Pregnancy is it normal

There are several types of miscarriage — threatened, inevitable, complete, incomplete or missed. Are you likely to be having a premature birth?

Read more on raisingchildren. Premature babies are born before 37 weeks of pregnancy. Our essential guide covers premature birth, babies, development, NICU and more. Have you experienced a miscarriage or stillbirth? Find articles and videos about coping with the grief of losing a pregnancy or having a stillbirth. Unfortunately half of these pregnancies may also end in miscarriage, which cannot be prevented. Read more on WA Health website.

Information about pregnancy loss, stillbirth and neonatal death, including grief and getting support. Read more on Better Health Channel website. Pregnancy, Birth and Baby is not responsible for the content and advertising on the external website you are now entering. Video call.

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Please check and try again Please enter recipient's email Recipient's email is invalid. Happy reading! Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Week 12 Week 5 — your first trimester To the outside world, you'll look much the same as usual — there's no tell-tale bump to give the game away. But inside, extraordinary things are happening. What's happening in my body? Your baby's nervous system is developing, and the brain and spinal cord are taking shape.

The tiny heart is starting to form and will beat for the first time around now. Many women realise that they're pregnant around week 5. You might notice that your period's late, you may feel a bit under the weather and think "Hmmm, am I pregnant?

If you're wondering when to take a pregnancy test, then now's a good time, as they're sensitive to changes in your urine from week 3 or 4 onwards. Finding out you're pregnant can be really exciting, but it's very normal to have worries too. More than 1 in 10 mums feel anxious during pregnancy. It's easy to get things out of proportion, as you could feel physically and emotionally exhausted, because of all the pregnancy hormones zipping around your body. Don't bottle things up — talk to your midwife or doctor.

If you're feeling stressed, try relaxing breathing exercises. Look after yourself this week, because you and your baby deserve it! Are you getting cravings? Some women do, some don't. Pregnancy cravings are caused by hormonal changes affecting your senses of taste and smell. Some mums go off coffee and curries. Others crave cake or fruit. Try eating a balanced healthy diet. If you get any weird pregnancy cravings, like wanting to eat dirt, talk to your midwife or doctor, as you may have a dangerous condition called pica caused by a lack of iron.

If you've taken a test and know that you're pregnant, then congratulations! It's still early days, and many women won't know they're pregnant at 5 weeks. We don't all have menstrual cycles that work like clockwork, so many women won't realise their period is late.

They might see spotting, and think that's their period, it can also be a sign of an embryo burying into the womb implantation bleeding.

Other mums-to-be will really start to feel the impact of the pregnancy hormone, human chorionic gonadotropin. In the first trimester, which is up until week 12, many women feel extreme tiredness. Other early signs of pregnancy, which are the same as those in week 4, can include:. There's more too! Tommy's, the baby charity, has a list of 10 common pregnancy complaints with advice on how to manage them.

If you don't have any early pregnancy symptoms, then you're probably just lucky! However if you do feel anxious about anything then use the support that's available from your midwife or doctor. Get more tips and advice on your pregnancy, baby and parenting sent to your inbox.

Subscribe to Start4Life pregnancy, baby and toddler emails What does my baby look like? Your baby, or embryo, is around 2mm long about the size of a sesame seed. The face is starting to take shape, with a tiny, weeny nose and little eyes which will stay shut until around 28 weeks.

The baby's brain and spinal cord are forming rapidly inside you. The baby-to-be already has some of its own blood vessels and a string of them will make up the umbilical cord. This cord will deliver the growing bundle of cells with everything it needs from the placenta. Try these foot exercises:. It may help to ease cramp if you pull your toes hard up towards your ankle or rub the muscle hard.

You may feel faint while pregnant. This is due to hormonal changes. Fainting happens if your brain is not getting enough blood and, therefore, not enough oxygen. You are most likely to feel faint if you stand up too quickly from a chair or out of a bath, but it can also happen when you are lying on your back. It's better not to lie flat on your back in later pregnancy or during labour. You should avoid going to sleep on your back after 28 weeks as it has been linked to a higher risk of stillbirth.

You're likely to feel warmer than usual during pregnancy. This is due to hormonal changes and an increase in blood supply to the skin. You're also likely to sweat more. Incontinence is a common problem during and after pregnancy. You might be unable to prevent a sudden spurt of pee when you cough, laugh, sneeze, move suddenly or just get up from a sitting position.

This may be temporary, because the pelvic floor muscles the muscles around the bladder relax slightly to prepare for the baby's delivery. There are exercises you can do to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. In many cases, incontinence is curable.

If you have a problem, talk to your midwife, doctor or health visitor. Needing to pee a lot often starts in early pregnancy and sometimes continues until the baby is born. In later pregnancy, it's caused by the baby's head pressing on your bladder. If you find you need to get up in the night to pee, try cutting out drinks in the late evening. However, make sure you drink plenty of non-alcoholic, caffeine-free drinks during the day to stay hydrated.