We continue our journey through Pregnancy week by week, advancing one more week after having seen everything that happens in the 5th week of pregnancy. We are immersed in the second month, and we will discuss the characteristics of this week 6 of pregnancy.
Although you still do not look pregnant, inside the body has already prepared for pregnancy, the embryo has implanted and develops rapidly, the uterus is increasing in size and the placenta also continues to evolve rapidly. What you may notice intensely are the symptoms of pregnancy.
The first ultrasound
The pregnancy test has already confirmed the result, and, if you wish, it is time to go to the gynecologist to make the first visit Confirm that the pregnancy is developing without problems, although this visit can take place in the following weeks. In Social Security the first ultrasound is at 12 weeks of pregnancy, but we may want to have all the information before and you may have a confirmation ultrasound.
Ultrasound early in pregnancy has the function of checking that there is pregnancy and that the embryo implantation has occurred correctly. Thanks to it, the uterus, ovaries, cervix and vagina are examined and possible problems can be detected.
In this first visit to the gynecologist we will take the data, calculate the probable date of delivery and ask questions to know our history (if it was not had for having been patients), if we have prepared the pregnancy for example with folic acid, we will recommend the right supplement will provide nutrition advice ...
This first ultrasound is a transvaginal ultrasound, which the specialist performs by inserting a probe into the vagina. The probe is covered with a condom and a gel to facilitate its insertion and is not painful. To avoid discomfort, it is best to go relaxed.
The probe sends sound waves that reflect body structures and a computer receives them and uses them to create an image that we can see on a screen.
It will be the first time you see your son, although do not worry if you still have a hard time differentiating its parts, since it is an embryo still very small, with the appearance of "habichuelita. Let's see what are the characteristics of the embryo at this stage of pregnancy.
The embryo in week 6 of pregnancy
Remember that this week the embryo is four weeks old, since usually when counting the weeks of pregnancy begins from the date of the last menstruation (40 weeks) but the fertilization of the ovum occurs two weeks later (then we talk about gestation of 38 weeks).
The heart starts beating regularly, although it is probably not yet detected on ultrasound. The embryo makes spontaneous movements, but there are still many weeks to begin to notice them, because at this point we speak of a small embryo of a few millimeters: it is about a centimeter long.
From the fourth week of gestation (week six of pregnancy), the embryo begins to develop the vestiges of future organs and devices, and at this stage it is very sensitive. The most important change that occurs in this last phase of the first month of pregnancy is embryonic disc folding.
Two kinds of folds occur simultaneously at the cephalic and caudal ends of the embryo, one along its longitudinal axis and another along its transverse axis. The embryo increasingly takes the form of a vertebrate.
In its interior the cavities and membranes are formed that will give rise to hollow organs such as the lungs. The middle part of the edges is crossed by the umbilical cord, which fixes the embryo to the yolk sac.
A phase of frantic growth begins that lasts another month, during which all the organs, systems and devices of the future adult organism are outlined.
As we saw when talking about week 5 of pregnancy, in the three primary germinative layers of the embryo they differ in several tissues and organs and, at the end of this period, the bases of the main organic systems have been established.
However, the function of many of its organs is still minimal or non-existent, with the exception of the cardiovascular system, which, as we saw, is the first to function. For this reason this period is also called organogenetic period.
Little by little, the embryo is growing, we can increasingly differentiate its parts and its development continues unstoppable. We are immersed in the second month of pregnancy and the advances in embryo growth are spectacular. We will continue to discover it in our Pregnancy Special week by week.
Next week: Week 7 of pregnancy
Photos | .: elNico :. in Flickr-CC and Brad Smith in Multi-dimensional Human Embryo
In Babies and more | Pregnancy week by week: from conception to birth
