At 5 weeks pregnant, you might have missed your period and suspect you could be pregnant.
You might have already done a home pregnancy test.
Sometimes the line on a pregnancy test can be quite faint. This might make you worry about whether you’re actually pregnant or not.
If you need to squint to see the line, be sure to readFaint Line On A Pregnancy Test – What Does It Mean?for more information.
Even this early some women can have a positive pregnancy test.
Each woman is different, but seek the guidance of your healthcare provider if you’re concerned.
Week 5
Week 5 is a really exciting time as you start your pregnancy journey.
You’ve probably already worked out what your due date is. To do this you count 40 weeks from the first day of your last period.
Alternatively, subtract three months from the first day of your last period, then add seven days.
Otherwise, you can check out BellyBelly’sdue date calculator.
Remember, a due date is a rough guess of when your little one will be born, not the exact date.
Week 5 is a good time to start thinking about the time of year you’ll be heavily pregnant and whether you’ll need to make adjustments to your work or future plans.
How many months is 5 weeks pregnant?
Week 5 is the first week after your last menstrual period. Even though you’ve only just missed your period, you’re already just over one month pregnant.
Remember, we count pregnancy as starting from the first day of your last menstrual period.
The length of your entire pregnancy is based on counting 40 weeks from your last menstrual period.
So much is already happening inside.
Week 5 baby registry
It’s early days but it doesn’t hurt to start researching and thinking about things you might need as you prepare for your little one.
Some moms-to-be look forward to creating a baby registry to refer family and friends to when they’re asked about gifts or items they need.
But if a baby registry isn’t your thing, make a pregnancy checklist of what you might need once your baby arrives, and keep it handy.
Emotions when you’re 5 weeks pregnant
It’s normal to feel different emotions when you find out you’re pregnant.
You might feel a blend of emotions all at the same time.
You might be elated because it happened more quickly than hoped, or you might feel anxious about how you’ll cope as a parent.
How you and your partner react to the news is also very individual.
It might take time for the initial shock to wear off.
You or your partner might feel overwhelmed, lost or anxious.
Enlist the support of a trusted friend or family member, or seek help from your doctor, counselor, or a support service that deals with pregnancy crisis.
Folate during early pregnancy
One of the firstthingsyou can do (even if you’ve not yet had your first prenatal visit) is give your baby the nutrients essential for healthy development.
At this stage of pregnancy, folate is very important, to prevent birth defects such as spina bifida (neural tube defect or NTD).This happens when the baby’s spinal cord doesn’tdevelopproperly and causes a gap in the spine.
Pregnant women are recommended to take prenatal vitamins with folic acid in them.This can be a problem if your body can’t convert synthetic folic acid into a useable form. If so, you should take folinic acid.
You can read more in our articleFolate – Why It’s So Important Before And During Pregnancy.
5 weeks pregnant – foods to avoid
Now you’re pregnant, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the dietary recommendations for pregnancy.
In your first trimester, your baby’s development is rapid. Unborn babies at this stage are laying the foundations for their future human development. All of their major organs are developing and the first 12 weeks are critical for building a healthy nervous system.
It is essential, therefore, to be mindful about what you eat in the early stages of your pregnancy.
The US Food and Drug Administration (USFD) and health organizations around the world advise against foods that carry a risk of food-borne illnesses, such as salmonella, listeriosis, and toxoplasmosis.
Here’s a quick rundown of what to avoid to reduce the chances:
- Wash all fruits and vegetables thoroughly; some fresh produce contains soil, which can make you poorly
- If you eat meat, make sure it is cooked well; raw or undercooked meat can lead to toxoplasmosis, which can increase your risk of miscarriage
- Avoid unpasteurized dairy; the pasteurization process helps kill bacteria, such as listeria. Listeria can also lead to a slightly increased risk of miscarriage and stillbirth or can make your baby quite unwell. It’s best to avoid stinky, blue vein, or mold-ripened cheeses.
You might like to read What To Avoid During The First Trimester for more information.
5 weeks pregnant symptoms
At 5 weeks, there are increased levels of a pregnancy hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), which is the hormone detected when you have a positive result on your pregnancy test.
This hormone is produced by thedevelopingbaby and stimulates the corpus luteum to produce hormones essential to a continuing pregnancy. Your hCG levels will continue to rise until about 10-12 weeks.
During week 5, your levels of progesterone have also increased. This hormone stimulates blood vessel growthand gives you that ‘glow’ pregnant women are famous for.
The surge of pregnancy hormones isresponsiblefor any breast tenderness or sore nipples you might feel.
Tender breasts and sore nipples are common early pregnancy symptoms, and can range from a tingling or throbbing sensation to actual pain when touched. This is often due to the increased blood flow.
Rapid breast tissue growth can also make your skin itchy and cause stretch marks later in pregnancy.
Otherearly signsyou might notice at 5 weeks are:
- Food cravings
- Frequent urination
- Morning sickness
- Fatigue– not just tiredness but an intense need to nap wherever you are
- Mood swings
- Weight gain.
5 weeks pregnant – no symptoms
Just because you don’t experience the telltale common symptoms every day at 5 weeks doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong.
This is totally normal. Every woman’s body responds differently to the hormonal changes of pregnancy.
Some women have morning sickness from week 5 (best not tell them you’re symptom-free) and others might have one or two signs,such as mood swings and tiredness.
5 weeks pregnant morning sickness
If you’re at week five and already experiencing morning sickness every day it could come as quite a shock.
You might like to check out When Does Morning Sickness Start?
Nausea can be felt at any time during the day. Many women vomit, particularly in the morning (hence the name morning sickness).
Stay hydrated, and avoid spicy or greasy food that triggers nausea.
Eat small, frequent meals to keep your blood sugar levels stable. A tip at five weeks pregnant is to have something dry to nibble on first thing in the morning, to stem the urge to vomit.
Check out Morning Sickness – 10 Best Morning Sickness Remedies for more tips.
If you experience morning sickness or food aversions at five weeks, it can affect weight gain. Being unable to eat due to nausea and vomiting can prevent healthy weight gain.
Seek professional medical advice if your nausea is severe.
5 weeks pregnant cramping
Experiencing menstrual-like cramps during the first trimester of pregnancy can be worrying.
If you’re 5 weeks pregnant, mild cramping at this stage is quite normal.
What causes cramping during pregnancy, specifically when you’re 5 weeks pregnant?
Pregnancy is a time of radical transformation within your body. Your uterus is already expanding to accommodate and grow a baby.
At 5 weeks pregnant, cramping is most often associated with the expansion of the uterus.
Prior to missing a period, some women notice cramping that’s due to implantation.
Cramping without vagin*l bleeding is usually not a concern. Contact your healthcare provider if you have any of the following:
- Severe pain
- Cramping and bleeding (menstrual-like flow)
- Localized pain.
Be sure to read Early Pregnancy Cramps | 9 Important FAQs for more information.
5 weeks pregnant bleeding
It’s unnerving to see any bleeding during pregnancy. Early miscarriages are more common than often discussed, and every woman’s worst fear is to see brown discharge or bleeding in early pregnancy.
If you experience bleeding at 5 weeks pregnant it might be because you had an internal examination at the doctor, or it could happen after sex.
It’s also possible it could be anectopic pregnancy,which happens when the fertilised egg has implanted outside of the uterus. Often an ectopic pregnancy will have stop-start bleeding associated with shoulder pain.
Check outIs Bleeding In Early Pregnancy Normal?for more information. Always speak to your healthcare provider if you have any concerns.
5 weeks pregnant – spotting when I wipe
Spotting during early pregnancyisn’t uncommon but it can be stressful to see small amounts of blood after you wipe.
Rest assured,researchshows spotting and light episodes of bleeding during pregnancy are less likely to end in a miscarriage than heavy bleeding.
There are a number of reasons why it might happen; for example, it might be implantation bleeding. You can read more about this inImplantation Bleeding – Everything You Need To Know.
5 weeks pregnant discharge
Increased discharge during pregnancy is really normal, as long as it’s thin, white or milky in color, and has no odor.
If you experience discharge that is green or yellow, or has a strong odor, as well as any itching or redness, see your healthcare provider as soon as possible.
Want to know more? ReadDischarge During Pregnancy – What You Need To Knowfor more information.
5 weeks pregnant diarrhea
Most women experience some digestive changes during any pregnancy week. Constipation is quite common but the opposite is also true.
Diarrhea, or loose bowel movements, is usually a sign your digestive system is adjusting to pregnancy hormones.
Stay hydrated and be mindful of what you eat; this will ease any discomfort if you experience diarrhea during pregnancy.
Is Diarrhea A Sign Of Early Pregnancy? has more information.As always, stay in touch with your healthcare provider if you have any concerns.
Do you own a cat?While you’re pregnant, avoid cleaning the litter box. This is a great ‘get out of jail free’ card when you’re pregnant.
In some cats’ faeces, there’s aparasite that causestoxoplasmosis,which can lead to serious health problems for your baby.
The good news isyou don’t need to get rid of your cat. Your partner can be assigned to kitty litter duty from this pregnancy week onwards.
Can I feel my baby at 5 weeks pregnant?
As a mom-to-be, you might be wondering whether it’s possible to feel your baby at 5 weeks pregnant.
Your little embryo is growing rapidly but is still very tiny. Consequently, you won’t feel movement for many weeks.
However, women who’ve been pregnant before might feel a heaviness or fullness in their bellies in the first trimester.
5 weeks pregnant belly
As early as week 5, many mothers feel the urge to urinate more frequently, as the uterus begins to grow in size and shape and put pressure on the bladder.
This can also be due to the increased blood volume circulating in the body, which makes your kidneys work a little bit harder. They expand to deal with this increased blood flow and also push on your bladder.
It’s not your baby crowding things in there just yet. That will happen later, in your second and third trimesters.
5 weeks pregnant ultrasound
Many women find out they’re five weeks pregnant andimmediately book their first prenatal appointment.
Your doctor might organize for you to have blood tests(for iron and other nutrients) to determine your current health state, as well as a screening for health conditions.
Many women have an ultrasound scanin their first trimester. Thisfirst prenatal screeningis called an early or ‘dating’ scan,to help determine when your due date is.
It can be exciting to see your baby, butearly ultrasounds at 5 weeks pregnant aren’t necessaryunless you have medical concerns.
Most ultrasounds at this early stage aredone to determine whether the fertilized egg has settled in the right place.
The gestational sac, which is one of the first signs of pregnancy to be detected on ultrasound, might be visible.
The gestational sac is seen before a recognizable embryo can be detected. Usually, by 5 weeks pregnant, a yolk sac is also visible inside the gestational sac.
It’s also important to know a five weeks ultrasound is done with a trans-vagin*l probe.
Abdominal ultrasound is much less accurate so early in pregnancy.
Your baby at 5 weeks pregnant
At 5 weeks pregnant, your baby is really taking shape.
All of your baby’s body systems are developing at a cracking paceand the major organs systems are underway.
Your baby’s circulatorysystem and nervoussystem have also started to develop.
Your baby’s tiny heart is the first organ to start functioning. At this time, your baby’s heart is divided into two chambers and has already begun beating.
The neural tube is closing and will protect your baby’s brain, spinal cord and spinal column.
The placenta and umbilical cord have developed and are helping to nourish your little one. They are responsible for pumping in nutrient-rich blood and oxygen and expelling waste. Pretty impressive!
How big is my baby at 5 weeks pregnant?
At five weeks pregnant, your baby is only 3 mm long – about the size of a sesame seed.At this stage of development, your baby will look like a tiny tadpole in its amniotic sac.
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+ Popular Questions Our Readers Ask
Q: How do you avoid a pregnancy test faint line result?
A: If you want to avoid getting a pregnancy test faint line result, you need to make sure you take your pregnancy test after missing your period, not before. Testing first thing in the morning can also help you to see a darker result line on the test.
Q: What are the sex positions to do to get a boy baby?
A: The sex positions that are recommended to get a boy baby are doggy style, standing up, and straddling. In these positions, deep penetration is possible, allowing the faster, male sperm to be closer to the cervix.
Q: At what age do babies start talking?
A: Babies usually start talking by the time they reach 14 months of age, but it can be as soon as 11 months of age. The words they first say are often ‘mama’ and ‘dada,’ but it could be another word they hear often enough.
Q: Is it safe to drink hot tea while pregnant?
A: There are many health benefits pregnant women can enjoy drinking tea. During pregnancy, however, safe herbal teas are the best option. Green tea, black tea and other teas containing caffeine are best to be avoided at this time.
