Week 5 of pregnancy (First Trimester)
You:
You might have only just noticed that your period is overdue, you probably don’t look pregnant yet, but you might be experiencing other signs of pregnancy too, including feeling sick, faint or bloated.
Morning sickness:
One of the first signs of pregnancy is often feeling sick. The exact cause is yet to be discovered, but it is believed to be due to the corpus luteum, this produces oestrogen and progesterone, and will later form the placenta. Morning sickness tends to tail off at around 10 weeks when the corpus luteum stops working and the placenta takes over.
Feeling Bloated:
You may experience premenstrual feelings due to the hormone progesterone which can cause water retention. This can also make your breasts feel swollen and your nipples to tingle.
Feeling Faint:
Pregnancy hormones can cause your blood pressure to lower, which in turn will make you feel faint. Getting up slowly after sitting or lying down can help.
Your baby:
Still less than 1/2 cm in size the embryo’s cells are rapidly dividing. Although the organs are beginning to develop the heart is still about the same size as a poppy seed, but in the 5th week it will begin to beat. The neural tube which connects the brain and spinal cord will close and the buds which will form your babies arms and legs will begin to sprout this week. Also a liver, kidneys and appendix are all growing.
