7 weeks pregnant

Your Child’s head is now larger than the rest of the body because the brain is developing extraordinarily fast. This week can be hard for many women, and you might feel a constant need to pee.

Your Child’s development
Your Child now measures about 1 cm — the size of a blueberry. The lower body is gradually developing, with the pre-legs and toes emerging at the tail. The head is the biggest part of the body at this stage, with the ears, eyes, nose pits, mouth, and tongue gradually forming. As most of the growth concentrates in the head this week, new brain cells are generated at the rate of 100 per minute.  

The umbilical cord: The umbilical cord develops this week. The cord connects the baby with the placenta, which delivers oxygen and nutrients and eliminates waste back into your bloodstream. If everything goes according to plan, Your Child will be delivered in about 33 weeks from now, and your husband can cut the cord.

The arms and legs: The rest of Your Child’s body parts are beginning to take the human form. The arm buds and leg buds are growing longer and stronger this week. Later, they will divide themselves into hands, arms, shoulder segments, legs, knees, and foot segments.

The organs: The kidneys are in place now, and both pancreas and spleen will begin to develop this week.

Your development
At this stage, one predominant symptom is the frequent urge to pee. It occurs because your growing womb puts pressure on your urinary bladder, and your blood flow is increasing to sustain Your Child’s development. Symptoms like nausea may reduce by the middle of the next trimester, but the frequent urge to pee is unlikely to stop before childbirth. In truth, it may even intensify with each passing month. 

Your taste may change: You may also have food cravings or aversion caused by the elevated levels of hormones in your body. In addition, some women experience acne breakouts or produce more saliva. 

What you can do
Your Child’s brain is growing very fast right now, so it’s vital to start cutting all kinds of toxins from your life. Since too much stress releases cortisol and too much cortisol disturbs a child’s healthy development, you should try to avoid very stressful situations or conflicts.

Additionally, your breasts will soon increase in size, and they may feel sore and give you discomfort. One way to cope with this is by using a maternity bra.