PREGNANCY WEEK 6
By this time the baby face has started to develop. Currently the baby has a very large head with tiny openings where his mouth and nostrils will be, and what look like dark patches which will turn into his eyes. He has small folds on either side of his head that will become his ears. Limb buds are present which will develop into arms and legs with paddle shaped hands, and he even has the beginning of what will become his fingers and toes.
The first blood vessels and blood cells are forming and blood begins to flow through the vessels. His heart now starts to flutter and can be seen on an ultrasound scan. His spinal cord and spine are developing more quickly than the rest of his body at the moment so it looks like has a little tail, like a tadpole, but the rest of him will catch up.
Your uterus begins to get bigger. The difference maybe felt if your doctor were to examine you internally. The volume of blood in your body starts to increase and the supply of blood to your uterus will have doubled already and will continue to increase up to the end of pregnancy.
The increasing levels of hormones will not affect only your womb but your breasts too, which tend to get bigger during the first trimester. Most women find that they increase a couple of cup sizes in a short space of time but others may find that their breast grow more gradually, wearing a soft bra at night can be helpful, if your breast are large to provide support.
The first antenatal appointment can be with your doctor or book directly with a local midwife. You can do this as soon as you find out that you are pregnant or may prefer to wait a couple of weeks, but this appointment must be relatively early in the first trimester so as to have a booking appointment before 12 weeks.
After taking your history your doctor or midwife will discuss with you what kind of antenatal care you would like, the purpose of antenatal care is to monitor your pregnancy to ensure that you and your baby stay healthy
Every pregnancy is different, so woman’s choice of antenatal care is always an individual one. She may require different types of care for different pregnancies. F you have a known medical condition or have had a previous condition during pregnancy, it may be recommended that you are cared for by the hospital obstetrician.
