Your baby
Your baby's development carries on at great speed. Until now it was really a soft little shape, but this week the beginnings of a skeleton appear. It contains no bone yet, but cartilage; the real bone cells arrive in a few weeks' time. The brain is already starting to work, the heart beats about sixty times a minute, the stomach produces gastric juices and the liver makes blood cells.
The fingers are starting to form as well, though they are still joined by skin, like little webs. Your baby is developing so quickly, and so many important things are happening, that it is very vulnerable. That is exactly why it matters so much in this period that no harmful substances such as alcohol and nicotine reach your baby.
You
Perhaps you are itching to tell everyone the great news; perhaps you would rather keep it between you and your partner a little longer. That is your own choice. Telling people early has the advantage that they can share in it with you, which is a comfort — especially when you feel dreadful. You can probably also count on more understanding when you cry off a party or call in sick at work.
Then again, there is still a chance that things go wrong, and not everyone likes others to know about that. On the other hand, you could probably use some sympathy then too. Do you feel like taking it easy for fear of a miscarriage? Do not worry: however small and fragile the embryo is, it is firmly anchored in your womb. It really will not come loose from sport or from making love.
A miscarriage is usually the result of a fault in the way the embryo formed. It happens in one in eight to ten pregnancies. Nothing could have prevented it, even if you had spent every week lying down. Often the embryo has already died before the bleeding starts. Sometimes there is no embryo at all, only an empty sac.
Bleeding
Bleeding need not always alarm you. Because your cervix now has such a rich blood supply, a small vessel can easily burst, leaving you with a few drops of blood or some coloured discharge. But if it happens often, or if you are worried, contact your midwife or doctor.
If you bleed frequently or are worried, do contact your midwife or doctor.
Your first visit to the midwife
Most midwives schedule the first visit between the eighth and tenth week. The first time in particular, the midwife sets aside extra time, because there are a great many questions for you to answer. She will ask about any earlier pregnancies, hereditary conditions in your family or your partner's, whether either of you takes medication and what illnesses you have had. Because there are questions about your partner's health too, it is handy to go together at least that first time.
The midwife will also examine you, take your blood pressure, arrange blood tests and feel your abdomen. She will discuss prenatal screening with you — the NIPT, a blood test between 9 and 14 weeks of pregnancy, and the 13- and 20-week scans.
First trimester
