors for calculating the EDD. As a matter of fact, the baby is not even in existence yet and you are still on your period. It’ll take at least a couple of weeks for the baby to conceive.
However, a lot of hormonal changes are already occurring in your baby to prepare it for fertilization which might take place in two weeks time from now. While it might not really make any sense for you to count the first two weeks in your countdown to completing the pregnancy as nothing really happens during this period, the EDD estimation is easier when the starting point of the period as counted as the beginning of pregnancy.
Physical Changes in Women in 1st Week of Pregnancy
What physical changes? You don’t even know that you are pregnant yet and physical changes are a long way to go. But rest assured that they will definitely come with time. The hormonal changes and a growing baby in your belly are sure to result in a host of physical changes. Do check this section in the following posts to know what you can expect.
Signs of 1st Week Pregnancy
While the physical changes are a few weeks away, there can be some symptoms experienced in the first week of pregnancy. Some of the most common ones are-
- Bloating
- Vaginal bleeding
- Headaches
- Mood swings
- Breast tenderness
Most women relate these symptoms to the pre-menstrual symptoms as they are almost similar. It is only when a woman misses the following period and takes a home pregnancy test that she gets to know that she is pregnant. If you are planning to get pregnant and had unprotected sex around the ovulation day or believe that you are pregnant, it is time that you start preparing for it.
Tips for 1st Week Pregnancy
Even if you are planning to get pregnant but the pregnancy is yet to get confirmed, you should start following healthier habits to prepare yourself for the future. Some of the most important tips for 1st week of pregnancy are as follows-
- Start eating healthy
- Exercise regularly
- Try to stop or at least reduce consumption of alcohol, smoking, and drugs
- Reduce caffeine consumption
- Finalize an obstetrician
Adopt these habits right from the first week of pregnancy as they’ll take you a long way in ensuring that you and your baby remain healthy throughout the pregnancy.
Conclusion
The 1st week of pregnancy doesn’t really mean much for you. There are no major physical changes in your body. However, inside you, a process has already begun which would result in the creation of a human baby about 38-40 weeks from now.
While things can be confusing, especially if this is your first pregnancy, rest assured that it won’t probably be as difficult as people claim it to be. Your emotional state, mental state, and your body would definitely experience a lot of things in the following weeks but when all of this is over, you’ll have your baby in your hands and that joy would make you forget all of the hardships that you’ve been through during the pregnancy.
If you are planning to get pregnant or believe that you already are, make sure that you remember the tips mentioned above. Your health and the things you consume would have a major impact on your baby. Make sure that you start switching to foods that are healthy and select an obstetrician to guide you through the pregnancy.