Pregnancy Symptoms Week By Week : Weeks 1-40

Pregnancy symptoms can offer guidance to women who are trying to get pregnant or newly pregnant. You may have several questions about what to expect during the time. Pregnancy is a big event in your life as your body changes to accommodate another life. You have to consider pregnancy as a beautiful journey. But, it has its own ups and downs. You have to experience mental and physical transformation during pregnancy. At the end of the journey, you will have a bundle of joy. The happiness to see your child for the first time will surpass the discomfort you have to suffer during the journey. By knowing the pregnancy symptoms you can expect every week, you can prepare yourself. It helps expecting moms to become smarter and confident. Read ahead to know what you can expect throughout your pregnancy.

Basics Of Pregnancy

Before getting into the pregnancy symptoms, you need to know some basic things. A woman’s pregnancy is divided into three trimesters. Each trimester has a duration of more than 13 weeks. The first month you get pregnant marks the start of your trimester. Your doctor uses a certain term during your diagnosis. You can get confused listening to it. So, here is the explanation of the basic terms used to define your pregnancy.

Your pregnancy timing is measured by the doctor/gynecologist using gestational age. It is calculated on the day of your last menstrual period (LMP). So, LMP is the date when you first started your last periods. Many women confuse the gestational age. Most calculate the day they think the conception occurs (mostly on the 14th day from the first day of periods). But, pregnancy is measured three to four weeks before you get pregnant (starting from the first day of your last periods). So, a full term pregnancy is calculated as 40 weeks from your LMP. If your periods are not regular or you do not remember the date, then your doctor uses an ultrasound scan to find the gestational age.

Pregnancy Symptoms During Week 1-2

Actually, you are not pregnant during the time period. It is the first two weeks when you have your period. After two weeks, your ovary releases a mature egg during the process known as ovulation. Ovulation can happen earlier or later depending on the length of your menstrual cycle. People who have 28 days of the menstrual cycle can expect ovulation on the 14th day.

The egg travels from the Fallopian tubes. The sperm from your partner meets up with the mature egg and combines. The process is referred to as fertilization. If you are trying to get pregnant, then you need to have unprotected vaginal sex. The ideal time is six days leading to the day of ovulation (including ovulation day). You may not suffer from any pregnancy symptoms when the egg fertilizes.

Pregnancy Symptoms During Week 3-4

The fertilized egg travels through the Fallopian tube and attaches itself to the walls of your uterus. Before it reaches the womb, it divides into more cells. Once the cells reach the womb, it forms into a ball. The ball of cells floats around the uterus for two to three days. These balls of cells attach to the uterus lining. The process is known as implantation, which takes place six days after the fertilization. The implantation process takes around three to four days to complete. So, you become pregnant once the implantation is complete. In more than 50% of cases, the fertilized egg does not implant in the uterus. So, the egg passes out of the body during your period. It happens due to the incompletion of implantation.

Symptoms You Experience

You can overlook the pregnancy symptoms occurring during the week. Your period may not arrive at the point of time. But, you may not suspect pregnancy. Missing the period by one or two days is common among women. Every woman is different from the other. Therefore, the signs indicating pregnancy also varies. So, some women may experience the following:

• Missed period
• Implantation bleeding (when the embryo attaches to the uterus)
• Feeling bloated
• Frequent urination
• Nausea
• Tender/swollen breasts
• Feeling tired
• Mood swings

At least one woman can suffer from the signs mentioned above. Others may not know about their pregnancy.

Pregnancy Symptoms During Week 5

Your baby is still tiny, but making huge progress in the development of vital organs like brain, spinal cord, heart, bones, and muscles. The placenta also forming. The placenta is important for the growth of the baby in the womb as it provides nourishment,  a warm environment, and freedom of movement for your baby. During week five, the umbilical cord forms, which connects your blood supply to the baby. You will start developing pregnancy symptoms as you have missed your period for more than a week. So, you can take a home pregnancy test to confirm the suspicion.

Signs You Can Experience

You can experience pregnancy symptoms that can confirm your suspicions. If you are trying to get pregnant, then observe your body for the following signs:

• Missed period
• Feeling nauseous (you can experience morning sickness at any time of the day)
• Need to urinate more often
• Feeling extremely tired (fatigue)
• Soreness/tingling of your breasts
• Darkening of your nipples

Pregnancy Symptoms During Week 6

Your baby is very small (size of a BB pellet) and resembles a tadpole. Once you have confirmed the pregnancy with the home test, you need to book an appointment with your doctor. The doctor checks if the implantation has occurred in the uterus. In some cases, the fertilized egg does not reach the womb and starts growing in the Fallopian tube. The condition known as ectopic pregnancy can put your life in danger. Therefore, an ultrasound can detect the implantation and also the heartbeat. Remember, your child is vulnerable between the fourth and fourteen weeks (days 17-56). So, any problem can affect growth. So, you need to maintain caution during the time period.

Signs You Experience

The pregnancy signs you experience does not vary from the prior weeks. You can expect the following signs:

• You start gaining weight (due to growing baby) or lose weight (morning sickness)
• Fuller breasts
• Waistline changes
• Nausea

Your doctor may advise you against telling your pregnancy to others. It is due to the high risk associated with miscarriage during the time period. Therefore, you need to take utmost care.

Pregnancy Symptoms During Week 7-12

Embryo at 12 weeks

You may start feeling the pregnancy symptoms during the period. You may not see visible changes in your body. But, you can feel something as your blood volume increases by 50%. It is due to the fact that you accommodate the new life in your womb. While your baby undergoes big developments in his/her growth. The eyelids and ears start to form. Your child also develops webbed fingers as well as toes. Though you may not feel it, your baby can now swim around the womb. The development of vital organs occurs during a period of time. So, your baby develops the following

• Heart
• Brain
• Lungs
• Appendix
• Intestines
• Spinal cord
• Mouth
• Nostrils
• Eyes

Signs You Can Observe

You are reaching the end of the first trimester when you complete 12 weeks. So, you can safely announce your pregnancy to others. The risk of miscarriage reduces considerably after the first trimester. The common pregnancy signs you can observe during the seventh to twelfth week of pregnancy are:

• Morning sickness (which some women experience throughout the day or during any time of the day)
• Tenderness and tingling sensation in your breasts
• Weight gain
• Queasiness or nausea from certain smells
• Vomiting
• Moodiness

Pregnancy Symptoms During Week 13-16

Once you reach fourteen weeks of your pregnancy, you enter the second trimester. Your baby in the womb undergoes major development. But, when you undergo an ultrasound scan, the baby’s head looks larger than the body. You can schedule for a scan to listen to the strong heartbeat of your baby. At the end of the 16th week, you can ask your doctor about genetic testing. It is necessary for parents who already have a child with a genetic disorder or have family members with the problem. As the pregnancy symptoms may not indicate the overall health of the child, you need to ask your doctor about the necessary tests.

Signs Your Experience

When you begin your second trimester, you can see some of the early pregnancy symptoms reducing. But, pregnant women in their second trimester can experience other signs like:

• Digestion problems like constipation and heartburn
• Changes to the breast like increase in size, darkening or areola, and soreness
• Shortness of breath or rapid breathing
• Frequent urination
• Increased sex drive
• Bleeding gums
• Nasal stuffiness
• Nose bleeds
• Feeling dizzy
• Fainting

Pregnancy Symptoms During Week 17-20

Once you have hit the 17th week, you have officially started your fifth month into your pregnancy. Your baby develops several features on its skin to provide protection. Soft body hair and a coating that looks greasy can serve the purpose. You will experience an important milestone during the fifth month, your baby’s fetal movements. You can feel the butterflies or flutters in your stomach. Never worry as it is your child moving around the womb. The flutters you feel is also known as quickening. During the fifth month, you feel closer to your child emotionally due to the movements.

Signs You Experience

So, as you have reached your fifth month, you will experience pregnancy symptoms similar to the ones you experienced during the 12-16 week. The common symptoms you experience are:

• Bigger breast size (up to two cup sizes)
• Heartburn
• Constipation
• Dizziness
• Shortness of breath
• Gum bleeding
• Nose bleeds

Pregnancy Symptoms During Week 21-24

It is an important and busy month for your child. Your baby starts developing eyebrows, eyelashes, taste buds, and blood cells. During the routine ultrasound scan, you can see the baby opening its eyes. The finger and toe prints become visible during the sixth month. You can feel your baby responds to sounds. Therefore, the baby moves or increases the pulse.

Signs You Experience

The pregnancy symptoms you experience during the week are different from the other weeks. Women who experience morning sickness during the second trimester can get relief. The morning sickness will subside. You can experience new signs like:

• Painless squeezing feeling of your abdomen or uterus (Braxton-Hicks Contraction)
• Your breast starts producing tiny drops of milk (Colostrum)
• Back pain
• Itching feeling around the abdomen
• Swelling of legs, hands or even face (Edema)
• varicose veins

Pregnancy Symptoms During Week 25-28

You have started your seventh month of pregnancy, when you reach 25th week. Your child can now respond to the different stimuli. It is due to the complete development of hearing. Your baby can also change its position frequently as it responds to light, sound, and pain. So, you can feel more fetal movement in your womb. Some women can deliver the baby during the seventh month. But, never worry as your child has a greater chance of surviving. With good intensive care, your premature child can survive. To accommodate the growing baby, your uterus expands.

Signs You Experience

You can experience the same pregnancy symptoms from the earlier months. The good thing is, you can see the dizziness lessening. So, you can walk or move without fainting. The other signs, you can experience during the weeks are:

• Extreme exhaustion or fatigue
• Back pain
• Heartburn
• Swelling in your feet as well as ankles
• Stretch marks
• Frequent urination
• Itchy skin
• Cramps in your foot and legs
• Anxiety
• Shortness of breath
• Braxton Hicks contraction

Pregnancy Symptoms During Week 29-32

You may feel the pregnancy journey as a long one, but you still have to wait a couple of weeks to hold your baby. The anticipation of meeting your child may make you antsy. The wait will soon get over as your baby proceeds to grow and mature. During the 29th week to 32nd week, your child will develop more fat reserves. You can see a lot of changes in your body. Some can make you feel uncomfortable, like the expansion of uterus makes it difficult to breathe. Talk to your doctor about the methods to relieve the discomfort. You can feel your baby move more as the kicking will increase. The brain and other internal system develop well during the period. Only the lungs remain immature.

Signs You Experience

Your body can undergo a major transformation. You can also experience the following pregnancy symptoms during the 29-32 weeks:

• Feel tired all the time
• Shortness of breath
• Swollen veins blue or red in color (varicose veins)
• Varicose veins in your rectum (hemorrhoids triggering pain and itching)
• The expansion of skin causing stretch marks
• Heartburn
• Constipation
• Braxton-Hicks contractions
• Pressure from the uterus causing urination while laughing or sneezing
• Your skin will glow
• Hair will look healthier and fuller

Pregnancy Symptoms During Week 33-36

You have only a few weeks more to meet your bundle of joy. When your baby is busy developing his/her brain and nervous system, you are busy shopping and decorating for the new arrival. Your baby also develops the strength to the bones except for the skull bones. The skull remains soft to make the journey through your birth canal easier. It helps the squeezing through the small space (birth canal) easier as the skull can slide over each other while keeping the brain safe from any injury or trauma. At this point, you can see the movement of the baby on the surface of your bump.

Signs You Experience

You are going to complete your 9th month of pregnancy, when you hit thirty-six weeks. As your body accustoms itself to the growing baby, you can see different pregnancy symptoms. The main pregnancy symptoms you observe around the ninth month of pregnancy are:

• The baby descends to the pelvic region, offering you room to breathe properly
• Your baby now shifts itself to the pelvic region, enhancing the pressure at the area
• You feel antsy making it difficult to sleep properly at night
• As the baby crowds the digestive system, it becomes difficult for the food to digest properly
• You can observe changes in vaginal discharge
• You can experience Braxton-Hicks contraction

Remember to monitor the signs properly as some women tend to give birth during the period though, the baby does not reach full-term, it has a high chance of survival. So, talk to your doctor about the pregnancy symptoms you experience at the point of time to detect if leads to labor.

Pregnancy Symptoms During Week 37-40

Your baby is nearly full term. You are reaching the end road to your pregnancy. A baby is considered full term at the end of 37 weeks. In most cases, your doctor may have predicted the due date around forty weeks. But, one in twenty to thirty women gives birth around the 38 weeks to 42 weeks. So, you can expect to go into labor at any time. Your body changes to prepare for the labor. The most important sign is the cervix opening or becoming soft to dilate for the delivery. When you observe such changes, prepare yourselves mentally to ensure a safe and relaxed birth.

Signs You Experience

In the final months of pregnancy, you can observe some normal symptoms. You never have to worry about the pregnancy symptoms as it occurs to prepare you for birth. So, pregnant women in their last weeks of pregnancy can observe the following:

• Frequent urination due to the excess pressure on the pelvic region
• Expulsion of mucus plug for the cervix opening
• Excess vaginal discharge
• Backache
• Itching in the abdominal area

Watch Signs Of Labor

As you have reached the final stage, you need to observe signs that indicate impending labor. It differs from common pregnancy symptoms. You need to watch for the changes in your body as you complete eight months of pregnancy (from the 33rd week). You can experience practice contractions, also known as Braxton Hicks Contraction. But, observe your body to check if it is Braxton Hicks contraction or actual contractions. Actual contractions can occur regularly within short intervals. You can also experience other signs along with it. So, the signs that indicate you need immediate medical attention for your impending labor are:

• Pelvic pressure
• Cramps
• Lower back pain
• Blood-tinged discharge
• Breaking of amniotic fluid (seems like you have peed)

When you experience any of the symptoms after your thirty-third week, go to the hospital immediately. You need medical attention to ensure safe and sound delivery of your baby.

Conclusion

The pregnancy symptoms are relevant for a healthy pregnancy. When you experience such signs, it means your baby is growing at a normal rate. When the signs disappear suddenly, it means something is not right. So, you need to see your doctor as soon as possible to detect the problem. Sometimes, you can overcome the problem with early medical intervention. Therefore, monitor your body closely to observe the signs and continue your pregnancy with ease.

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