The 3rd week of pregnancy is the period when, in most cases, the expectant mother does not even know about pregnancy. Although a small life has already begun.
Fetus at 3 weeks gestation
At this time, the unborn child is still difficult to call a child. From the moment of fertilization, about one week passed, during which the fertilized egg moved along the fallopian tube and ended up in the uterine cavity. During this week, the unborn child is called a zygote. During this week, the cells were continually dividing. First, two cells were formed, then four, then 16, and so on. This process has been studied for a long time. Doctors embryologists and reproductologists constantly see it in the protocols of in vitro fertilization.
In the process of passing through the fallopian tube, the zygote turns into a morula. And the blastocyst has already entered the uterine cavity. Its dimensions are approximately 0.1 millimeter. And now her task is to attach to the woman's endometrium. This process, although it seems so small, is one of the most important. After all, if the blastocyst is attached in the wrong place (in the fallopian tube or in the pocket formed after tubectomy), then later the woman will urgently need a gynecological operation.
Unfortunately, about 75% of fertilized eggs do not take root. The following reasons may contribute to this:
- Cell division defects.
- Hormonal disorders in a woman.
- Diseases associated with the endometrium (inflammation, endometritis, endometrial hyperplasia, hypoplasia, neoplasms, etc.).
- Sexually transmitted diseases.
- Infections in a woman's body.
- Stress.
In some cases, the blastocyst cannot attach to the endometrium for no reason. Therefore, even with IVF, a woman cannot be sure that pregnancy will definitely come.
If the blastocyst does not attach, then at this stage it is not considered a miscarriage. The woman does not even know that she was practically pregnant, the cells will simply leave the body along with the onset of menstruation.
If everything goes well, then the blastocyst, which is fixed in the uterine cavity, increases the number of cells inside itself every hour. Moreover, it is interesting that these cells are universal. Any of them can become in the future both the liver and the stomach and even the skin.
When the number of cells increases to the required size, the blastocyst begins to elongate and enters the embryonic disc stage. By the end of this week, the disc will coagulate and the head will begin to develop at one end, and the tail of the embryo at the second.
For a period of three weeks, the body of the expectant mother perceives the unborn child as a foreign body and tries to get rid of it. If the baby overcomes these difficulties, it means that in 9 months a new person will be born.
How does a woman feel at 3 weeks pregnant?
At this time, the expectant mother does not yet know about the existence of a new life within herself. According to the female calendar, there is still about a week until the end of the menstrual cycle. And a woman can throw off all possible symptoms of pregnancy on premenstrual syndrome.
As soon as the embryo is attached to the uterus, the body and hormonal levels begin to restructure. As a result, a woman may experience the following changes in her condition:
- Slight increase in overall body temperature. As much as possible, it can rise to 37.5 ° C. An increase in temperature is associated with an increase in the body of the hormone progesterone.
- Fatigue.
- Due to the jump in hormones, pimples and changes in skin type can appear.
- Irritability and emotional instability. Tearfulness is possible because of any little thing.
- Slight pulling pains in the lower abdomen.
- Nausea and intolerance to odors.
In addition to all of the above, a woman's breasts may swell. She can often go to the toilet. In general, the condition is very similar to premenstrual syndrome.
What kind of discharge may appear at 3 obstetric week?
During the period of blastocyst implantation, bleeding may occur. The mucous membrane of the endometrium at this moment is exposed, as a result of which its integrity is disrupted. Vessels at this moment may also suffer. Their main difference from menstrual bleeding is the beginning. Blastocyst attachment occurs approximately 6-12 days after ovulation. And menstruation will begin only after 14 days.
Also, implantation bleeding can be easily distinguished from menstruation by the following features:
- The duration of your period is on average 3 to 6 days. Implantation bleeding lasts only a few hours. In rare cases, their duration can be increased to a maximum of two days.
- The intensity of bleeding as a result of implantation is very weak. There may be just a few drops of blood on your underwear. Menstruation is much stronger.
- Blood color during implantation ranges from light pink to pale brown.
All of the above is typical in the normal course of pregnancy. If implantation occurs outside the uterus, the following symptoms may occur:
- During implantation, sharp cutting pains in the lower abdomen may occur.
- The highlight color turns brown. This is due to the fact that blood passes through the fallopian tubes and is oxidized before it leaves.
- Severe dizziness and nausea may occur.
In addition to menstruation and implantation bleeding, the appearance of blood from the genital tract can be a symptom of one of the following diseases and conditions:
- Sexually transmitted diseases.
- Injuries after intercourse.
- Vaginosis, inflammation in the uterine cavity and endometriosis.
- Neoplasms.
- Early miscarriage.
- Hormonal disorders.
Therefore, in the event of bleeding outside the period of menstruation, it is worth contacting a gynecologist.
Can a pregnancy test be done at the 3rd week of pregnancy?
At the moment when the blastocyst is attached to the uterus, the release of a special hormone of pregnant women - human chorionic gonadotropin begins. It is thanks to him that the appearance of the first chorions occurs - the villi, which later become the placenta. Also, hCG affects the corpus luteum in such a way that the production of progesterone occurs. Progesterone, in turn, gives a signal to the woman's pituitary gland that pregnancy has begun and ovulation is now useless. This work of hormones will continue until about the sixteenth week of pregnancy. Then the placenta itself will be able to form the required amount of progesterone and the importance of the hCG hormone is lost.
HCG can be determined in blood or urine. Immediately after the attachment of the blastocyst, hCG already begins to appear in the blood. Its concentration is very small, but every 48 hours it approximately doubles.
In urine, the concentration is an order of magnitude lower than in blood. Standard pregnancy tests suggest a urine concentration of this hormone of at least 25 mU / ml. And such an amount or more will be observed approximately on the fourteenth day after fertilization, that is, on the first day of the delay in the expected menstruation. If you make a pregnancy test ahead of time, then the indicator may be false negative and you will have to redo it later.
In the presence of pregnancy, literally after 2 weeks, the concentration of hCG should be at least 5 international units per liter. And if you donate blood for hCG again in a day, it will double. If the second time the concentration is increased by a smaller number of units, is equal to the previous indicator or decreases, then most likely it is either an ectopic pregnancy, or the blastocyst has stopped developing and menstruation will begin soon.
