5 weeks pregnant

During week five of your pregnancy you may not know you are pregnant but you may have little signs. You may find that you are nauseous in the mornings or that you have dry heaves. You may feel a little tired and run down even though you have just awakened from a good nights sleep. You may even think you have the flu! Then the inevitable happens, your period does not come on time.

This is when you say to yourself, “my period is late, am I pregnant?” You will wait a few days to see if you get your period and when it does not come you will get a home pregnancy test. There are a few reliable tests that will tell you if you are pregnant when your period is a couple of days late.

By this time your body will begin to show the signs of your pregnancy. At first you may confuse the signs of pregnancy with the symptoms you get when your period comes every month. Although this time, when those changes occur it is because you are pregnant. Your breasts will tend to become swollen and tender. This is because your milk glands will begin to enlarge. You may feel the need to eat more often due to hunger. You may be nauseated as morning sickness kicks into high gear. As your baby grows your uterus will grow and begin to press on your bladder. This will cause frequent trips to the bathroom. Not only do these symptoms vary in intensity from woman to woman but also from pregnancy to pregnancy in the same woman.

If you are pregnant with twins these symptoms will be a little more evident. You will be “growing for two”. You will be a little hungrier, a little tenderer, and have to go to the bathroom a little more.

If you have no symptoms, as many do, that won’t have any bearing on your pregnancy. However, if your symptoms suddenly go away, let your doctor know.

Remember after you take your pregnancy test to contact your healthcare provider for more information. All of these symptoms will vary from woman to woman.

As you can see, you can be pregnant for five weeks and not even know that you are pregnant. During this time is when all the good stuff develops in your baby. At this time your baby is developing his or her spinal cord, heart, brain and internal organs. This is why if you are planning to get pregnant or are of childbearing years you should be taking folic acid and watching your intake of alcohol, drugs, and you should avoid smoking.

Your baby will develop on three layers: the top layer or ectoderm, the middle layer or mesoderm, and the inner layer or endoderm. The top layer or ectoderm, which is located above the notochord, is where your baby’s neural tube will form. Later on in your pregnancy the neural tube will further develop into your baby’s nervous system. This will be his or her brain, spinal cord, skin and hair. This is why it is very important that you are careful about what you ingest or do to your body during this stage of development. Your baby is very susceptible to toxic substances during this time as they can negatively affect his or her development.

In the middle layer or the mesoderm, the heart and circulatory system, bones, muscles, kidneys and reproductive organs will eventually develop. During this time, the heart and primitive circulatory system will form quickly. The circulatory system will be your baby’s first functioning organ system. In the inner layer or endoderm, a simple tube will eventually develop into your baby’s intestines, liver, pancreas and bladder. At this time your baby will be about 0.05 inch or 1.25mm long.

Items to avoid during pregnancy

Foods to avoid:

• Unpasteurized items: don’t buy those roadside juices.
• Undercooked meats, raw meats.
• Raw eggs.
• Stay away from soft cheeses like brie or goat.
• Raw fish, especially oysters and clams.
• Swordfish, shark, and king mackeral: these can contain high levels of mercury which can be absobed by your baby at dangerous levels.
• Don’t lick the batter: it has raw eggs that may have salmonella. In fact, cook your eggs quite well: don’t eat them soft.
• Also wash your cutting boards thoroughly between cooking preparation times: salmonella can hide out there quite easily.

Some sicknesses caused by food can hurt your baby.

Traveling? Use the same precautions to avoid traveler’s diarrhea: avoid tap water (even to brush your teeth), open market foods.

Toxoplasmosis. Don’t change the cat litter box yourself: you could increase your chances of toxoplasmosis, which could be harmful for your baby. If you must, wear gloves and a facemask.

If you have any questions about being pregnant or think you may be pregnant you should contact your healthcare provider.