As you go through your tenth week of pregnancy, it’s important to know that your baby is completely out of the embryonic stage and fully into the fetal stage. The best news about the tenth week is that there is less risk for congenital abnormalities. You and your baby are not fully in the clear when it comes to avoiding abnormalities or deformities, but the most critical weeks of development are over. With continued care and medical attention, you are well on your way to having a healthy baby.
Symptoms and Body Changes at 10 Weeks
Although you’re not quite showing yet in your tenth week of pregnancy, you probably feel like you are.
You’ve gained one to three pounds, yet you feel like you’ve gained much more. The bloated feeling hasn’t gone away yet, but as you reach the end of your first trimester, other pregnancy symptoms such as morning sickness are subsiding.
Hopefully during the tenth week you are feeling much more positive about your pregnancy, since your first check-up has come and gone and you have been able to hear your baby’s heartbeat.
This moment can be very exciting for future parents, and that can offset the negative emotions brought on by the heightened levels of estrogen and progesterone within your body. Hang in there!
Your Baby’s Development
You have been told up until this point that your baby is growing rapidly. Now that he or she has reached the fetal stage, however, “growing rapidly” doesn’t come close to describing what is going on. Last week, your baby was the size of a large grape.
This week, your baby is the size of a lime. That’s quite a difference, and week-to-week from here on out, your baby will continue to grow at this rate.
As internal organs continue to grow, your baby’s vital organs—such as the kidneys, liver, intestines, and brain—start functioning on their own.
Over the course of the next three weeks, your baby will also grow significantly larger. Details such as toenails will begin to appear, and if you look closely enough, you may be able to see peach fuzz on your baby’s skin.
Pregnancy Week 10 Tips
If you’ve had your first check-up and your partner didn’t go, the next time around you may want to include him. This will enable your partner to ask any questions he may have, get to know your healthcare provider, hear the heartbeat, and see the baby via ultrasound.
All of this will help your partner feel closer and more involved in the pregnancy, which is very important as bonds can sometimes be made at conception. You may also want to begin shopping for maternity clothes, including your partner in this process, too.
Preparing for the baby together can add excitement and joy to both of your lives. This is very important, as your hormones will continue to rule your emotional states for some time. Next is pregnancy at 11 weeks.
Photo credit: Blakely Boyer 10 weeks pregnant ultrasound