Pregnancy month by month: First month of your pregnancy

Here is what happens to you during the first month of your pregnancy.

By: Debjani Arora | | Updated: March 30, 2015 5:12 pm

Most women don’t realise they are pregnant until they miss their period once or twice in a row. However, the countdown to your pregnancy starts from the first day of your last menstrual cycle, just before conception. That means you are considered to be ‘pregnant’ even before you conceive. There is a logical explanation behind this. To calculate your expected delivery date, the days are counted from the first day of your last menstrual cycle. Conception happens about 14 days after your periods start, precisely when you start to ovulate. Remember, each month you carry a fair chance, approximately 25%, to become pregnant when your ovulation starts.

What happens to your body during the first month

Ovulation: During the start of your period, approximately twenty eggs called ‘ova’ are filled within sacs termed as follicles. If you experience a normal menstrual cycle that lasts for 28 days, then you would ovulate after 14 days of the start of your cycle. During ovulation these follicles will release the egg that would travel down to your fallopian tubes and wait for sperm to fertilise it. So if you are planning to conceive, it is better to try after 14 days of the start of your menstrual period. The most fertile days of conception are two days after ovulation and five days preceding ovulation. Meanwhile there is a lot happening within your body, as it prepares for the conception phase. The level of progesterone hormone inside your system increases and your uterus wall thickens in order to hold the fertilised egg in place. The uterus starts to produce more endometrium cells (inner lining of the uterus) to help the fertilised egg thrive in a healthy environment and implant itself.

Conception: Once your partner’s sperm comes in contact with the egg and fertilises it, the fertilised egg moves back to the uterus to implant itself on its wall. The embryo now floats in the uterus, protected by the secretions of the uterus lining, and is very tiny. This is also the time when most of the pregnancy problems will start to haunt you – nausea, vomiting, GERD, sleeplessness and fatigue. The other symptoms could be of tender breasts, abdominal cramps and vaginal discharge or spotting. Though not all women face the same fate, some might not even feel the pressure of pregnancy until late. There aren’t any prominent physical changes happening at this point of time. Also know what spotting during the first trimester mean.

Implantation: Once you enter the fourth week of your pregnancy, the embryo has implanted itself well inside the uterus and started to grow at full pace and your body is also secreting a hormone known as hCG or human chorionic gonadotropin hormone. You will have a missed period by this time and a home pregnancy test now can confirm the good news. Now the hCG would also aggravate some of the common pregnancy problems, making it a little worse for some. Also read common pregnancy problems and how to dodge them.

Development of your baby

Embryo formation: Your baby isn’t formed until the first two weeks of your pregnancy. Once the fertilization takes place your baby in scientific term is called an embryo, which approximately has some 150 cells measuring somewhere between 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm in length, and is growing rapidly now. As the cells divide and it implants itself on the endometrium, the inner lining of the uterus, it gets its nutrition from it now.

During the fourth week of your pregnancy your embryo is a two layered structure comprising the amnion sac and yolk sac. The amnion sac later gets filled with amniotic fluid, which protects the embryo; whereas the yolk sac produces the blood and helps nourish the embryo until the placenta takes over.

Heart beats: At the end of the fourth week your baby is 0.4 mm long. The heart also begins to beat, blood begins to pump and other vital organs have started to develop. Soon you might have to go for your first scan to check on the developments.

Congratulations you are pregnant!

Next Month

Image source: Getty Images

Published: February 25, 2015 4:22 pm | Updated:March 30, 2015 5:12 pm

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