Pregnancy week by week · trimester 1
🫘 6 weeks pregnant: your baby is about the size of a lentil
At 6 weeks pregnant, your baby is about the size of a lentil, a tiny heart has started to beat, and the brain and spinal cord are forming.
Your baby this week
Your baby is roughly the size of a lentil and curled into a gentle C shape. The neural tube, which will become the brain and spinal cord, is closing, and a tiny heart has started to beat, flickering faster than your own. Small dips and bumps mark where the eyes and ears will be, and little buds are beginning to show where arms and legs will grow. The cord that will link you both is forming too. It is remarkable how much is happening in something so small.
You this week
Morning sickness often begins around now, and despite the name it can turn up at any time of day. Strong smells may suddenly feel overwhelming, and some foods you loved may lose their appeal. Tiredness, sore breasts and needing to wee more are all common. You might feel emotional or flat, which is your hormones working hard, not anything you are doing wrong. Resting, sipping water and nibbling something plain can all help.
Kind things to do this week
- Book your booking appointment with a midwife if it is not already in the diary.
- Try ginger biscuits, cold drinks or small dry snacks to take the edge off nausea.
- Go to bed a little earlier this week; tiredness is real and it is allowed.
Appointments around now
Your booking appointment with a midwife usually happens between 8 and 10 weeks, so now is a good time to make sure it is arranged.
Questions to ask your midwife
- What can I do to make the sickness more manageable?
- Which vitamins and supplements should I be taking?
When to call your midwife or maternity unit
Please call your GP, midwife or NHS 111 if you have any bleeding, tummy pain that does not settle (especially low down on one side), or you are being sick so often you cannot keep fluids down. You are never wasting anyone's time.
OBubba from bump to baby
Follow your pregnancy week by week, free.
OBubba is free through pregnancy, with a weekly update, kick counting and contraction timing. On the day your baby arrives, the same app becomes your baby tracker.
Questions
Can you see a heartbeat at 6 weeks pregnant?
A heartbeat can sometimes be seen on an early scan around now, but it is very small and not always visible yet. Most NHS mums first see their baby at the dating scan between 11 and 14 weeks.
Is morning sickness a good sign?
Sickness is very common and is linked to pregnancy hormones, but having little or none is also completely normal and is not a sign that anything is wrong.
Not sure how far along you are? Use the due date calculator.
Sources
OBubba gives general information. It is not medical advice and does not diagnose anything. Your midwife and maternity unit are always the right people to ask, any time of day or night.