Pregnancy 3-6 Weeks: An Overview

Pregnancy is one of the most exciting stages of womanhood. The growth of the baby in the womb is an amazing process that also brings about changes in your body. You need to monitor the progress of the pregnancy to understand when it is going right, and when something is wrong. Here is what happens during pregnancy 3-6 weeks in and what you need to expect.

Week 3 of Pregnancy

• What is Going On?

Here, conception is likely to have taken place. The head of the sperm has penetrated the egg and turned into a nucleus. The egg doesn’t allow another sperm to penetrate it. During this week, the newly fertilized egg (the zygote) travels along your fallopian tube towards your uterus. At this point, the fusion of the cells has assigned your baby a gender, hair color and eye color plus other unique characteristics. As it travels, it divides and subdivides to form a mass of cells called a morula. The morula reaches the uterus and becomes a blastocyst.

• What You Should Expect:

The blastocyst attaches to the wall of your womb, which will be its home for the next 38 or so weeks. This is called implantation meaning you are now pregnant. However, you won’t be aware of it because there won’t be any physical signs or symptoms to show that anything is happening. This is the point you should avoid bad habits that might harm your pregnancy such as smoking, alcohol consumption and drugs. Instead, make sure you eat right and inform your doctor that you are pregnant.

Week 4 of Pregnancy

• What Happens?

The blastocyst changes into an embryo, which is set to become your baby. The embryo is protected by an amniotic sac containing amniotic fluid. During this period, the placenta and umbilical cord start developing.

• What You Should Expect:

During this time, you start experiencing some symptoms. Morning sickness might begin, usually occurring in the morning and fading away by midday. The severity of morning sickness will depend upon the kind of pregnancy, being more severe when you are expecting more than one baby. Don’t worry if morning sickness doesn’t start during this time because it might delay and begin during the fifth week of pregnancy. Morning sickness is attributed to changes in your hormone levels. This leads to feelings of nausea usually accompanied by vomiting, fatigue, queasiness and bloating. Fatigue is normal because your body is working overtime to support the growth of the pregnancy. Spotting might occur during this week when the fertilized egg is implanted in your uterine wall.

Week 5 of Pregnancy

• What Happens?

Your growing embryo now resembles a tadpole complete with a tail. Major organs have started to develop. The growth of the embryo is now mostly focused on the head, which begins to grow faster than the rest of the body. This is because the brain is now growing rapidly in order to regulate the body functions much more efficiently. The body functions that are vital at this point are circulation, the heart rate and other crucial functions necessary to survival.

• What You Should Expect:

Your body is now adjusting to hormonal changes occurring at a rapid rate. Symptoms are similar to those in the fourth week, but they are more magnified. If you didn’t start experiencing morning sickness during the fourth week, this is the time for it to begin. There will also be color changes in your areolas, whereas they darken. The sebaceous glands on your areolar also become modular, raised and pink in color (this varies with the skin color). Your breasts will be tingly, firmer and have large veins visible under the skin.

Week 6 of Pregnancy

• What Happens?

At this stage, the baby is pea-sized and growing very fast. The heart of the baby is beating twice as fast as yours with the blood starting to circulate around the developing body and organs. The trunk and neck are starting to grow, and the shape is changing to a straighter one.

• What You Should Expect:

Morning sickness has become worse now. Any action on your part will trigger severe morning sickness. For instance, not eating for a short period might leave you feeling severely nauseated. Certain smells will disturb you, too. Smells of gasoline, fried food, certain perfumes, curries and citrus will leave you extremely nauseous.

Final Thoughts

As the embryo grows in your body, it brings changes that you will experience as symptoms of pregnancy. Between the third and sixth week of pregnancy, you will experience changes that will point to the fact that your pregnancy is growing. These changes are normal for a healthy pregnancy, and you need to monitor them week by week. They are the pointers to the fact that your pregnancy is going on well.