The first week of pregnancy can be confusing as doctors count from the first day of a woman’s last period, which is before conception. If counting from conception, a complex process of cell multiplication and growth begins. Women may not notice any changes, but symptoms such as nausea and fatigue could be caused by hormonal changes.
The body changes in surprising and complex ways during the course of pregnancy. During the first week of pregnancy, most of the changes taking place within the body depend on whether a woman is counting from her last menstrual period or from her conception. If a woman counts from the first day of her last menstrual cycle, her body usually sheds her uterine lining as a menstrual cycle during this week. If a woman counts the first week after conception, however, the cells that will become a baby are usually undergoing rapid changes within her reproductive system.
Understanding what’s happening to the body during the first week of pregnancy can be complicated by the fact that doctors count the weeks of pregnancy from the first day of a woman’s last period. This is before a baby is actually conceived, however, meaning a woman isn’t actually pregnant. If a woman uses this 40 week method to consider the body changes of pregnancy, the body is shedding its uterine lining at this stage. A woman typically has menstrual bleeding at this time, and some women may experience pelvic cramping, mood swings, and even an increase in acne. About 14 days into this week, a woman’s ovary usually releases an egg that can be fertilized by her partner’s sperm.
If a woman looks at the first week after conception rather than the first week of pregnancy as recognized in the medical world, she will learn that a complex series of activities are happening within the body at this time. Once a sperm fertilizes an egg, a complicated process of cell multiplication and growth begins. This multiplication and growth involves the cells that will eventually become the embryo and placenta. The cluster of cells doesn’t look like a baby or even look like a human at this point in development.
In most cases, a woman will not notice any changes in her body during this first week of pregnancy. At this point, a woman usually hasn’t missed a single period yet. Some women claim to notice symptoms as early as the first week after conception. It is possible, however, that they only notice what appear to be symptoms because they are hoping to become pregnant or are concerned about the prospect of an unplanned pregnancy. If a woman experiences actual symptoms during this time, such as nausea, fatigue or breast tenderness, they could be caused by hormonal changes in her body.
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