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Your pregnancy week-by-week
Your pregnancy week by week
A pregnancy is 40 weeks long as it is usually dated from the first date of the
last menstrual period (LMP).
This means that if you have a positive pregnancy test on the first day of your missed period,
you will actually already be around four weeks pregnant.
A urinary pregnancy test will most probably be positive by now.
Your breasts may feel tender and you might have to pass urine more frequently.
You may also start to feel nauseous.
If you have an transvaginal ultrasound scan (TVS) or abdominal scan this early in the pregnancy,
there is a high chance that nothing will be visible yet and you may be classified as
a ‘pregnancy of unknown location’. However, towards the end of the fourth week it may be
possible to see a very small gestational sac on TVS.
Week 5
You may feel more nauseous. The pregnancy is growing and on TVS it will be possible to
visualise a yolk sac within the gestational sac. This is a reassuring finding,
confirming the presence of an intra-uterine pregnancy. The fetal pole should be visualised
with TVS towards the end of the fifth week. At the end of the fifth week it should measure
approximately 2 mm in length. Shortly after this it may be possible to visualise a heartbeat.
Week 6
All major internal and external features are under development. A blood circulation is well developed.
The gestational sac now measures 16-40 mm in diameter and the fetal pole has a crown–rump length of 4-9 mm.
Week 7
The fetal pole now measures 10-15 mm, and the fetal head is clearly visible. The upper limb buds
may be visible and the umbilical cord can be visualised.
Week 8
The fetal pole now measures 16-22 mm. Both upper and lower limb buds become clearer and
fetal movements may be seen.
Weeks 9-12
The fetus grows rapidly during this period. By the 12th week it should measure around 66 mm
and will weigh approximately 18g. The fetus will now look more like a baby. The developing
kidneys start to function and produce urine, which is passed in to the amniotic cavity, which
as consequence expands in size. It will also now be possible to visualise individual fingers and toes.
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