Pregnancy First Week

It’s your pregnancy's first week, one of joy and excitement. You are a soon-to-be mom. Yes, that’s right. During your 1st week of pregnancy, you are basically just about to conceive. No baby and no telltale bulge yet. Imagine being considered pregnant, without any baby or even a fetus inside you. Weird, right?

Well, this is what happens in the pregnancy first week, since doctors calculate your due date beginning from your last menstrual period.

There’s a perfectly sound reason for this practice. Since whenever you begin a menstrual cycle, your body is literally preparing itself for pregnancy. Then it is perfectly logical to calculate your pregnancy beginning from the first day of your last menstrual period, even though you are not yet feeling any Early Pregnancy Symptoms.

During pregnancy week one, your baby is still just a figment of your imagination or part of you and your partner’s plan. However, at this point, you should have already primed your body for your baby. If you are trying to conceive (TTC) this is a very important time.

At the beginning of a menstrual cycle or period, ova begin to ripen and occupy follicles. One follicle eventually develops and bursts thereby releasing an egg that is ready for fertilization once it passes through the fallopian tube. This event usually happens about 2 weeks before the end of your menstrual cycle.

This is the time that you are most likely to have a baby once the said egg is fertilized. The said egg can only be fertilized within a day after release. Not all women get pregnant at the said period (2 weeks after the end of the menstrual cycle) since there is only a 20% chance of getting pregnant per each menstrual cycle.

Since at this point, you may already have formed plans with your partner to have a baby, then, it is best that you start acting pregnant, as if it is week one of pregnancy. Start eating foods that you think will help nourish your body in preparation for the baby.

Only eat foods that are nutritious and healthy and stop your intake of alcohol and other harmful substances. Take note that whatever you drink or eat at the duration of your pregnancy will be partly passed on to your baby. Now, during the 1st week of pregnancy, is the perfect time to start eating healthy and start cutting down on caffeine.

Also, it is very important to start drinking a prenatal vitamin supplement, preferably with folic acid. The vitamin supplement will dramatically reduce the risk of your baby being born with defects like spina bifida and will heighten the chances of you and your partner having a healthy, fully developed baby.

Take note that your partner and your immediate family, friends and coworkers, also have to change or remove some of their habits when they are around you. Smoking, for example, will pose a danger for you and your baby.

Lastly, make sure to visit your OB gynecologist to determine risks of and to get expert advice on what to expect and the changes in your lifestyle that you may have to do in order to prepare you and your partner for your pregnancy’s first week.

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The statements herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Supplements are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, mitigate or prevent any disease. All information here is intended for general knowledge only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for specific medical conditions. You should seek prompt medical care for any specific health issues and consult your physician before starting any new supplement, diet or fitness regimen.