Pregnancy

the first week of pregnancy

Week 1 of pregnancy would actually be considered the first week after ovulation when the sperm fertilized the egg. Because the day of ovulation is difficult to calculate, doctors think the first day of pregnancy to be the first day of the last period, because once the woman has become pregnant, she will not have periods during the pregnancy. Don't worry if these calculations seem confusing, you're not alone. In this article, we will tell you about what happens in the first week after the fertilization of the egg.

What does ovulation mean and how do we relate to the first week of pregnancy?

After the menstrual bleeding, we could popularly say that the uterus has "renewed" its lining so that it is ready to hold a pregnancy if the egg will be fertilized. This happens month after month.

For a woman with a regular, 28-day menstrual cycle, ovulation would occur on day 14 from the first day of her last period. But it doesn't always happen that way. Some women may ovulate early, and others may ovulate spontaneously (this may even overlap with menstrual bleeding, which explains why there are cases of women getting pregnant during menstruation).

But, on average, ovulation occurs between days 10 and 16 from the first day of the last period, with individual variations.

If you want to know more about your fertile period, we recommend ovulation tests, which can be bought at the pharmacy. Ovulation also has some symptoms and signs that you can monitor:

• On the day of ovulation, the body temperature rises a little.
• Some women may feel pain in the ovulating ovary.

It is important to know a few aspects:

• Sperm can live in the female genital organs for several days, up to 3 or even 5 days.
• The lifespan of the egg after ovulation is usually quite short, on average 24 hours.

What does this information mean? 

It means that if the woman has unprotected sex 3-5 days before ovulation, she can get pregnant. She can also get pregnant on the day of ovulation.

This is why experts say there is a window of a few days a month when a woman can get pregnant.

In the first week of pregnancy... you can't know for sure if you're pregnant.

In the first week of pregnancy, basically, the ovum has been fertilized by the sperm and the "egg" cell is about to multiply, to constitute the first form of fetal development: the morula.

This cell division occurs as the fertilized egg advances through the fallopian tube to the uterus.

It is a very important period because in some situations the fertilized egg can get stuck on the fallopian tube, which will lead to ectopic pregnancy, a medical-surgical emergency.

The morula will implant in the uterus only two weeks after ovulation, i.e. from the fertilization of the egg, an event called "nidation", which can produce minor bleeding in some women - implantation bleeding. This bleeding can sometimes be confused with menstruation. 

So, we will talk about pregnancy in the uterus only from the third week of pregnancy, the third week after the fertilization of the egg.

We make this mention because, when the doctor will calculate the date of birth, this calculation will not start from the moment of ovulation, but from the first day of the last period (menstruation before fertilization of the egg).

The fetus in the first week of pregnancy?

As we said above, we cannot yet speak of actual pregnancy, even if the egg has been fertilized, because nidation has not yet taken place - implantation of the egg in the uterus.

During this period there are still many risks. Rather, the "fetus" consists of a multitude of dividing cells that multiply and form the morula.

Symptoms of the mother in the first week of pregnancy

It is much too early for the mother to show symptoms, so she will not even know she is pregnant.

Pregnancy test in the first week of pregnancy

The pregnancy test can be considered relevant only after 2 weeks after fertilization of the egg, that is, 2 weeks after ovulation. This means that for a woman with a regular menstrual cycle, the pregnancy test can only be done when the next period is due.

Here's why a late period is a good sign for a possible pregnancy.

Done too early, the pregnancy test can be falsely negative.

What should the expectant mother know in the first week of pregnancy, if she suspects pregnancy?

If the woman monitored the period of ovulation and maintained unprotected sexual contact during the fertile period, there is a fairly high chance that she became pregnant.

Specialists recommend that women take folic acid supplements from the very first day of ovulation.

What's more.

if the pregnancy is desired and the couple is trying to have a child, folic acid is recommended from the preconception period, to "charge the reserves" of the body. Folic acid is essential for the good development of the pregnancy and the fetus in the first weeks of the gestation period.

It is also good for the woman to stop smoking, drinking alcohol, and exposing herself to toxic noxious.