Your Baby’s Growth and Development
During pregnancy week 3 your baby begins to grow at an amazing rate.
Your baby is still very small, too small at this point for the naked eye
to see. By pregnancy 3 weeks your baby transforms into a small ball of
rapidly dividing cells. Your baby is small enough to fit through a
pinhole right now, or smaller than a grain of sand. As you watch your
baby grow while following your pregnancy week by week, you’ll notice
just how quickly this tiny ball of cells starts looking more and more
human.
Many women start wondering by pregnancy week 3 if they are pregnant.
You may feel confident you conceived or may have questions. Since you
may not miss your period for another week, there are no surefire ways to
detect your pregnancy using traditional means.
During 3 weeks pregnant doctors often refer to your baby as an
embryo. Your embryo is growing at a lightening fast pace. Your baby now
consists of chromosomes contributed from you and your husband or
partner. Your partner contributes 23 chromosomes, as do you. These tiny
genetic ingredients help form your baby’s unique features as he grows
and develops in the weeks to come.
During pregnancy at 3 weeks a tiny amount of amniotic fluid will
start surrounding the embryo in preparation for the next 37 weeks of
pregnancy. A cavity will slowly form the amniotic sac, which helps
cushion and protect your baby during pregnancy. The placenta will start
growing in roughly another week, providing your baby with the nutrients
he needs to survive during pregnancy.
Changes in Your Body
You may start noticing slight changes in your body during pregnancy
week 3. Some examples include slight nipple tenderness or bloating in
the abdomen. Many women experience a light cramping in one side of their
lower abdomen during this time. Still others may realize some slight
spotting around the time of ovulation. This may be a sign of ovulation
or implantation, where the egg burrows into the lining of the uterus.
This slight spotting often clears up within a few days. Many women don’t even
notice it. Some women will not experience ovulation or implantation spotting; so
don’t worry if you don’t. Many women who are trying to conceive recognize the
signs of ovulation around pregnancy week three. You may notice you start feeling
slightly bloated and premenstrual at this time. Keep in mind the earliest signs
of pregnancy are similar to those associated with your period.
How Can You Calculate Your Baby’s Due Date?
Your baby’s due date is nothing more than an estimate of when your
baby will appear in this world. Keep in mind that roughly 5% of women
have their baby’s on their actual due date. Most women have their baby’s
in the one to two weeks before or after their due date.
Most healthcare providers use a handy calculator that calculates your
pregnancy from the start of your last period. This means you are
considered pregnant before your conception, as week one of your
pregnancy is calculated as the start of your period.
It sounds confusing, but helps your doctor produce a due date roughly
40 weeks from the time of your period. This means your pregnancy lasts
roughly 38 weeks from the time you conceive.
Will you have your baby on or around your due date? It is hard to
say. Most first time mothers tend to go over their due date by one or
two weeks. If you have already had a baby, you might predict your due
date based on previous deliveries. If for example you tend to have your
baby’s around 38 weeks, the chances are somewhat high you will have a
baby around the same time in following pregnancies. Remember however,
each baby is different. When it comes to calculating a due date, there
simply are no certainties!
Read next about your baby's growth and development, as well as the
changes in your body during
pregnancy week 4.
