Week 4

If this pregnancy wasn’t planned, this may be around the time that you might start wondering if you’re pregnant. This is the time when you should be avoiding all medications unless you've checked with your caregiver about their safety during pregnancy. Some women notice a metallic taste in their mouths about now, no one knows the reason for this, but researchers suspect that it has to do with the change in hormone levels.

As weird as it may sounds, this week would be the week you are encourage to start an exercise routine. Exercise will help your body to develop muscle tone, strength and manage those weight that you’ll be putting on. It also helps you during labour and makes it easier for your body to get back in shape after that. Yoga is good too.

Your baby:

Although you are as yet unaware that you are pregnant, your baby is already undergoing great changes. The fertilized egg is now a quickly growing ball of cells called a blastocyst. It is embedded more deeply in the uterine wall and the amniotic cavity is being formed. The group of cells that will make up the placenta is being organized and circulatory networks containing maternal blood are being formed.

Three layers of cells are sorting themselves out within the blastocyst. The ectoderm will form the nervous system, hair and skin of your baby. The endoderm will become the lining of the gastrointestinal tract, and various organs like the thyroid, liver and pancreas. Finally the mesoderm will develop into the skeleton, connective tissues, blood systems, urogenital system and most of the muscles.