Week 8 of Your Pregnancy
If you haven’t seen a doctor yet, now is the time to go. You will have a number of regular antenatal visits with your doctor, regularly throughout your pregnancy.
It’s important to look after your own health when you’re pregnant.
PREGNANCY WEEK 8
Your Body at Week 8 of Your Pregnancy
Changes in Mood
Some women are glowing and have a lot of energy, but others are feeling tired, emotional and moody. It’s normal to have mood swings when you’re pregnant, but talk to your doctor if you’re feeling very anxious or down.
You may go to the toilet more often than usual
Even though your baby is tiny, by week 8 your womb (uterus) has grown to the size of a tennis ball. It’s putting more pressure on your bladder, so you might need to go to the toilet more often than normal.
Bleeding Gums
At this time, you may start to notice problems with your teeth. Hormones can make your gums bleed more easily and you may also develop lumps on the gums. Vomiting a lot or eating sweet foods can also affect your teeth. Make sure you floss and use a soft toothbrush. It’s a good idea to see a dentist regularly throughout your pregnancy.
You may feel quite tired
During the first trimester, a huge amount of energy goes into building a life-support system for your baby, especially the placenta, which can leave you feeling tired. There are also a lot of hormonal and emotional changes that are happening.
Metallic taste
You may notice a metallic taste in your mouth during the first trimester, this is due to surge in estrogen.
Nausea
It usually starts around week 5 or 6 of pregnancy. There are safe ways to get relief from morning sickness, including changes to your diet and lifestyle, natural remedies, and medication. Talk to your provider if it bothers you.
Food Aversions
Most expecting moms experience food aversions, this is due to hormones and a heightened sense of smell. If you are not able to eat your regular food then try eating bland or cold foods. If cooking makes you sick, plan to have someone else cook for you.
Headache
It's common to get headaches during pregnancy, especially in the first trimester. Once you reach the second trimester, headaches may diminish or disappear. Getting enough sleep, food and water, and exercise can prevent headaches, and relaxation techniques like massage and meditation may help.
Heartburn and Indigestion
If you’ve got a burning sensation from the depths of your stomach to your mouth after you eat, then you’ve got pregnancy-induced indigestion and heartburn. Avoid heartburn triggers like spicy or fatty foods and caffeinated drinks and ask your doctor about pregnancy-safe heartburn remedies.
White Discharge
You may notice an increase in white creamy discharge early in pregnancy, due to higher levels of estrogen. White vaginal discharge (called leucorrhea) is nothing to worry about: This discharge is normal and can be clear to milky white, thin or thick, and mild-smelling or odorless. But vaginal discharge that's green, smells unpleasant, causes pain or itching, or seems unusual in any other way could be a sign of infection or another problem.
Abdominal Bloating
Hormonal changes in early pregnancy may leave you feeling bloated, similar to the feeling some women have just before their period.
Changes in Breasts
Rising levels of hormones cause your breasts to grow in preparation for making breast milk. Your cup size may increase. Other breast changes you may see include visible veins on your breasts, darker nipples, and more pronounced bumps on your areolas.
Your Baby at Week 8 of Your Pregnancy
How big is my baby?
Your baby is now 1.3cm long. They still look a bit like a tadpole, but the tail is getting shorter and will eventually disappear. The eyes and nose are visible, the inner ear and the tongue are developing, and the roof of the mouth is coming together with the upper jaw.
There are hands at the end of the arm buds, and webbed fingers are starting to grow. The arms and legs are made of cartilage at this stage. The reproductive organs are also developing now, but it’s too early to tell whether the baby is a boy or a girl.
The fetus is still inside the amniotic sac and getting its nutrients from a yolk sac. The placenta is developing and will attach to the wall of the womb with structures called chorionic villi.
Your baby has lips, nose and eyelids
There is an upper lip forming, the protruding tip of that cute little nose and tiny, very thin eyelids.
Your Baby is preparing to breathe
Your baby's respiratory system is forming. Breathing tubes extend from your baby's throat to the branches of their developing lungs.
Your Baby's Heartbeat
Your little one's heart is beating at the incredible rate of about 150 to 170 times per minute — roughly twice as fast as yours. And even though you can't yet feel it, baby's tiny trunk and limb buds are now twitching and making spontaneous movements.
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