The first month of your pregnancy may go by in a flash, especially since most women don’t even know they’re pregnant until Month Two or Three. However, if you’ve been trying to conceive, you may be much more in tune with what is going on in your body and may notice a few changes before you ever skip a period.

Pregnancies are exciting for everyone involved – including your partner and existing family members. For that reason, we’ve set up our Monthly Pregnancy Guide to address the changes, concerns and preparations taking place for you, your baby, and your family members.

What’s Going on For Mommy and Baby?

In truth, medical professionals consider the fertilized egg to be a zygote, rather than a baby. The meeting of the egg and sperm brought almost instantaneous changes in your body’s hormone levels. It can take almost two weeks for the fertilized egg to implant, but once that happens, your levels of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) will double every few days, and these will eventually trigger the “You’re Pregnant!” exclamation from your pregnancy stick or OB/GYN.

Once these levels elevate, your:

• Uterus will become softer to facilitate implantation
• Uterine expansion (even the smallest bit at this point) will cause you to use the restroom more frequently since it presses on your bladder.
• Breasts may begin to swell a bit and are prone to becoming tender. You might also notice that the area around your nipples (the areola) get darker and larger.

A couple of other notable changes include increased hunger (or a diminished appetite if you’re sensitive to morning sickness), and your energy may lag pretty quickly. You may think, “Am I coming down with the flu? I feel a little funny and I can never get enough sleep…” Mood swings or easy tears are another potential indicator.

In the meantime, that egg is dividing like crazy – going from a single-cell to a 32-celled organism in about four days. Once cell division is complete, it will be ready to implant into the uterus for much needed nutrients so the zygote can begin its rapid development into a fetus and then baby over the next eight months or so. By the end of this month, your tiny little zygote will already have a single-chambered heart, the beat of which is visible on an ultrasound. The body is not even an inch long and weighs less than an ounce!

If you’re noticing any signs of a potential pregnancy, schedule an appointment with your OB/GYN because the sooner you know you’re pregnant, the sooner you and your baby/zygote can get the prenatal care you deserve.

What’s Happening for Daddy?

Planned or unplanned, your partner may experience a myriad of emotions when he finds out your pregnant. Go ahead and share our blog with him so he’ll have a better understanding of what’s going on for you.

Partners: Your newly pregnant partner will need all the rest, support and good nutrition she can get her hands on. Try to take over a few of the house chores so she can sleep a little extra in the morning or enjoy a much needed nap during weekend afternoons.

What’s Happening for Sister and Brother?

Depending on the ages of your children, there’s no reason to share the news now. The first dozen weeks of pregnancy are tenuous and there’s a lot that has to go right in order for the pregnancy to proceed. Many parents opt to wait until later in month 2 or 3 before sharing the news. However, now is a good time to research age-appropriate books about pregnancy and pre-natal development to share when the time is right.

Have questions about your potential or future pregnancy plans? Looking for an OB/GYN that works with midwives? Give us a call here at Women’s Health Associates. We love to meet new patients and will be honored to be a part of your pregnancy and birthing team.