Pregnancy Week 5: Fetal Development, Morning Sickness, Fatigue, Flu Shots & Eating Seafood Pregnancy Weekly

About Baby

No name change this week – your baby is still an embryo – but he or she is changing into a C shape (think elbow macaroni or those incredible crescent-shaped cookies). Your baby is the size of a sesame seed and already has a head, front, back and a tail (relax, your baby will not be born with a tail – it gets absorbed). Baby has also morphed into three layers: the ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm.

• Ectoderm: Baby’s neural tube is developing in this layer, as is nails, hair, skin, sweat glands and mammary glands. The neural tube will eventually grow Baby’s brain, nerves spinal cord and backbone.

• Mesoderm: More vital things are going on in the middle section, like forming the circulatory system and heart. The heart will actually divide this week into chambers and begin to beat (bet that made your heart skip a beat). This layer also forms bone, muscle and cartilage.

• Endoderm: Intestines, lungs, urinary system, pancreas, thyroid and liver are on the work order for this layer.

While all of these vital organs develop, rest assured that the placenta and umbilical cord have got your baby’s back (and front).

Photo: Embryo at week 5 of development

About Mom

Unfortunately, many women do start experiencing one of the notorious discomforts of pregnancy around this time. You guessed it … morning sickness. Maybe you won’t, but there’s a good chance you’ll have a great morning sickness story to tell one day. Morning sickness tends to decrease toward the end of the first trimester, but for some women it can hang on like a dog and a meaty bone. Surprisingly, the less you eat, the more nauseated you may feel. Here are some morning sickness soothers to try:

• Before you get out of bed, try eating a few crackers.

• Limit your morning movements as much as possible.

• Once you start your day, eat several small snacks and meals throughout the day.

• Ginger chews and ginger drinks may help. 

Here are even more ways to soothe morning sickness. Experience morning sickness on your way to work? Here are five tips to help pregnant moms survive the daily commute!

Feel like curling up on the couch and taking a long nap – all day? Oftentimes, fatigue is the first symptom of pregnancy. Why?

• The moment the fertilized egg implants into the lining of a woman's uterus, the body begins to secrete large amounts of progesterone. Progesterone has been shown in studies to have sedative-like effects in humans.

• A women's body is also beginning to increase overall blood volume used to carry nutrients and oxygen to the growing baby.

• Nausea, vomiting and low blood sugar can make a new mama-to-be feel quite tired in the first trimester.

• Lastly, let's not forget exhausting waves of emotions that newly pregnant moms may experience.

No judgement here if you want to nap throughout your pregnancy – you’re growing another human! Find out about fatigue in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy.

Your Health

If you're pregnant, a flu shot is your best protection against serious illness from the flu. The flu is more likely to cause severe illness in pregnant women than in women who are not. Changes during pregnancy make women who are expecting more prone to severe illness from flu, causing hospitalizations or even death. Learn more about flu shots during pregnancy.

We’ve all heard that it’s OK to have a glass of wine while pregnancy, but the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), says that no amount of alcohol should be considered safe while pregnant. Alcohol is toxic; it is a depressant and psychoactive drug that slows the brain and central nervous system and affects mood and mental processes. Once in the bloodstream, it can be carried through the umbilical cord and across the placenta where it impacts the fetus, robbing it of nutrients and affecting its developing brain. Learn more about light drinking and pregnancy. 

Try this refreshing watermelon and mint mocktail instead.

Eating fish during pregnancy has been a long talked about topic. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued revised advice regarding fish consumption for pregnant women or women who may become pregnant, as well as breastfeeding mothers and parents of young children. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) encourages pregnant women, women who may become pregnant, and breastfeeding mothers to follow the FDA and EPA’s revised advice to eat two to three servings a week (8 to 12 ounces in total) of a variety of fish; eat only one serving a week (no more than 6 ounces) of some fish, such as albacore (white) tuna and fish with similar mercury concentrations to albacore (white) tuna; and to avoid certain fish with the highest mercury concentrations. The ACOG has created a chart with the best choices, good choices and fish to avoid.

Bump Talk

“Pregnancy is a process that invites you to surrender to the unseen force behind all life.” – Judy Ford

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