3 WEEKS PREGNANT

FIRST TRIMESTER

Your baby is a blastocyst!

LENGTH

0. 1 mm – 0.2 mm

WEIGHT

0.004 mg

COUNTDOWN

37 weeks to go!

Because doctors begin tracking pregnancy on the first day of your last period, Week Three of pregnancy is probably your first week of actually being pregnant, congratulations! However, you still may not be sure if you are pregnant because you probably have not had time to miss a period and there still may not be enough hormones (hCG) in your body for a pregnancy test to detect.

What should I be doing during Week 3 of pregnancy?

Now that you are potentially caring for a budding baby, it is extremely important that you take good care of your body. This will help your soon-to-be baby help develop and grow properly. Some lifestyle changes you can make include:

Eating a well-balanced diet will ensure your baby-to-be is receiving the proper amount of nutrition for development. During Week Three you should increase your iron intake, eat calcium rich foods, and eat plenty of protein.

Having an exercise routine during pregnancy is very important. If you already have a routine before pregnancy, you will probably not have to change anything. If you do not have an exercise routine built into your schedule, you should talk to your doctor about incorporating exercise into your daily routine.

Taking prenatal vitamins will help reduce the risk of birth defects, along with helping the baby-to-be get the nutrients needed to develop. Look for vitamins with folic acid, vitamin D, and calcium.

Throughout pregnancy you may experience frequent urination, vomiting, diarrhea, and other bodily functions that may make you dehydrated. By increasing the amount of fluids you consume, you will lower the risk of dehydration.

As soon as you decide you want to become pregnant, or find out you are pregnant, you should avoid alcohol products, tobacco products, and both legal and illegal drugs. You should also decrease your caffeine consumption and talk to your doctor about any medications you use and the risks they have with pregnancy. Adjustments may have to made, even temporarily, while you are pregnant and sometimes after if you are breastfeeding.

Pregnancy Changes During Week 3

You probably haven’t noticed too many changes with your body if you are pregnant. This is because your body has just began producing hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin), which is the hormone your body produces when it becomes pregnant. You may have noticed a little bloating, breast tenderness, and other symptoms mentioned in Week 2, but you probably will not begin showing until Week 12.

At Home Pregnancy Test

All About Baby Week 3

During Week Three of pregnancy, the embryo is multiplying its cells, becoming a blastocyst, while it is traveling through the fallopian tubes, making its way to the uterus. This takes about three to four days. While this is happening, the hormone hCG tells your body to stop producing eggs and to stop shedding its inner liner. This allows the placenta to start growing. Along with the placenta, the amniotic sac also begins to form and fill with fluid. Basic development of the brain, heart, and spinal cord have began. The babies hair color, eye color, and other features have also been determined!

Pregnancy Symptoms

3 Weeks Pregnant Common Symptoms

Many women do not start experiencing symptoms until later in the pregnancy, however some early signs of pregnancy may include:

When the embryo attaches itself to the uterine wall, it may cause some blood vessels to break. This could result in light bleeding for up to a few days.

Because your body is producing many new hormones it may not be used to, it is not uncommon to experience nausea throughout your pregnancy.

You may notice that your breasts have become sore or you may have noticed changes in your breasts, like darker nipples. This is because when you become pregnant your body starts preparing for breastfeeding by making tissue to help store milk.

If you have a regular 28 day cycle, you may have not had time to miss a period. However some women may miss a period during their Week Three of pregnancy.

Before you take a test, make sure you look at the box to see how accurate it is, and when. Some will be 99% accurate on Week 4. If you take the test and it comes back negative, don’t worry. There may not be enough hCG in your body for the pregnancy test to detect. Try taking another test in a couple days.

Abdominal pain is typically nothing to worry about during pregnancy. After all your body is going through a lot of changes! This pain can be caused by the attachment of the embryo to the uterus, increased blood flow, or your uterus growing.

With all the hormones produced while you are pregnant, you may be experiencing a metallic taste. This will likely go away between the second and third trimester, but until then you can try gargling salt water and eating acidic foods.

Weekly Pregnancy Checklist

Week 3 Pregnancy Checklist

Here are some things to consider during Week 3 of your pregnancy

Miscarriage Risk

During the first weeks of pregnancy, 50-70% of pregnancies end in miscarriage. However, this happens before most women have a positive pregnancy test so they never knew they were pregnant.

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