Week 7 of Pregnancy

What happens in week 7 of pregnancy.

Pregnancy symptoms may all be raging by now, but even if they aren’t, you are probably feeling more and more pregnant as the weeks continue.  Remember symptoms can come and go – you may find on some days that you feel more nauseous or tired than others, but this is nothing to worry about.  Listen to your body and what it needs – rest up on the days you feel shattered or do a bit more on the days when you feel less like you are walking through mud!

If you’ve referred or been referred for your antenatal care with your local hospital, you should’ve received your booking in appointment by now – or it’s on its way very soon.

Your booking in appointment is your first meeting with a midwife and can take place either in your home, in a local clinic or children’s centre or the antenatal clinic of your local hospital.  The appointment should detail where to go and how long it may take – it’s best to plan for a couple of hours as this very first appointment covers a lot of checks and information so can take time.

You may want to prepare or start thinking about the booking in appointment.  You will be asked about your medical history, your family history and your partner/baby’s father’s history too.  This is so your midwife can determine if there are any particular risks you or your baby maybe affected by, and to ensure that you get the right care during your pregnancy.  Ask family members about underlying health conditions that you should be aware of – such as diabetes or your mum/aunts/sisters having had pre-eclampsia in their pregnancies.  

You will also be asked at your booking appointment about screening tests in pregnancy and often may be asked to decide if you would like to have a combined test to find out how high your chances of having a baby with Down’s Syndrome, Edward’s Syndrome and Patau’s Syndrome is. Like all tests in pregnancy, it is your choice if you would like to have it or not.  It’s worthwhile finding out in advance what the tests mean, what the results could mean and how you/& your partner feel about this so that you are well prepared for your booking appointment.  The NHS has produced lots of helpful information on this so have a read of the following links:

NHS: Screening for Down’s syndrome, Edwards’ syndrome and Patau’s syndrome PDF

It’s also a good time to think of any questions you have for your midwife, anything you’d like any advice on or anything that is worrying you.  If you do, write the questions down and take with you to your appointment – it’ll help you to feel better prepared.

How big is my baby?

Your little baked bean has grown to the size of a blueberry this week – measuring around 10mm from the top of baby’s head to their bottom.

This week is all about lots of brain growth for your baby – your tiny clever clogs is generating around a 100 new brain cells every minute! 

And that’s not all, those arm and leg buds from the previous week are sprouting out too, as well as even more details to the head and face, your baby’s mouth and tongue are beginning to form.  Your little blueberry is continuing to grow and flourish – from hands, to mouth to brain cells!

What’s happening with my body?

As your pregnancy progresses you will find that your hydration needs change too. You may be feeling thirstier and needing to drink more fluids.  This is due to the pregnancy increasing the amount of blood in your body for you and your baby.  Drinking more water is key – ideally aiming for 8 glasses of fluid a day.

All that fluid and thirst may also cause you to need the toilet more often too though! It’s not just the extra fluid you are drinking – your pregnancy hormones cause the need to pee more often in the first trimester even more than a growing baby squashing  your bladder later on!

Week 7 pregnancy tips.

What can I do this week?

• Find out about tests and screening in pregnancy and discuss with your partner too
• Find out about family history – it’ll help for your booking in appointment but is also good to find out about your birth, your mum’s experience and family folklore!
• Drink enough – water is great, but fruit juices, cordials, sparkling water, milk – take sips if it’s hard to keep things down.