Pregnancy at 8 Weeks
How your baby’s growing:
- Baby has small webbed fingers and toes
- His eyelids almost cover his eyes
- Breathing tubes and branches of his lungs are developing
- His tail is almost gone
- Brain and nerve cells are forming early neural pathways
- Genitals have not developed yet
- Baby is now the size of a kidney bean
- Baby is continually moving but you cannot feel it yet
How your body is changing:
- You may need a larger bra with better support, your breast tissue is changing and hormones are causing breast growth preparing for lactation.
- Fatigue can be dramatic along with nausea and sometimes vomiting due to a rise in progesterone. Discomfort and getting up to pee may cause you trouble sleeping adding to your fatigue. Walking may help combat fatigue, even a 10 minute walk will do.
Prenatal Tests:
- Screening and diagnostic tests are offered during pregnancy.
- Some are simple blood tests or ultrasounds for screening, others are more invasive.
- All of these tests are optional.
- Screening tests give you information about your risk for certain conditions.
- Diagnostic tests tell you for sure whether your baby has a problem.
- You must make the decision as to whether or not to have these tests, they are optional.
Early screening tests:
- Nuchal fold scan is done by ultrasound along with a blood test that measures two proteins, this test will give you information as to your baby’s risk for Down Syndrome. This test is done between 8 and 11 weeks.
- CVS- Chorionic Villi Sampling is a diagnostic test done early in pregnancy to determine a chromosomal defect that would cause Down Syndrome. It is an invasive test that carries a risk of miscarriage.
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