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Day 35 of 280 · 5 weeks

The week most people find out

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 7 sources · Plain-text version

Five weeks: the week a late period becomes a test, what the test can and can't tell you, and the first call to make once the line appears.

Size this week
about the size of a sesame seed
Length this week
around 2 mm from head to bottom
A woman in her early thirties sitting on the edge of a bathtub in soft morning light, phone in one hand, a quiet half-smile, a towel over her shoulder, nothing clinical in frame.

Five weeks exactly. If you've read since day 14, the count has caught up with the calendar. If you're starting here, welcome: most people do.

Your baby

One pale sesame seed on a dark slate board, photographed close up in soft daylight.

Around 2mm long, about the size of a sesame seed (NHS). The nervous system, brain and spinal cord are forming, and the placenta is starting to form, supplying nutrients and oxygen and removing waste (NHS). Week 5 is also the start of the embryonic period, when the major systems begin to develop; MedlinePlus calls it the time of highest risk from harmful exposures in the first trimester (MedlinePlus).

Your body

Many people learn they're pregnant around this week, often after a late period (NHS). A home test measures the hormone hCG in urine, with up to 97% accuracy, and small amounts of hCG are present even before the first missed period (NICHD). Most home tests don't give accurate results one day after a missed period, and waiting one week after the missed period usually gives a more accurate result (OWH). If the test is positive, NICHD's line is simple: call your health care provider to schedule an appointment (NICHD).

How you feel this week varies. The NHS lists fatigue, sore breasts, nausea, mood changes, a stronger sense of smell, and more frequent urination (NHS). NICHD adds that symptoms differ from person to person: every common symptom, a few, or none at all (NICHD). Feeling nothing means nothing.

Try today

  1. The found-out page

    Time: 5 minutes

    1. Write today's date, and the first day of your last period. Pregnancy is counted from that day (OWH).

    2. Write how you found out: the test, the late period, the feeling. Then who you told first, or that you've told no one yet.

    3. Add your provider's office number. A positive home test means a call to schedule the first visit (NICHD).

    4. Keep the page; it's the first entry of a record.

    Make it work:

    If the test was negative and your period is still late, repeat it after a week; testing first thing in the morning may improve accuracy (OWH).

Watch for

  • Normal

    light spotting or cramping can occur around now (NHS).

    Call your provider

    about any bleeding; the NHS says it should be checked by a doctor (NHS).

  • Normal

    a few drops of spotting, not enough to cover a panty liner (MedlinePlus).

    Call your provider right away

    about spotting before an ultrasound has confirmed the pregnancy, because it can signal an ectopic pregnancy, which untreated can be life-threatening (MedlinePlus).

  • Normal

    a late period with no other sign yet.

    Call your provider

    either way: a missed period can also come from birth control pills, diabetes, PCOS, eating disorders, and certain medications, and women who miss a period should see their provider (NICHD).

For you

If you've read from day 14, nothing in those three weeks was wasted. The folic acid you started is the same 400mcg a day the NHS asks for until at least week 12, and stopping smoking and alcohol and cutting back on caffeine are on this week's list too (NHS).

If you're starting here, you can read back through your first month another day. For now, three things: the folic acid, the call, and asking for help if you feel anxious or low, which is on the NHS's list too (NHS).

If you're the partner: the page is hers to write. Ask whether she wants company for it, or ten quiet minutes first.

Sources

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

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