In no time, now you are 5 weeks pregnant. So what happens during this week? Deep in your uterus, your embryo is growing at a fast pace.
Baby’s Size
At this point, a 5 week’s embryo is about the size of an orange seed or a grain of rice, and he looks more like a tiny tadpole than a little human.
Your little bean is now made up of three layers – the ectoderm, the mesoderm, and the endoderm. It will later form all of his organs and tissues.
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Baby at 5 Weeks Pregnant
The amniotic sac which is the house or the home for the embryo floats in a sea of fluid. The embryo is the size of a sesame seed. The neural tube will develop into your baby’s brain, spinal cord and nerves.
The neural tube — from which your baby’s brain, spinal cord, nerves, and backbone will sprout is starting to develop in the top layer, called the ectoderm. This layer will also give rise to your little bean skin, hair, nails, mammary and sweat glands, and tooth enamel.
The heart and circulatory system begin to form in the middle layer or mesoderm. Your little bean tiny heart begins to divide into chambers and beat and pump blood. The mesoderm will also form your baby’s muscles, cartilage, bone, and subcutaneous under the skin tissue.
The third layer, endoderm will house his lungs, intestines, and rudimentary urinary system, as well as his thyroid, liver, and pancreas.
In the meantime, the primitive placenta and umbilical cord, which deliver nourishment and oxygen to your baby, are already on the job.
5 Week Pregnant Belly
At 5 weeks pregnant, your belly may look unchanged or you may be a bit bloated or feel like you’ve already gained a pound. Heck, you might feel so sick that you can’t eat and worry you could have lost a pound.
All those scenarios are considered perfectly normal and totally okay! All pregnant women are different and how their bodies change throughout pregnancy varies widely.
Body Changes
Bladder: You may soon start to notice a more frequent urge to pee. Your blood volume is increasing, creating a lot of extra fluid that ends up in your bladder.
Embryo: About the size of a sesame seed, the embryo is made of three layers of cells that are folded over on each other.
Neural tube: At the fold of the top layer of the embryo is the neural tube, which will develop into the baby’s brain, spinal cord, nerves, and backbone.
Primitive placenta: The tiny blood vessels (“villi”) that make up the primitive placenta deliver nourishment and oxygen to the embryo.
Yolk sac: The yolk sac will soon yield its job delivering nutrients to the developing placenta.
Amniotic sac: The amniotic sac now houses the embryo, which floats in a growing sea of amniotic fluid.
5 Weeks Pregnant: Symptoms
- Mood swings: Your mood will starting to be unstable at one point. You will be happy one moment, and then suddenly crying out of nowhere. Find some ways to distract yourself like listening to music, going for a walk, or by watching some fun Netflix series.
- Morning sickness: You will feel unpleasant, nauseous, in the morning, evening, or worse, all day long. Drink enough fluids to prevent dehydration and avoid greasy, spicy and fatty foods that may trigger your nausea.
- Light bleeding or spotting: The common spotting should be no more than a few drops of blood, not even enough to cover a small pantyliner. This is likely just implantation bleeding, but you’ll want to mention it to your doctor so that he or she can rule out complications.
- Breast tenderness: When you are 5 weeks pregnant, there is a surge of hormones that will cause your breasts to ache as they continue to stretch, in preparation for breastfeeding.
- Frequent urination: This will strike at any time of the day. This is because your kidneys are starting to have extra fluid to process, thanks to the increasing volume of blood in your body.
- Mild or no symptoms: Your belly may appear unchanged, or you may be looking and feeling bloated. Be sure to talk to your healthcare provider if you are feeling uneasy on any of the symptoms.
Tips for the week:
- Start taking folic acid.
- Start taking prenatal vitamin supplements.
- Stop smoking and drinking alcohol.
- Stop or reduce caffeine intake.
- Eat a healthy balanced diet.
- Make sure to have enough sleep.
- Drink lots of water to stay hydrated.
- Download a pregnancy app that will organise your pregnancy milestone.
It is true that you might be feeling sleepy all the time due to the high level of progesterone, lower blood sugar, lower blood pressure, and increased blood volume.
You may also tend to feel depressed and if you do make sure to consult your doctor for further assistance.
Make sure to take care of yourself, stay hydrated and get enough sleep. Even though it’s the 5th week of the first trimester, you still need to take extra care of both yourself and your little bean.
Stay tuned to find out what happens on your upcoming 6th week of the first trimester. Don’t forget to visit Motherhood.com.my to get all the things for your soon-to-be-born little one!