Cramping and spotting at 5 weeks pregnant

Feeling pregnant?

You may be growing more aware of early pregnancy symptoms, including fatigue, achy or swollen breasts, nausea, and the need to pee more often.

Announcing your pregnancy

There are no hard and fast rules about when to announce your pregnancy. Many expecting parents wait until late in the first trimester, but it's up to you.

Having twins

The likelihood of twins is about 3 out of 100 for most people, but chances are as high as 30 percent if you had certain fertility treatments. Women typically discover they're having more than one baby during an ultrasound in the first trimester.

5 weeks is how many months?

You're in your second month!

Baby development at 5 weeks

Tiny embryo

Deep in your uterus an embryo is growing at a furious pace, and it looks more like a tadpole than a human. The embryo is made up of three layers – the ectoderm, the mesoderm, and the endoderm – which will later form all of the organs and tissues.

Brain development

Your baby's brain, spinal cord, and nerves form from the neural tube, which is starting to develop from the embryo's top layer – the ectoderm. This layer will also give rise to skin, hair, nails, mammary and sweat glands, and tooth enamel.

Heart development

The heart and circulatory system begin to form in the embryo's middle layer, or mesoderm. The mesoderm will also form your baby's muscles, cartilage, bone, and the tissue under the skin.

Lungs and gut

The third layer, or endoderm, will become the lungs, intestines, and early urinary system, as well as the thyroid, liver, and pancreas. In the meantime, the primitive placenta and umbilical cord, which deliver nourishment and oxygen to your baby, are already on the job.

Your baby at 5 weeks Tap the plus for more details

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Your baby is about the size of a sesame seed

Pregnancy symptoms during week 5

Frequent urination

Pregnancy hormones plus your body's increasing blood volume may equal a near-constant need to pee. During pregnancy, running to the bathroom much more than you'd like is a fact of life. It's important to stay hydrated, but you may want to cut back on fluids late in the day so you don't have to get up to pee as frequently at night.

Tender, swollen breasts

Breast tenderness is often one of the earliest signs of pregnancy. Increased hormone levels boost blood flow, which may make your breasts feel swollen, sore, tingly, and unusually sensitive to touch.

Fatigue

No one knows for sure what causes bone-crushing exhaustion in early pregnancy, but it's likely that hormonal changes are to blame. Most women find that their energy returns in the second trimester. Until then, try to get more sleep, lighten your load, ask others for help, and take good care of yourself.

Spotting

About 1 in 4 women experience spotting or light bleeding during the first trimester. It's often nothing, but sometimes it's a sign of miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy. Call your doctor or midwife just in case. And if you're actively bleeding or you have severe pain and can't reach your provider, head to the emergency department right away.

Morning sickness

Morning sickness – also called nausea and vomiting of pregnancy – affects different expecting moms at different times (and some not at all). It usually starts around week 5 or 6 of pregnancy. For some women, that telltale queasy feeling is one of the first giveaways that they're pregnant. There are safe ways to get relief from morning sickness, including changes to your diet and lifestyle, natural remedies, and medication. Be sure to talk to your provider if you're suffering.

Food aversions

Does the smell of your coworker's lunch suddenly make your stomach churn? Food aversions often start around now. Most expecting moms experience them, thanks to changing hormones and a heightened sense of smell. Some of the most common aversions include meat, coffee, eggs, dairy, and foods with a lot of spices or fat. To cope, try eating bland or cold foods. If cooking makes you sick, ask a loved one to cook for you or get takeout.

Don't see your symptom?

Wondering about a symptom you have? Find it on our pregnancy symptoms page.

Your body at 5 weeks Tap the plus for more details

Pregnancy checklist at 5 weeks pregnant

Choose a pregnancy healthcare provider

If you already have an ob-gyn or midwife you love, you're set. If not, start doing some research. Talk to friends and relatives, ask one of your other providers to recommend someone, check out the preferred providers under your health insurance plan, or search online. Find out more about what to consider when choosing a doctor or midwife.

Put together a family health history

Talk to relatives on both sides about your families' medical histories. Your provider will want to know whether any chronic conditions or genetic abnormalities run in either of your families.

Get our pregnancy app

For expert pregnancy info, helpful tools, and detailed fetal development images, download BabyCenter's free pregnancy and baby app.

Take your prenatal vitamin

If you haven't started taking a prenatal vitamin yet, now's the time to start. It's particularly critical to get enough folic acid now, because it greatly reduces your baby's risk of developing neural tube birth defects such as spina bifida.

Cut down on caffeine

Studies have linked high caffeine consumption to miscarriage and other pregnancy problems. That's why the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists advises expectant moms to limit their caffeine intake to 200 mg per day or less (that's about one large cup of coffee).

5 weeks pregnant bellies

At 5 weeks pregnant, your belly may be starting to look slightly different – perhaps like you had a big lunch. For some women, abdominal bloating due to hormonal changes is an early sign of pregnancy. That's why your clothes may feel more snug than usual at the waistline, even early on when your uterus is still quite small.

Or, you may not see any changes yet. There's no one-size-fits-all formula for how and when women show during pregnancy.

During the first trimester, nausea and vomiting may keep you from feeling like eating much. That's fine: Your baby-to-be is tiny at this point, and you don't need to eat any extra calories. It's typical to gain about 3 to 5 pounds in the first trimester (and it's okay if you don't gain any weight at all).

Some women lose weight in early pregnancy. In most cases, this weight loss isn't dangerous. If you're losing a lot of weight, though, or if you think you may be suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum (severe morning sickness), tell your provider right away.

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