Your pregnancy week to week with the growth of your baby

If you are trying to get pregnant it can be an anxious time every menstrual cycle, wondering whether it has worked. If you are pregnant your body produces the hormone hCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin). This hormone causes menstruation to stop during your pregnancy and indirectly provides for the production of progesterone and oestrogen. This hormone is also responsible in turn for the growth of the uterus, the placenta, the developing baby and the breasts. Progesterone also has a relaxing effect on the muscles so that the uterus can grow well.

Fertilisation is taking place in the second week but is only noticeable later. If you have had intercourse 1 or 2 days before ovulation the sperm from your partner can fertilise the egg. Sperm cells live for approximately 72 hours in comparison to egg cells that live for just 36 hours. From millions of sperm cells, a few hundred make their way towards their goal of fertilisation. Usually just one will fertilise the egg.

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You can do a pregnancy test when you are just one day late for menstruation. However it is advisable not to do a test too soon as this may be disappointing. Your body needs time to produce the hormone hCG. It is this hormone which causes the colour change on the pregnancy test indicator. When you are pregnant this hormone can be found in the urine just 2 weeks following fertilisation but that can be just the first day of a missed period. It is useful to have a double pregnancy test to hand at home. Read more about When to do a pregnancy test

If hCG is present in the urine, then the indicator will show a coloured stripe, dot or ‘+’ sign. If you are pregnant but the amount of hormone is too small to register on the test it will show to be negative, and indicate that you are not pregnant. A few days later try the test again. However you cannot have an incorrect positive reading. hCG is not found in the body unless you are pregnant. A positive result, however faint the stripe may be, means you are pregnant. Read more about What does a pregnancy test look like?

These are varied with some tests being a single test whilst others include more than one. They can be purchased in drug stores, chemists and large supermarkets. They can also be purchased online and can often be cheaper. For example tests are available online. Ordering before 1730 often means the pregnancy test is delivered the next day. Read more about Where to buy a pregnancy test

Next week: Week 3 - Dreaming about your pregnancy

Inspiration for baby names can be found here:
Baby names with 3 letters
Baby names with 4 letters
Baby names with 5 letters
Baby names with 6 letters

Here you will find baby names with a specific initial or last letter from A to Z.
Baby names starting with letter: A   –  B   –  C   –  D   –  E   –  F   –  G   –  H   –  I   –  J   –  K   –  L   –  M   –  N   –  O   –  P   –  Q   –  R   –  S   –  T   –  U   –  V   –  W   –  X   –  Y   –  Z 

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