From Bodycarre we are going to see two pregnancies of two friends, from two different perspectives and countries, one from Latin America and the other from Spain. I hope you like it and see if you are able to find those little differences.
We are going to see stage by stage the fetal development of this being that becomes loved in such a short time. With the development of the baby, the first emotions, experiences, the discovery of little feet and hands are awakened in women.
It is a world apart from ours, which although it is possible to see and follow, it is still the object of much curiosity in future mothers . Fetal development is one of the many curiosities of the pregnant woman.
As I lived this wonderful scenario, I am going to put here everything I have learned throughout my experience and also everything that I have researched and studied. Let’s start! To better understand fetal development, we have to take into account that a pregnancy lasts approximately 40 weeks or 280 days and can easily be extended up to 42 weeks . Full-term delivery can occur between weeks 38 to 42 without major problems for the mother and child.
Fetal development from 1 to 3 weeks
1st week of pregnancy
Week 1 of pregnancy begins the day your period appears. Doctors generally count the pregnancy from that day on in order to get a better precision of the expected date of delivery (EDD). Thereafter, the body prepares for the second week, which is the week in which fertilization is likely to occur. If you are one of the women who have a regular cycle, it is likely that you discover the pregnancy beforehand. If not, you can start now to better understand your body and the signals it gives you. Hormones are dropping in this stage, but will soon pick up in order to keep track of the cycle.
2nd week of pregnancy
Around 12 to 18 days of the cycle, ovulation occurs, or when the egg has matured in the ovary. It has grown and matured to the point that the follicle has ruptured and the egg has been thrown into the fallopian tubes and there it remains until the arrival of the sperm. However, the life of the eggs is short, around 24 hours in the tube waiting for fertilization.. I don’t think the journey from the “little fish” to the egg is an easy one. They carry out a real battle to reach the destination. Only the strongest and healthiest survive. When the tube where the ovum or ovules arrives, the few that remain try to penetrate inside, but only one succeeds. Shortly after the sperm enters the egg there is a change in the surface that prevents more of them from being able to get inside. Now the nuclei are fused, giving rise to a new combination of DNA from the father and mother. A new life has been formed! The second week of pregnancy has started!
3rd week of pregnancy
After fertilization, the egg and sperm form a zygote with a DNA match to the physical characteristics of this newly created being. In the third week of pregnancy, the two cells that are found begin to multiply by dividing very rapidly, as it progresses on its way to the uterus. Finally, 7 to 17 days after fertilization, the new being reaches the uterus, and there in search of a soft and loose place to fix the endometrium and subsequent implantation . This implementation process may take some time and only after that, the HCGit is identifiable on the body. After implantation, the zygote divides into 2 parts. One of them becomes a structure in which the baby will form properly, called the amniotic sac, and the other part will develop as a baby. The third week of pregnancy is crucial for the fetus.
How the mother feels …
Implantation can cause small amounts of bleeding in some women, meaning that a low percentage have this bloody sign. It happened to me in a discreet way, but it made me confuse with an onset of menstruation. If you see minimal bleeding but then no normal flow of menstruation, get tested as soon as possible. Although there may not be any obvious symptoms, it is common for some women to have cramps at this stage . After settling in the uterus, the true pregnancy begins. Half of these cells make up the baby and the other part the placenta and the amniotic sac that will house it, feed it and sustain the oxygen and nutrients that the embryo will need throughout the pregnancy.
Surprise! first week of pregnancy, sorry but you’re not actually pregnant at all. What what?!
Most obstetricians count pregnancy from the first day of a woman’s last menstrual period. That’s because ovulation and conception are very difficult to identify, but the physical signs of menstruation are much easier to detect. So when the doctor talks about 1 week pregnant, it means that you are on your period and you have not gotten pregnant yet. You won’t conceive your baby until week two or three, depending on the length of your menstrual cycle.
If you’ve just found out what to expect, you might think this is your first week of pregnancy, but you’ll probably be close to 4 weeks gestation. Yeah I know! (The Obstetrician will be the one who will give you a more accurate estimate when you attend your first prenatal appointment).
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Symptoms of pregnancy at week 1
In the first week of pregnancy, remember that at this early stage, the symptoms you are experiencing are typical of the menstrual cycle, because you are not really pregnant yet. These symptoms can last three to seven days, and can include:
- Vaginal bleeding Inside your body, the uterine lining is shedding, which contains last month’s unfertilized egg.
- Lower back pain and cramps . To release that lining, the uterus contracts, causing pain in the back and abdomen.
- Swelling. Hormonal changes can give you a bloated belly just before and during your period.
- Moodiness . That bunch of revolving hormones can also cause you some irritability, as well as some havoc on your emotions.
- Headache . Many women complain of menstrual migraines, which are also related to hormones. (Surprise, surprise). Ice packs, OTC pain relievers, and relaxation exercises can help ease pain.
Development of pregnancy in week 1
Inside your belly in the first week of pregnancy, your body is not just releasing last month’s egg. A new uterine lining begins to form, which will receive the next egg. You know, the one that will hopefully fertilize, grow and become a fetus.
Interesting fact: A woman’s eggs are the largest cells in the body. An ovule is the size of a peach’s fluff. Your body will release one (or in rare cases, two) eggs between day 10 and day 19 of the menstrual cycle, or about 14 days before your next period comes. It can be fertilized for approximately 12 to 24 hours after that. Although, if you have sex before that period of time you can get pregnant, since sperm can live in the body for up to six days.
The first signs of pregnancy don’t happen right away – in fact, many women miss their period in week 4 before they even feel “different.” But some common early signs of pregnancy in the first few weeks after fertilization include: chest pain or tenderness, nausea, fatigue, and a frequent need to urinate.
In a week of gestation (hoping to be pregnant soon). You are probably thinking about how you can prepare your body to carry a baby. It is a good idea to start your pregnancy at a healthy weight and free from bad habits like smoking and drinking. Cut your caffeine intake to the equivalent of a cup of coffee or two (we’re talking about 8-ounce cups) per day.
Ultrasound in week 1 of pregnancy
You are not likely to be able to have a 1 week pregnant ultrasound. But if you have been trying to get pregnant for some time and have seen a fertility specialist, you may have had an ultrasound to detect fibroids, to see how many follicles (which grow into eggs) are in your ovaries and / or to measure the thickness of your uterine lining. If there is a problem, it is the doctor who can prescribe a fertility treatment to help you conceive.
Now get ready to have sex. You have a baby to do!
Considerations regarding pregnancy at week 1
Reminders for the week:
- Stop unhealthy habits like smoking, drinking, and excess caffeine.
- Take prenatal vitamins with folic acid (400 mcg a day).
- Keep track of your cycle to identify the most fertile days.
Do you think you are 2 weeks pregnant? You may not be, here we explain the reasons. Most obstetricians count pregnancy from the first day of your last menstrual period. Yes, that’s a week or two before you get pregnant. We know it sounds totally strange, but it is more accurate for doctors to estimate a safe date.
So if you think you conceived two weeks ago, you probably should at least wait until the fourth week of pregnancy to confirm it, maybe even five weeks.
If you are really in the second week of your cycle and trying to conceive, we have some tips especially for you.
Symptoms of pregnancy at week 2
Being pregnant depends on being assertive when having sex on your fertile days, probably the two days before ovulation and the day you actually ovulate. If you have a regular 28-day cycle, you will most likely ovulate on day 15. But who the hell has a regular 28-day cycle every month?
In the second week of pregnancy, ovulation symptoms can indicate the best time to have sex and have the best chance of conceiving a baby. You are probably ovulating, if you notice these signs in week 2 of your pregnancy:
- Cervical mucus similar to “egg white . ” It sounds a bit rude, but it’s true. Your cervical mucus becomes thin, clear, and stringy, like egg whites, as ovulation approaches. This consistency helps the sperm slide towards the egg.
- Better sense of smell. Believe it, hormonal changes increase your ability to perceive different smells, which is probably the way in which nature helps sniff out male pheromones in an effort to procreate.
- Chest pain or tenderness Hormonal changes associated with ovulation can make your breasts feel a bit sore.
- Pelvic pain. As the ovary releases an egg, you may feel a small sting on one side of your abdomen. This is the phenomenon known as Mittelschmerz, named after the doctor who first documented it.
- Light stains. You may notice a small tinge of red or brown in your underwear at the time of ovulation. This occurs when the follicle around the egg ruptures. If it is actual bleeding, it could be something else, such as an ectopic pregnancy; so notify your doctor if you experience any stronger symptoms. There are some problems that are only detected in intermediate periods.
- Increased sexual desire . You may “just know” that you are ovulating and are naturally more excited to have sex and get pregnant.
- Cervical changes If you routinely check the cervix, something the vast majority of women do frequently, you may notice that it becomes taller, smoother, and more open when ovulating.
Some women buy an ovulation test to help them find out when they might be most fertile. A low-tech strategy is to have sex every day from day 12 to day 16 of your menstrual cycle, that is, towards the end of the second week until the beginning of the third.
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Development of pregnancy in week 2
If you conceive in the first 2 weeks of pregnancy, symptoms won’t appear right away. In fact, you won’t be able to know if you are pregnant until there are enough pregnancy hormones in your system so that a home pregnancy test can confirm pregnancy. That should happen around week 4, which is the same time your period is likely to be missed. Around this time, hormone levels are finally high enough that pregnancy symptoms are not confused with the menstrual cycle. Some women swear that they start to notice early pregnancy signs before week 4 however; These are the ones that could tell you that you are pregnant:
- Light bleeding About 5-10 days after conception, you may notice a little spotting. This is caused by the embryo implanting itself in the uterine wall.
- Frequent urination Pregnancy hormones can make you take more trips to the bathroom in the early weeks of pregnancy.
- Sore breasts and / or areolas darker. Almost as soon as those hormones appear, a woman’s body begins to prepare her breasts for breastfeeding.
- A total exhaustion is the first clue of some women that they are waiting, that is because your body is going to need a ton of energy for the baby to grow and develop.
- Morning sickness. Probably the most noticeable pregnancy symptom, nausea usually begins around week 4 to week 9 in the morning.
- Swelling, (yes again). As your body begins to realize that you are pregnant, it will likely slow down the digestion process in an effort to deliver more nutrients to the baby. This can cause you a bit of gas, as well as bloating. Hey, maybe it will even look a bit like a two week pregnant belly! (that doesn’t really exist).
Ultrasound in week 2 of pregnancy
You probably won’t have an ultrasound in the second week of pregnancy. If you could see inside your 2 weeks pregnant belly the moment of ovulation, it would go something like this: First your ovary releases an egg (smaller than a piece of pepper) into the fallopian tube, where it should be fertilized within 12 to 24 hours. If you’ve had sex in the last six days, there could still be sperm living inside your body and one of them could fertilize the egg. Otherwise, you will have to have several days of sex to get pregnant.
Considerations regarding pregnancy at week 2
Reminders for the week:
- Consider using an ovulation test.
- Look for signs of ovulation.
- Have sex every other day when your fertile period is near.
- Continue to take a prenatal vitamin with folic acid daily.
The sperm found an egg last week, and voila… you made a baby! It is so ridiculously early that when you are 3 weeks pregnant, you may have no idea that you are actually pregnant. Conception just happened a few days ago and probably isn’t long enough for you to miss a period, still in week 3 of your pregnancy.
Symptoms of pregnancy at week 3
When you are 3 weeks pregnant, symptoms may not appear frequently. That’s because most early pregnancy symptoms are caused by pregnancy hormones, and you probably don’t have a high level of hormones in your body yet. (Oh, but you’ll get there!). Some signs of pregnancy in the 3 weeks – and the next few weeks – are:
- Implantation bleeding . Yes, the little one who will soon be an embryo, has already arrived at his new home, you may notice some spots from the fertilized ovum on the wall of the uterus.
- Sickness. As the pregnancy hormone hCG begins to make its way through your newly pregnant body, you may notice some symptoms such as nausea so strong that you may even need to vomit. Also called the morning sickness, it should really be called the all-day sickness, since nausea does not discriminate the hours of the day, at any time this unpleasant symptom can attack you. If you feel nauseous at three weeks’ gestation, the pregnancy may be more complicated than you thought (don’t panic, but you can even be three weeks pregnant with twins, because women with twin pregnancies often have higher levels of hormones during pregnancy and therefore greater episodes of nausea).
- Changes in the breasts You may start to feel sore in your breasts and nipples, these may darken as your body begins to prepare to produce milk.
- Missing menstrual period . If your cycle is generally shorter than 28 days, you can test towards the end of this week, as you could be pregnant. The only way to know for sure is to take a pregnancy test.
Home test and blood work in week 3
- Positive home pregnancy test. Check your home pregnancy test box to see how accurate your results are before your missed period. Most tests are more than 99% accurate after a missed period, and some brands promise to detect pregnancy hormones in urine sooner than that. For example, when you are 3 weeks to 5 days pregnant or even 3 weeks to 4 days pregnant. This is where the test is concentrated: the amount of pregnancy hormone HCG in your body it might not be enough for the test to detect it right away, but every 48 hours the odds double. If you get a negative result, wait a few days and then a week later with another pregnancy test and then another, to make sure it is not too early to confirm the pregnancy.
- Positive clinical pregnancy test . In some cases, such as if you are at risk for a miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy, your doctor may order a lab test. Lower amounts of hCG can be detected through blood tests compared to urine tests, so you may find out that you are pregnant earlier with a blood test than with a home test.
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Development of pregnancy at week 3
It is possible that you begin to notice something different about your appearance, so your emotions begin to manifest openly, but at 3 weeks of pregnancy, the change in the belly does not represent a sign that can be noticed at this time of pregnancy. Even though your belly may feel a bit bloated, most pregnant women still cannot visualize a change in the appearance of the belly until around week 12, so there is still a long way to go before you really look pregnant.
Before you start eating for two, keep in mind that doctors only recommend that most women gain three to five pounds total during the first trimester of pregnancy – it’s the first 13 weeks. So you are definitely not licensed to start eating for two in just three weeks of pregnancy. In fact, you should not do anything different, except try to eat a healthy and balanced diet, in addition to supplementing it with a daily prenatal vitamin that contains at least 400 micrograms of folic acid in it. Doctors do not recommend increasing your daily calorie intake until the second trimester. Once you hit week 14, you will need to add around 300 (healthy) calories per day.
Ultrasound in week 3 of pregnancy
The now fertilized egg has begun its journey through one of the fallopian tubes, dividing and re-dividing into identical cells on its way to the maternal uterus.
A 3-week pregnant ultrasound may not detect your tiny embryo. It’s barely a super-small fertilized egg (called a marula), it’s smaller than a grain of salt and it’s on the move, but starting at week 4 your doctor can see that the uterine lining becomes thicker, a sign that the little marula has reached its destination for the next nine months. You guessed it: Your uterus.
Considerations regarding pregnancy at week 3
Reminders for the week:
- You just found out that you are pregnant, it is time to calculate the time of pregnancy to determine the date of birth of the baby.
- Take an early result pregnancy test.
- Continue to take a prenatal vitamin with folic acid daily.
- Keep reporting the changes and likely symptoms for the next few weeks.
Kathie Sand always saw the world of beauty as the terrain on which to build her professional career, a goal that was clear to her when she was only 15 years old. Her great concern to expand knowledge led her to settle in Paris where she studied hand in hand with the best beauty professionals and with the most advanced techniques for skin care.