First Week of Pragnancy

“And the stork comes to visit your house
And you are happy, and so is your spouse
Tis the time for the world to speak
Cos it is pregnancy first week”

Yes, I still remember, the time when I came to know that my pregnancy test is positive. My heart felt a lift in spirits and my mind ticked away to maddening glory as to what I would be doing for the next few weeks till the baby is born. First of all, I had to calculate the due date for the delivery. It is a little confusing to understand the calculation. One doesn’t know whether to start from the date of the last periods, or from the date of conception. Now, it is really not possible to know exactly when we conceived. So the LMP or the last menstrual period is the ideal calculation point.

Prior to the pregnancy week, we have the preparation and planning to get pregnant. The body has to be able to withstand the changes that a woman goes through during pregnancy. So the body has to prepared well and proper. It is better to quit smoking, drinking etc in case you are planning to get pregnant. Vitamin supplements also are a good bet to keep the body active and ready forfirst week of pregnancy.

Let us go through a first week of pregnancy tour to understand what exactly happens at this time. During the weeks in the initial stages of pregnancy, the body produces estrogen and progesterone so that the ovary releases the egg. When the egg fuses with the sperm, then the fertilization takes place within the uterus and the group of cells or the blastocyst is formed. This gradually grows into a full grown child. 

Now what exactly are the signs of pregnancy in its first week?  Isn’t this the question in your mind right now?

Well, the woman experiences a lot of difference in her body in the first week of pregnancy.

It is seen that even at the time of ovulation, the woman experiences a lot of cramping, then a little discomfort due to the vaginal discharge. It is said that the peak of fertility is indicated with a clear, slippery and stretchy discharge.

Pregnancy signs are seen only 10-14 days after ovulation. There are women who show symptoms even a couple of days after conception. These are rare cases.
Let me tell you about some of the signs we look out for to know that we are pregnant. Let us understand what changes the mother goes through.

The Mother

• Increased fatigue: The woman experiences fatigue more than the usual. This fatigue is due to the excess secretion of hormones within which leads to a lot of bodily changes. This results in immediate tiredness and fatigue.
• Missed period: When the `sperm fuses with the egg, it forms a blastocyst or a group of cells. This results in the egg not breaking. Thus the uterus fails to shed the eggs and thus the regular shedding of the egg or periods doesn’t occur. So a missed period is invariably a sign of pregnancy. But the woman should take medical advice, as there are many other reasons why a period wouldn’t occur. Thus she shouldn’t conclude she is pregnant just because she missed her period. She must follow it up with necessary medical attention and required medical tests.
• Nausea: When the woman is pregnant, her body secretes more of estrogen and progesterone hormones. This sudden excess secretion of hormones in the woman’s body leads to the uterine wall relaxing. This in turn, relaxes the stomach walls. Thus the digestive juices in the stomach are pushed upwards through the esophagus into the mouth.

• Tenderness of breasts: As the hormone secretions increase, the breasts also get more and more tender. This is in preparation to lactation. The breast tissues become suppler to be able to produce milk. Towards the third or fourth month, you can even see the colustrum or the first milk leaking. Thus tenderness of breasts is a very common sign of pregnancy.
• Frequent urination: The uterus is growing within to be able to accommodate the placenta and the blastocyst.AS the blastocyst implants itself in the uterus, the uterus expands and presses against the urinary bladder. This leads to leakage of urine and the woman feels like visiting the bathroom often. Thus frequency of urination is also a sign of pregnancy. 

Now that the symptoms might be very evident, we come to the more exciting part of the first week and that is deciding the baby’s due date. Often the questions that you get are “Am I pregnant?” or “When is my baby due?” As it is difficult to lay down the exact date of conception, medically the date of delivery is calculated from the last menstrual period. In the first week, there are a lot of emotional changes also for a woman. I still remember how tearful, I used to get over the slightest cause.http://www.biblehealth.com/stages-of-pregnancy-week-by-week/first-week-of-pregnancy-1.html