Highlights this week
Baby development at 5 weeks
Your baby is about the size of a sesame seed
Pregnancy symptoms during week 5
Frequent urination
Pregnancy hormones plus your body's increasing blood volume may equal a near-constant need to pee. During pregnancy, running to the bathroom much more than you'd like is a fact of life. It's important to stay hydrated, but you may want to cut back on fluids late in the day so you don't have to get up to pee as frequently at night.
Tender, swollen breasts
Breast tenderness is often one of the earliest signs of pregnancy. Increased hormone levels boost blood flow, which may make your breasts feel swollen, sore, tingly, and unusually sensitive to touch.
Fatigue
No one knows for sure what causes bone-crushing exhaustion in early pregnancy, but it's likely that hormonal changes are to blame. Most women find that their energy returns in the second trimester. Until then, try to get more sleep, lighten your load, ask others for help, and take good care of yourself.
Spotting
About 1 in 4 women experience spotting or light bleeding during the first trimester. It's often nothing, but sometimes it's a sign of miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy. Call your doctor or midwife just in case. And if you're actively bleeding or you have severe pain and can't reach your provider, head to the emergency department right away.
Morning sickness
Morning sickness – also called nausea and vomiting of pregnancy – affects different expecting moms at different times (and some not at all). It usually starts around week 5 or 6 of pregnancy. For some women, that telltale queasy feeling is one of the first giveaways that they're pregnant. There are safe ways to get relief from morning sickness, including changes to your diet and lifestyle, natural remedies, and medication. Be sure to talk to your provider if you're suffering.
Food aversions
Does the smell of your coworker's lunch suddenly make your stomach churn? Food aversions often start around now. Most expecting moms experience them, thanks to changing hormones and a heightened sense of smell. Some of the most common aversions include meat, coffee, eggs, dairy, and foods with a lot of spices or fat. To cope, try eating bland or cold foods. If cooking makes you sick, ask a loved one to cook for you or get takeout.
Don't see your symptom?
Wondering about a symptom you have? Find it on our pregnancy symptoms page.
Pregnancy checklist at 5 weeks pregnant
Choose a pregnancy healthcare provider
If you already have an ob-gyn or midwife you love, you're set. If not, start doing some research. Talk to friends and relatives, ask one of your other providers to recommend someone, check out the preferred providers under your health insurance plan, or search online. Find out more about what to consider when choosing a doctor or midwife.
Put together a family health history
Talk to relatives on both sides about your families' medical histories. Your provider will want to know whether any chronic conditions or genetic abnormalities run in either of your families.
Get our pregnancy app
For expert pregnancy info, helpful tools, and detailed fetal development images, download BabyCenter's free pregnancy and baby app.
Take your prenatal vitamin
If you haven't started taking a prenatal vitamin yet, now's the time to start. It's particularly critical to get enough folic acid now, because it greatly reduces your baby's risk of developing neural tube birth defects such as spina bifida.
Cut down on caffeine
Studies have linked high caffeine consumption to miscarriage and other pregnancy problems. That's why the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists advises expectant moms to limit their caffeine intake to 200 mg per day or less (that's about one large cup of coffee).
5 weeks pregnant bellies
At 5 weeks pregnant, your belly may be starting to look slightly different – perhaps like you had a big lunch. For some women, abdominal bloating due to hormonal changes is an early sign of pregnancy. That's why your clothes may feel more snug than usual at the waistline, even early on when your uterus is still quite small.
Or, you may not see any changes yet. There's no one-size-fits-all formula for how and when women show during pregnancy.
During the first trimester, nausea and vomiting may keep you from feeling like eating much. That's fine: Your baby-to-be is tiny at this point, and you don't need to eat any extra calories. It's typical to gain about 3 to 5 pounds in the first trimester (and it's okay if you don't gain any weight at all).
Some women lose weight in early pregnancy. In most cases, this weight loss isn't dangerous. If you're losing a lot of weight, though, or if you think you may be suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum (severe morning sickness), tell your provider right away.
This week's video
BabyCenter's editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world. When creating and updating content, we rely on credible sources: respected health organizations, professional groups of doctors and other experts, and published studies in peer-reviewed journals. We believe you should always know the source of the information you're seeing. Learn more about our editorial and medical review policies.
ACOG. 2021. How your fetus grows during pregnancy. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/how-your-fetus-grows-during-pregnancy [Accessed August 2022]
Mayo Clinic. 2021. Fetal development: The 1st trimester. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/pregnancy-week-by-week/in-depth/prenatal-care/art-20045302 [Accessed August 2022]
MedlinePlus (ADAM). 2019. Fetal development. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002398.htm [Accessed August 2022]
