Pregnancy is a unique state of the female body. Moreover, every time, even with the same woman, she can manifest herself in different ways. The 5th week of pregnancy is the period at which, in most cases, it is already known about an interesting position, although the embryo is still very small.
What changes occur in the body at the 5th week of pregnancy?
Under the fifth obstetric week of pregnancy, doctors mean 3 weeks from the moment of conception. Weeks are considered to be from the start of the last menstrual period, and conception occurs approximately 2 weeks after menstruation. That is why such a difference arises.
Often it is in the fifth week that a woman finds out about her interesting situation. Most often, it is at the 5th week that the woman keeping the menstruation calendar notices that menstruation does not occur. By purchasing a pregnancy test, you can confirm your pregnancy.
If you cannot visually identify a pregnant woman at 5 weeks from a non-pregnant woman, then violent changes occur inside the body.
HCG or the hormone of pregnant women appears immediately after the embryo is attached to the uterine cavity and it increases every day. It can be found in the blood as early as 5 days after implantation. In the urine, this hormone will appear somewhat later. In a day, during a normal pregnancy, the amount of this hormone doubles. According to it, one can assume both a normal course and a frozen and ectopic pregnancy. In the last two cases, this hormone will grow much more slowly. Therefore, it is so important at first to donate blood at least several times to determine the level of hCG.
In addition to the appearance of the hCG hormone in a woman's body, the amount of progesterone increases. This hormone is responsible for relaxing the muscles of the uterus, which allows you to prevent the occurrence of hypertonia. Thanks to this hormone, the risk of spontaneous miscarriage is reduced.
Also, the expectant mother increases the production of a female hormone - estrogen. It is thanks to him that the woman's breasts swell and become very sensitive. The size of the mammary glands can even increase by several sizes.
What external changes occur in a woman at the 5th week of pregnancy?
The fetus is still very small at 5 weeks and the belly remains the same size. Although some women can talk about its increase, but rather it is the fault of progesterone, under the influence of which the intestinal motility relaxes and the stomach seems to swell. It will pass over time.
In addition, a woman at the 5th week of pregnancy may experience the following symptoms:
- Increased basal body temperature;
- Fatigue and general weakness;
- Breast enlargement and sensitivity;
- Pulling sensation in the lower abdomen;
- Toxicosis;
- New and sometimes unusual taste preferences.
The main sign of pregnancy is the absence of menstruation, although in some cases, implantation bleeding may appear, which can be easily confused. It is important to distinguish between the types of discharge possible in a pregnant woman:
- Bloody vaginal discharge most often indicates the risk of miscarriage. The mother-to-be needs to urgently call an ambulance and go to save. Delay in the onset of bloody discharge threatens the loss of the fetus.
- Yellow discharge with a pungent odor or white cheesy indicates the presence of a disease. At this time, only a specialist will be able to give the necessary recommendations and treatment that will not harm the development of the embryo.
- Light or completely transparent discharge without any pungent odor indicates a normal pregnancy and the absence of a disease.
But even if a woman does not have any complaints about her condition, then an appeal to a gynecologist at an antenatal clinic is mandatory. After all, you need to register for the examination, delivery of the necessary tests and pregnancy management.
What sensations accompany a woman at the 5th week of pregnancy?
At five weeks, hormones are seething in a woman's body with such force that her mood and behavior can radically change. Very often, the condition of the expectant mother changes dramatically. Irritability and a tearful state become a distinctive feature. A woman can take off on her spouse or loved ones, and then reproach herself for it. Knowing about the existence of pregnancy, relatives should just accept it and not get into hassles with a woman. This will not lead to anything other than unnecessary stress.
In addition to the psychological state, a woman often has toxicosis. There are several stages of this condition:
- Violent vomiting, up to 25 times throughout the day. As a result, a woman can lose up to 10 kg in weight, and her condition will be characterized by severe dehydration. That is why, at this stage of toxicosis, it is important to consult a specialist for admission to a hospital to maintain pregnancy.
- The middle stage, when vomiting can occur up to 10 times a day. As a rule, in this condition, blood pressure decreases and the pulse rate increases. In addition, dehydration of the body already appears, and weight loss reaches 3 kg.
- Mild toxicosis, which manifests itself in the form of morning vomiting or nausea during the day. General weakness may be felt, although the vital signs of the pregnant woman do not change.
In any case, if toxicosis occurs in any form during pregnancy, then it is imperative to tell the gynecologist who is leading the pregnancy.
Ultrasound at the 5th week of pregnancy
During the fifth week of pregnancy, an ultrasound scan may be done to confirm pregnancy. This ultrasound is not necessary. Most often it is done in the following cases:
- Pregnancy came about as a result of in vitro fertilization.
- In the history of the pregnant woman there were cases of ectopic pregnancy.
- Previously, the pregnant woman had one or more missed pregnancies.
- HCG values do not increase or increase more slowly than normal.
- A woman complains of discharge or pain in the uterus.
- To confirm a physiological pregnancy.
A positive hCG test result indicates a chemical pregnancy. The fact that the heart of the embryo is beating and pregnancy is developing normally can be said by ultrasound.
At five weeks, the embryo is still very small, but the doctor, with the help of research, can already determine where the head of the embryo is, and where the tail and the rudiments of the legs are. In addition, the embryo is already developing fingers on the handles. The resulting face shapes can be seen.
The length of the unborn baby is only 5-7 mm. Organs are already beginning to form from the cells. And with the help of ultrasound, you can see how the heart beats.
Already at this time, germ cells are produced in the embryo, which in the future will become either spermatozoa if a boy is born, or eggs if it is a girl.
The fetal neural tube at this time is already beginning to close. Subsequently, it will become the base for the baby's spinal cord and brain.
This week, the first vessels appear in the fetus. And the embryo begins to feed not from the yolk sac, but from the incoming nutrients from the mother's body. It is the fifth week that is significant for the formation of a mother-fetus bond.
Abortion at 5 weeks gestation
If pregnancy is undesirable for a woman for any reason, then an abortion should be done as early as possible. The earlier the date, the more possible ways there are.
The fifth week is the period when the woman just found out about pregnancy and the following methods of termination exist:
- Medical abortion using special pharmacological drugs. This type of termination of pregnancy does not imply any surgical intervention. Depending on the drug, such an abortion can be performed up to the sixth week of pregnancy.
- Mini-abortion, also called vacuum aspiration, is done only in early pregnancy. An unwanted pregnancy is terminated by suction of the fetus. This type of abortion has a low risk of complications.
- Surgical abortion in which the uterus is scraped out. This type of abortion is performed under the influence of intravenous anesthesia. After the operation, the patient is under the supervision of specialists in the ward for several hours. The cavity on which the scraping was carried out subsequently becomes the most susceptible to various kinds of infections. That is why it is so important to follow the recommendations prescribed by the doctor.
