7 weeks pregnant

What to expect this week

What's happening in week seven

Seven weeks in and your unborn baby is coming on in leaps and bounds.

Your baby at week seven

Your baby is continuing to grow at a remarkable pace, its embryonic form is slowly starting to transform into an actual little person, with emerging arm and leg buds, and a beating heart – how amazing? They also have a tiny tail – but that will soon disappear!

Amazingly your baby has already gone through three sets of kidneys by week 7, but this week they’ll start developing their final set which will be ready for waste management. In the coming weeks your baby will start to produce urine which will form part of the amniotic fluid.

Size-wise, your baby is now about 1cm in size and not much bigger than a little bean, bobbing around in your womb.

You at seven weeks pregnant

Seven weeks in, you might be coming to terms with, (or still awaiting!) the nausea on waking, or the other earlier signs of pregnancy. It can be a lot to take in, especially if you have chosen not to let others in on your secret until after your 12 week scan.
Try to avoid being around people who are unwell in these early weeks – some illnesses such as rubella and parvovirus (also known as slapped cheek disease) are mainly picked up by coming into contact with children – so take care! You should also be very cautious around certain animals at this point in your pregnancy, too – ewes and lambs in particular can carry an infection which causes miscarriage, and cat litter trays (cat poo, basically) can cause toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection.
Your rubella (German measles) immunity will be checked at your booking in appointment, but do let your GP or midwife know as soon as possible if you have come into contact with anyone with German measles or any other illnesses.

What to think about in week seven

You'll be having your first appointment with your GP or midwife very soon, if you haven't already done so. Think about any questions you might want to ask them, or things you might need to make them aware of - remember, nothing will seem like a 'silly' or irrelevant query to them (and whatever it might be, it almost certainly will not be the first time they have been asked it!)
At your first midwife appointment, you might be asked for some family health history information - do you need to speak to your parents or get any information together for this? What about your partner's health and family history?