5 weeks pregnant: Symptoms, tips & what to expect
Everything you need to know when you're 5 weeks pregnant, including common symptoms, baby development, and tips for a healthy start to your pregnancy.
Many women find out that they are pregnant at five weeks, when they realise their period is late. It can be exciting to discover that you are expecting — but it can also come with a lot of new worries.
Dr Philippa Kaye, an NHS GP who specialises in paediatrics and gynaecology, told MadeForMums that you can’t tell whether a pregnancy is viable at five weeks, because “it is generally too early to see the heartbeat on an ultrasound scan.”
The main thing to think about in early pregnancy is looking after yourself, she said.
Here’s everything you need to know about being five weeks pregnant, from pregnancy symptoms you might experience and how your baby is developing, to how to look after yourself.
What's happening to my body?
“At five weeks, you are unlikely to have a baby bump just yet,” Dr Philippa says. But that doesn’t mean there’s not plenty going on inside your body.
In the first few weeks of pregnancy, your hormone levels change to prepare for the rest of the pregnancy and after birth. This is when they become high enough to detect via a pregnancy test.
Although it’s still early in your pregnancy, at week five your breasts are already beginning to get ready for breastfeeding. “The increased levels of some hormones might cause breast tenderness, swelling, and increased sensitivity,” says Dr Philippa.
“The placenta, which provides nourishment and oxygen, is also developing,” she adds. “In time this will give your baby oxygen and nutrients and remove waste products such as carbon dioxide.”
Your baby’s development
At five weeks, an embryo is about 2 millimetres long — about the size of a sesame seed.
Your baby’s heart is beginning to develop, as well as their neural tube which will become their brain and spinal cord.
Their face is also starting to form, including a tiny nose and eyes.
Common symptoms at 5 weeks
Some women don’t have any symptoms in early pregnancy, but common symptoms at five weeks can include:
- A missed or late period
- Feeling fatigued or more tired than normal
- Breast tenderness/soreness
- Nausea (otherwise known as morning sickness — although it doesn’t only happen in the morning!)
- Feeling a bit under the weather
- Bloating
- Cramping, almost like period pains
- A metallic taste in your mouth
- Needing to wee more often
- Light spotting or a milky white discharge from your vagina
- Mood swings
- A heightened sense of smell
- Changes in the foods you like and dislike.
Some women also notice that their hair is thicker and shinier, or that they have darker patches on their skin.
“Whether you feel tired, nauseous, or nothing at all at 5 weeks of pregnancy, it doesn’t give us any indication of how the baby is developing, how the pregnancy will progress or how you will feel for the rest of the pregnancy,” Dr Philippa says.
Foods to eat and avoid at 5 weeks pregnant
As soon as you know you are pregnant, you should avoid certain foods. These include:
- raw or undercooked meat, fish, and shellfish
- soft and blue cheeses
- liver
- pâté
- eggs which are raw or undercooked, and don’t have the British Lion stamp
- enoki mushrooms
"Pregnant women should avoid alcohol and are also advised to limit their caffeine intake to 200mg a day," says Dr Philippa. Remember to factor in chocolate and painkillers when thinking about how much caffeine you get each day.
“If you are not already taking a supplement of folic acid, then it is recommended that you start doing so until 12 weeks of pregnancy,” Dr Philippa says. This is because folic acid helps a foetus’s brain and spine to develop normally.
Tips for a healthy pregnancy
As well as avoiding certain foods and alcohol, Dr Philippa advises that smoking is not recommended during pregnancy. Smoking while pregnant has been linked to behavioural problems in children, and contributes to reduced sperm counts in boys.
If you smoked, drank alcohol, or did drugs before finding out you were pregnant at five weeks, Dr Philippa assures you that you aren’t alone, and shouldn’t worry too much. Just make sure to let your antenatal team know so that they can make sure everything is okay and get you help you to stop if you need it.
"Pregnant women should also avoid contact with cat litter due to a risk of an infection called toxoplasmosis", Dr Philippa says, which you can catch from the poo of infected cats. It’s usually harmless but can cause miscarriage if you get it while pregnant.
“You can continue to exercise but activities with high risk of falling and contact sports should be avoided,” Dr Philippa says. Exercising during pregnancy is great for your health and can help to reduce the likelihood of problems in later pregnancy and labour, according to the NHS.
Take care not to overdo it with exercise in pregnancy. You may need to slow down or change your fitness routine as your pregnancy progresses.
When to seek help
Some light bleeding, called implantation bleeding, when an embryo attaches to the womb lining, is relatively common at five weeks pregnant. But Dr Philippa advises seeking medical advice anyway.
“If the bleeding is severe, you feel unwell or dizzy, or you have abdominal pain please seek urgent medical care,” she says.
Discharge can change in the early stages of pregnancy, but if you have brown discharge or brown spotting at five weeks pregnant, Dr Philippa also advises seeking medical advice.
Similarly, cramps and stomach discomfort can occur, but it is important to get these checked out, “in particular if the pain is severe, on one side, associated with bleeding or you feel unwell,” she says.
And don’t forget to refer yourself to the NHS for antenatal care — you’ll ideally arrange your first midwife appointment before you’re 10 weeks pregnant, where you can get all the information you need and do some screening tests.
Please note: this advice is not personalised or meant to replace individual advice given to you about your child by your doctor or medical team. As always, if you are concerned about your child’s health then please seek medical advice.