The first trimester - what's happening inside

By your seventh week, the embryo has doubled in size from just the week before. It’s about as big as a small bean. Already, it resembles a microscopic baby with a brain, heart, and limbs. Its head is nearly as big as its body, which has some catching up to do. Your doctor may suggest an ultrasound scan; this procedure is considered to be safe for the developing foetus. In addition, an ultrasound done today may even be able detect foetal heart motion.

Although you may not feel your best, none of your symptoms will make the baby uncomfortable. In fact, your indigestion has a positive effect on your baby-to-be. Food slows down as it travels through the body, which may result in gastrointestinal problems for you, but allows nutrients to be more readily absorbed by the baby. Wearing loose fitting clothes, and eating frequent, small meals may help to decrease your discomfort.

By nine weeks, your baby has grown to between half an inch to an inch. It now weighs in at a whopping one gram. Even though you won’t feel the baby move until the second trimester, he or she is very active at this point. It is already a ‘he’ or ‘she’ as testes and ovaries have formed. An ultrasound cannot identify gender yet, as external genitalia still appears sexless.

Because most miscarriages occur in the first trimester, you may be feeling nervous and be eager to advance to the second trimester. One good sign is the identification of the heartbeat, either by the doctor’s Doppler heart monitor, or by ultrasound.