4 Weeks Pregnant
At week 4 you may not even know you are pregnant, but your incredibly clever body does! Your baby is smaller than a poppyseed and about 0.23mm long.
Babys Development
The first body segments appear, which will eventually form the primitive spine, brain and spinal cord. Heart, blood circulation and digestive track take shape. The embryo is now about 0.5cm long, and the head is one-third of its total length. By this stage you will have missed a period, and may be suspecting the ‘good news!’. Most pregnancy tests show a positive result at this time!
What’s Happening For The Mother
- You may be feeling more tired than usual at this point, as changes take place with your ovarian hormones. Get lots of rest.
- You may be experiencing nausea due to the increased hormone activity, that is slowing down your digestive system. Small, frequent meals can help.
- Your breasts may be feeling tender now as the blood flow increases and the tissues begin to change in preparation for milk production.
The Amniotic Sac
By the end of this week, the hollow space in the blastocyst has developed an amniotic sac which is filled with fluid and a yolk sac that will produce small blood vessels and cells, As the developing little being begins to produce it’s own blood cells, the yolk sac will degenerate.
The amniotic sac has three main functions
- To protect the developing baby
- To regulate the temperature
- To serve as a barrier against infection from outside.
What is your EDD?
- An EDD of 40 weeks is a childbirth myth that has become deeply embedded in our culture and maternity model of care.
- Normal gestation for a pregnancy is 38 – 42 weeks. That is a wide window, so focusing on a date can cause a mother to feel that her baby is late.
- The EDD is based around Naegeles Rule (a formula publicized in 1812 by a German obstetrician, Franz Naegele). He based it upon evidence from the bible that human gestation lasts approx. 10 lunar months. We have been led to believe that 280 days is an average gestation, but there is a glaring flaw in this rule, as 10 lunar months calculates to 295 days, a full 15 days longer than what we’ve been led to believe.
- There are variations to the rule of the EDD, as 1st time pregnancy gestation will differ from subsequent pregnancies.
- The EDD is also calculated on the 28 day cycle, and if a woman’s cycle is significantly longer than 28 days her baby may be forced out early, which can result in a premature baby with potential health risks at birth.
- Only 3% – 5% of babies are born on their EDD.
- 26% of labours in Australia are induced, the most common cause is ‘prolonged pregnancy’.
- Measuring a babies gestation via ultrasound is not accurate, as there is a 10% window with ultrasound measurement.
What’s the bottom line to all these dot points? It’s a GUESS DATE only, so from now on just focus on a DUE TIME (so early, mid, late ……………… month), that way you can trust in your body and baby choosing the best time to arrive!
Boy or Girl?
The male sperm provides the sex-identifying chromosome, so it is the type of sperm (male or female) that decides the sex of your baby.
Sperm with Y Chromosome = Boy
Sperm with X Chromosome = Girl
Affirmation Of The Week
I am in awe of my body
