PREGNANCY WEEK 7
Your baby is just beginning to straighten up from his curled-over comma shape; through he still looks like a tadpole with long back in relation to the length of his limbs. The red blood cells that carry oxygen round the body start to be produced by the baby’s liver, taking over from the yolk sac. When your baby’s bones are formed, the bone marrow will be the producer of blood cells.
Your baby’s skin is translucent and very tiny; his face continues to develop; his ears, palate and nose are forming, along with the lenses in his eyes. The paddle- shaped hands are changing, with the fingers and toes becoming more defined and webbed. He is beginning to move around; the movements are jerky and can be seen on an ultrasound scan, by this point your baby is approximately a centimetre in length.
You will be producing lots of hormones oestrogen during your pregnancy. At this stage it is still being produce by the (shell of the egg) but it will mainly be produced by the placenta once it is formed and functioning, your baby is also involved in the production of oestrogen irrespective of its sex.
Bleeding during first trimester of pregnancy is extremely common, affecting up to one in three women. It does not always you are having a miscarriage. A miscarriage is the loss of an embryo or foetus within the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. Any bleeding in pregnancy should be investigated by a doctor.
A healthy diet in pregnancy is basically the same as a healthy diet outside pregnancy – balanced and varied in carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins and minerals.
Pregnancy is a good time to look at your diet to see if you can improve what you are eating. However, remember that it is very common for women in the first trimester to feel nauseous and not eat very much, or to eat strange and restrictive combination of food. Try not to think about this as long as you are drinking enough fluids your baby will be getting the nutrients he needs from your body.
