- Pregnancy at 1-3 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 4 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 5 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 6 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 7 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 8 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 9 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 10 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 11 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 12 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 13 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 14 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 15 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 16 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 17 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 18 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 19 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 20 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 21 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 22 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 23 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 24 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 25 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 26 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 27 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 28 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 29 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 30 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 31 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 32 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 33 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 34 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 35 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 36 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 37 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 38 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 39 Weeks
- Pregnancy at 40 Weeks
Your Body at 1-3 Weeks
Your pregnancy is dated from the start of your last period, although conception usually occurs 2 weeks later. Thus, by the time you miss a period, you will probably be 5 weeks pregnant. A full-term pregnancy lasts 40 weeks so your estimated date of delivery (EDD) will be 40 weeks from your last menstrual period (LMP). Making a note of this date helps the midwife when it comes to working out your due date.
Development
Approximately 14 days before your period is due, your body releases an egg (ovum) and the lining of your uterus starts to thicken. It only takes one sperm - out of the millions that are released and the hundreds that make the long journey up the Fallopian tube - to fertilize the egg and for the process of growth and development to begin.
The tail separates from the head of the sperm as soon as it penetrates the egg, and cell division begins. Within hours, the fertilized egg becomes two cells, then four, then eight and so on, and is called a zygote. Approximately 4 days after fertilization it is a solid cluster of cells, called a morula.
About a week after fertilization, the ball of cells -now hollow in the centre and called a blastocyst -reaches the uterus. The blastocyst will attach itself to the wall of your uterus and begin to embed deep into its lining. This process is called implantation.
The cluster of cells very guickly produces an outer layer, which will develop into the placenta and amniotic sac, and an inner layer, which will develop into the embryo. The outer layer has root-like structures that bury into the lining of the uterus. These become the route by which nutrients and oxygen are transported from your circulation to what will soon be the developing placenta and embryo.
Appearance
The morula is microscopic in size and resembles a mulberry. By the time it implants in the uterus, at around day 10, it resembles a greyish blackberry and is called a blastocyst. This hollow cluster of cells will grow and develop into the embryo.