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From this week, the second calendar month of the gestational period began. For the birth of a child, more than six months must pass. At the 6th week of pregnancy, the fetus is actively developing, and the woman feels significant changes in her condition.
Methods for calculating the duration of pregnancy
If a little more than a month has passed since the beginning of the last menstruation, the sixth week of pregnancy began according to the obstetric method of calculating the term. The embryonic method starts counting from the estimated day of ovulation. Normally, this process occurs in the middle of the menstrual cycle. In accordance with this, there is a difference of 2 weeks between the embryonic and obstetric gestational age. The sixth week according to the embryonic method corresponds to the eighth obstetric week.
Недостаток эмбрионального метода – он неточен при нерегулярном менструальном цикле, когда менструации у женщины приходят каждый раз в разное время. Такая особенность организма может быть индивидуальной, возникает как следствие отмены гормональных контрацептивов, появления гормонозависимых патологий.
In this case, other methods for determining the gestational age are used:
Measuring the size of the fetus during an ultrasound;
Statement of the period of the first fetal movement (during the first pregnancy, movement is felt at 20 weeks).
The accuracy of determining the gestational age is important for calculating the expected date of birth, determining the start date for maternity leave, and issuing a sick leave.
How to confirm pregnancy – 4 methods
At the 6th week of pregnancy, test strips or a blood test for hCG will certainly show a positive result, since there is an increased content of chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone secreted by the corpus luteum of pregnancy, in the blood and urine of a pregnant woman.
During an ultrasound scan of the uterus, a 6 OB week embryo looks like a tiny bright dot against a darker uterus. Ultrasound is done according to indications, this method is not used at this stage to determine the period.
Possible information obtained during ultrasound at week 6:
Наличие многоплодной беременности;
The presence of an ectopic pregnancy;
Presence of fetal heartbeat.
It is impossible to determine the sex of the fetus at this time, since the external genital organs of the embryo are not yet developed.
During a gynecological examination, the doctor will definitely detect visual signs of pregnancy – an increase in the uterus to the size of a plum, a change in its color. Outwardly, a pregnant woman in most cases looks as usual – her belly has hardly increased.
What happens to the fetus at 6 weeks?
At the 6th obstetric week of pregnancy, the embryo has already existed for 4 weeks. It weighs about 4 g, its height is 1 cm, and the embryo itself looks like a cylinder, curved in the shape of the letter C. The volume of amniotic fluid is 3 milliliters. Brain bubbles appear at the head end of the cylinder – the rudiments of the future hemispheres of the brain. The neural tube is tightened, it is transformed into the embryonic nervous system. Cells of the future central nervous system begin rapid reproduction.
Due to this, the embryo begins to respond to external stimuli by bending in lateral directions. On the future face, the rudiments of the nose, ears, mouth stand out, eye fossae are noticeable – visual vesicles. The internal organs continue their formation – the liver, lungs, trachea, bronchi, stomach, trachea, pancreas develop. One of the most important organs of the immune system, the thymus, or thymus, begins its development.
The little heart still looks like a tube, but it is already making about 140 beats per minute. This heart rate is the norm for the fetus at 6 weeks of gestation. The heartbeat can already be detected and measured during an ultrasound scan.
The embryo develops cartilage tissue – the basis of the future musculoskeletal system. On the side opposite the head end, the fetus has a tail, which in the future will become the coccyx. On the limbs of the fetus, knee and elbow bends are outlined, fingers grow slightly.
What happens in the female body?
At the 6th week of pregnancy, the active development of the umbilical cord and placenta begins – a child’s place, which supplies the fetus with nutrition and oxygen until the very birth. Until now, these functions have been assigned to the yolk sac, which will soon cease to exist. The fetal bladder will become a reliable protection for the fetus from physical influence from the outside. Already at this time, the fetus gets the opportunity to move in the amniotic fluid.
The enlarged uterus puts pressure on the bladder, causing the woman to urinate frequently. When the uterus rises above the level of the womb, these sensations will no longer annoy the pregnant woman. It is important at this stage to differentiate a similar symptom of pregnancy from signs of cystitis – pain and cramps in the lower abdomen, radiating to the lower back. If left untreated, the infection will spread upward to the ureters and kidneys, causing pyelonephritis.
At this time, it is time to register in the antenatal clinic, even if the woman does not feel any negative symptoms and the pregnancy is easy. The doctor will prescribe the necessary diagnostic procedures, taking vitamin and mineral complexes.
Hormones
The content of the main hormone of pregnancy – progesterone, is still increasing. Progesterone maintains pregnancy, ensuring its normal course, preventing increased uterine contractions. Human chorionic gonadotropin, or hCG, secreted by the placenta, increases its concentration in the blood of a pregnant woman. Normally, the level of hCG rises until the end of the first trimester of pregnancy, and the level of progesterone – until the fortieth week of pregnancy. Monitoring of the content of hormones is carried out with the threat of miscarriage, with suspicion of an ectopic pregnancy.
Feelings of a pregnant woman at 6 weeks
The general condition due to the impact of hormonal changes in the body is characterized by a breakdown, constant fatigue and lethargy, and changes in the emotional state. Mood within a short time can change dramatically from euphoria to moodiness and increased irritability. Taste preferences change – favorite foods cease to attract, there are strange for others addictions to the absorption of sweet, salty, exotic fruits, minerals.
Physical changes in a woman’s body:
cessation of menstruation;
increased sensitivity and soreness of the chest;
darkening of the nipples and areolas around them;
increase in waist;
digestive disorders – heartburn, colic, constipation;
a decrease in blood pressure;
changes in the condition of the skin of the face and body – the appearance of acne, porosity and friability of the epidermis;
increased sensitivity to temperature fluctuations.
All changes are associated with changes in the physiology of the female body, designed to maintain pregnancy.
Video about what happens in the female body at the 6th week of pregnancy, about sensations and possible problems: