Pregnancy Week 7 & 8

Have you started to share the news yet? It is entirely up to you when you begin telling your friends and family

Your Pregnancy Week 7

What is happening with your baby at pregnancy week 7?

The brain is growing rapidly, and this results in the head growing faster than the rest of the body.¹
Are you longing to see your baby's face on his or her birthday? You have a long way to go until then, but your baby's face is taking shape.
- The mouth, nostrils, ears, and eyes are some of the facial features that become more defined this week.²
Dreaming of a son or daughter to play ball with? The arm bud that developed just last week has a hand on the end of it, which looks like a tiny paddle.²

Your baby is about the size of a grape.³

Your womb has grown to the size of a lemon by the time you're around 7 or 8 weeks pregnant.¹
You're probably feeling tired. Your breasts might feel sore and enlarged, and you may need to pee more often than usual.¹
For most women, feelings of nausea and vomiting (morning sickness) start to improve by the time they're around 14 weeks pregnant.¹

You have now completed almost two months!

What is happening with your baby when you are 8 weeks pregnant?^4,5

Everything that is present in an adult human is now present in your baby.
The ears are continuing to form externally and internally.
The bones are beginning to develop, and the muscles can contract.
Fingers and toes are webbed and are growing longer.
The tip of the nose is present, and the eyelids are now more developed.
The embryonic tail is also disappearing, and your baby’s body is beginning to straighten out.
While your baby’s gender has already been determined, the external genitals are still forming and cannot be clearly seen.

Although it may not look like your body has changed from the outside, many changes have occurred throughout your body.
Before you were pregnant, your uterus was about the size of your fist, but it is now about the size of a grapefruit.
You may have noticed changes in your breasts as well. They may be more tender and sensitive. This is completely normal as your body is preparing for lactation.
Another change that has occurred that you may not be aware of is that your blood volume has increased by 40 to 50 percent.

Good prenatal care is extremely important for the health and safe delivery of your baby, so be sure to make prenatal appointments a top priority.⁵
During pregnancy, some women develop oily skin and have acne. If you are using over-the-counter medications to treat this, it is important that you know what ingredients the products contain. If you have questions regarding the safety of a particular medication during pregnancy, it is best to consult with your doctor or a pharmacist.⁴
Beating the pregnancy blues:⁶
- No matter how excited you are about having a baby, there are likely to be times when you'll feel anxious and stressed.
- It's hard to think clearly when you're feeling sick and tired, so look after yourself and get as much rest as you can. Eat six small healthy meals a day.
- You could also experiment with mindfulness, which is a technique designed to help you enjoy life more by focusing on the here and now.

NIH. You and your baby at 7 weeks pregnant. Page last reviewed: 17 July 2018. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/week-by-week/1-to-12/7-weeks/. Last accessed at: 19.09.2021.
Nemours KidsHealth. Parents: Week 7. Available at: https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/week7.html. Last accessed at: 19.09.2021
NHS. Start 4 life. Week-by-week guide to pregnancy. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/start4life/pregnancy/week-by-week/1st-trimester/week-7/#anchor-tabs. Last accessed at: 04/10/2021
American Pregnancy Association. Pregnancy Week 8. Available at: https://americanpregnancy.org/healthy-pregnancy/week-by-week/8-weeks-pregnant/. Last accessed at: 19.09.2021.
Nemours KidsHealth. Parents: Week 8. Available at: https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/week8.html. Last accessed at: 19.09.2021.
NHS. Start 4 life. Week-by-week guide to pregnancy. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/start4life/pregnancy/week-by-week/1st-trimester/week-8/#anchor-tabs. Last accessed at: 04/10/2021