Cards to Trees Program Promotes National Reforesta

You are here: Pregnant> Week by Week> Week 4

Week 4

Length: 0.5 mm

All measurements are approximate. Click here to see how we calculate baby's length and weight.

  

What's Happening Inside You:

Your baby is now about the size of a grain of sand. The placenta is starting to develop, as is the yolk sac, which produces the embryo’s first blood cells. This small balloon-like structure will disappear when the embryo starts producing his own blood in a few weeks.

 

The blastocyst is digging deeper and deeper into the uterine lining. The blastocyst’s inner cell layer will give rise to the embryo, but it starts as a flattened plate of cells called the embryonic disk. This disk attaches to the future placenta by the connecting stalk, which will eventually become the umbilical cord. In just a few weeks, it will be busy passing nutrients from the mother’s blood to the child.

  

Mom:

At this point, you may not even realize that you’re pregnant. If you have a sneaking suspicion, you’ll probably take a pregnancy test, which measures your level of hCG — a hormone released only when a blastocyst has attached itself to the uterus.

 

At the very start of pregnancy, there isn’t a lot of hCG present, so it might take a few more days before a pregnancy test will give you the good news! You should generally be able to find out around the time your next period is due, about four weeks into the pregnancy, but if your test comes back negative, you may want to try again in a few days.

 

A blood test can detect pregnancy earlier than a urine test.

 

Certain women can sense that they are pregnant. For others, it’s a complete surprise until they’ve missed their period and get a positive test result.

Share/Bookmark

Copyright 2010 ParentHandbook.com. All rights reserved.

Also visit our sister site:
www.EarlyMoments.com


Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Site Map | Pregnant | Trying | Baby & Child | Due Date Calculator | Ovulation Calculator

This website is for general educational purposes only. Consult with a qualified licensed healthcare provider for evaluation, diagnosis and treatment options suitable for your personal medical needs. As a user of this site you are bound by the Terms of Use Agreement.