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Week
11/15/2008 - by Anne Marie Nielson
Pregnancy Week
5
You're Pregnant! Week
5
If you've shared the news that you're pregnant, you may be
starting to get some ribbing about strange food cravings. While
most pregnant women don't actually crave pickles on their ice
cream, cravings can be pretty strong at times. Some researchers
believe that cravings are your body's way of telling you what
it needs.
If you find yourself craving salty foods, your body may need
more sodium to keep up with additional blood production. If
sour seems to satisfy best, it may be that it is helping you
deal with nausea. Sour pickles, lemons, and fruits help you
stave off that feeling as well as giving you nutrients your
baby needs. Bitter flavors are generally not tolerated well,
especially in early pregnancy. This may be an attempt by your
body to keep away from poisonous foods, as many of them are
bitter. If you find yourself craving sweets, try upping your
protein. This craving can often be curbed by giving your body
more building blocks for you and baby.
Unusual cravings may be a problem, however, if you are craving
non-food items. Some women have cravings during pregnancy for
clay, sand, bleach or other items. If you find yourself craving
any of these things, discuss it with your care provider.
YOUR BABY
Your baby's head grows a lot this week to accommodate that
growing brain, which is adding a hundred cells a minute. The
face is becoming more defined. Muscles and nerves are also
developing. The heart has made its atrial division. The arms
are showing the beginnings of elbows and hands. Your baby's
body starts to twitch involuntarily as it starts testing out
various connections. Fingers begin their development, but are
not separated yet.
Your baby is between ¼ and 1/3 inch long… about the length of a
TicTac or the eraser on a pencil. It sounds small, but that's
about 10,000 times larger than your baby started out only a few
short weeks ago.
YOUR BODY
Your uterus is undergoing some major changes. It is about the
size and shape of your fist before pregnancy. During the fifth
week, one side of your uterus becomes more elastic than the
other part, and may feel enlarged. This is known as Braun von
Fernwald's sign. If you receive a vaginal exam at your prenatal
visit, they might check for this sign.
Your other pregnancy signs will continue to be more noticeable,
or if you had very few pregnancy symptoms you may begin
noticing them a bit more. If your nausea gets worse, check out
your local Asian store for ginger candies. Not only are they
tasty, ginger is very effective for dealing with stomach
upset.
If you have concerns about how your pregnancy is progressing,
you can get blood tests done to check for hCG. The amount of
hCG continues to multiply, so if you have a quantitative test
to measure the amount of hCG, and then another drawn 5 to 7
days later to see if the amount has increased.
At From Pregnancy To Baby, we try
to provide you with all of the latest information about going
through your pregnancy from your first trimester to the first
years of your new babies life. We also provide the highest
quality books and products to help you through that time.
Source: http://www.frompregnancytobaby.com/pregnancy-week-5.html
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