Week 4: What to Expect During Your Pregnancy

Motherhood, Pregnancy

Welcome to Week 4 of pregnancy! Here, we’ll cover what to expect for both you and your baby during this week, along with some personal insights from my own experience as I navigate my fourth pregnancy. I’m so happy to have you along with me on this journey!

What's Happening with Your Baby

At 4 weeks, baby is still considered an embryo rather than a fetus and is composed of three main layers that will develop into organs and body parts in the coming weeks. As the placenta begins to develop and root into the uterine lining, baby is relying on a yolk sac for nutrients until the placenta takes over. Here’s a glimpse into your baby’s development:

Embryo Development: During week 3, a sperm and egg join and create a zygote. By week 4, the tiny bundle of cells turns into a blastocyst and implants into your uterine lining. By the end of week 4, the blastocyst is about 2 millimeters long — the size of a poppy seed.
Placenta Development: The beginning of what will become the placenta forms. Until the placenta takes root and fully develops, baby relies on the yolk sac for nutrients. A water-tight sac also forms around the blastocyst. This is the amniotic sac, and it provides cushioning to a fetus during pregnancy.

Changes You Might Experience

In this early stage of pregnancy, you may not be feeling very different yet! The placenta isn’t releasing all the hormones that give us all of those first trimester symptoms, but here are a few common signs of early pregnancy:

Missed Period or Positive Pregnancy Test: One of the earliest signs of pregnancy is a missed period or a positive pregnancy test. If you have taken an at-home pregnancy test and it comes back positive, now is a great time to reach out to your provider to confirm.
Early Signs and Symptoms: Some women may experience early signs of pregnancy such as bloating, constipation, GI issues, and/or breast tenderness. Progesterone is mostly to blame for these early symptoms.

Preparing for Baby

It’s early yet, but it’s always a good idea to start preparing for your baby’s arrival as soon as possible:

Call Your Provider: If you think you are pregnant, call your provider as soon as possible to make a prenatal appointment. Depending on your location, providers may fill up relatively quickly, so it’s always a good idea to call sooner rather than later.
Consider Your Birth Options: Start considering where you want to give birth – whether you want to give birth in a hospital, in a birthing center, at home – and start to explore what your options are.
Start Taking a Quality Prenatal: When I am looking for a quality prenatal vitamin, I look for optimal levels of choline and folate to support neural tube and brain development. I really like Needed’s Prenatal Vitamins, which come in powdered and pill form to suite my needs. Read more about Needed and the importance of nutrition during pregnancy.

Instructors

ROXANNE

Postpartum And Newborn Care

This course breaks down what to expect postpartum from the moment your baby is born to the first few weeks postpartum! Learn what options you have available to you in your care!

My Personal Experience in Week 4

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A post shared by Gina, MS, & Roxanne, RN, BSN (@mamastefit)

Navigating the 4th week of pregnancy while already being a mother to three has been a unique journey filled with its own set of challenges and joys. Here are some more personal insights:

Finding Out I’m Pregnant: With my pregnancies I usually find out around the 4-week mark that I am pregnant because I track my ovulation cycle very carefully. With this pregnancy I kept testing every day after ovulation until I started to see a faint line and could get truly excited about a positive pregnancy test. If you are unsure if you can see a line, wait a day or two and try testing again.
Deciding When to Share the News: I tend to share about my pregnancies pretty early on, but this may not be the best choice for you. After enduring pregnancy losses, I feel best supported telling the people I love early on, so I have them to lean on during these early weeks. Check out this blog to learn more about my experience with miscarriage and how it has shaped my pregnancies.
Calling my Midwife: I know it’s early and you may still be dealing with the shock/excitement of being pregnant, but one of the first calls I made was to my midwife. In the area I live in, we have limited home birth providers, so I wanted to secure my preferred provider right away.
Consider Reaching Out to a Doula: Even if you don’t plan to hire a doula for your birth experience, it may be beneficial to reach out to one in your area to help point you in the right direction when it comes to providers and resources in your area. If you do intent to work with a doula, it’s never too early to start compiling a list and interviewing them to see who you vibe with.

Conclusion

Every pregnancy is unique, and Week 4 can bring its own set of experiences and challenges. It’s essential to listen to your body, take care of your mental and physical health, and prepare for the exciting changes ahead.

If you’re looking for more support during your pregnancy, consider exploring our online prenatal fitness programs and childbirth education courses. You can bundle these for additional savings!

Gina Conley, MS