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The Early Days of Pregnancy
Congratulations! You’ve got that positive pregnancy test and you’re starting on a new journey together with your growing baby. What happens now? What should you expect in the early days of pregnancy?
How you might feel
While you may feel just the same as normal, many pregnant women and people start to feel some changes in their body in the first few days and weeks of pregnancy. Tiredness is a common one, caused by the body needing to make huge physical and hormonal adjustments to the little one on board. Needing to wee a lot is very common! Nausea and/or sickness is a symptom experienced by many pregnant people. While it may be called morning sickness it can go on all day and for some it can be truly miserable. Extreme morning sickness, called hyperemesis gravidarum is quite rare but can make you very ill so see a doctor if you are really struggling to keep food or liquids down throughout the day.
Another interesting early sign of pregnancy is being able to smell things more clearly! Although not everyone experiences this, for some it can be a wonderful experience. For others it can trigger more nausea and sickness and be a rather miserable experience. But hang on in there, for many women the morning sickness does pass in time.
Who you might see?
It can be quite surprising to find that you’re unlikely to see a midwife until around 8 or 10 weeks of pregnancy. Depending on how busy the service is it may be slightly earlier, but could even be longer. If you find out that you’re pregnant at around your first missed period, so about 4 weeks of pregnancy, this month of waiting could feel like forever, and many women and people describe feeling as though no one is there to care for them at a time when they have hundreds of questions. Of course, this is when people often reach out to social media, where like-minded souls can support one another through these exciting and challenging times.
When you do see the midwife, she’ll ‘book you’, which means asking lots of questions and starting a file of maternity notes for you. She may offer to weigh you, do a blood test and check your urine. Every test is optional. Before doing any of these tests the midwife should tell you what the pros and cons of them are, and what benefits and risks any tests may have. So if you want to ask questions, feel free to do so. Their job is to provide you with the answers!
Working out your due date?
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In Summary
Early pregnancy may be a magical, exciting and sometimes worrying time. Knowing what to expect can help you to enjoy these first few weeks, often a time when the pregnancy is a secret between you. We hope that this article helps you to enjoy this time a little more.
References
5 January 2022The Roles of Hormones in Pregnancy
There are many different hormones that all play a really important role in your pregnancy, from before you become pregnant to after you have given birth!
20 September 2021Thinking of having a doula?
Doulas are (usually) women who support pregnant parents through pregnancy and birth.
20 September 2021Home birth – could it be right for you?
Giving birth in hospital is a relatively recent option for women and people in the UK. Even as recently as the 1970s many women still gave birth outside of hospital.
