6 Weeks Pregnant | Ultrasound, and Morning Sickness

At 6 weeks pregnant, you might notice your pregnancy symptoms have ramped up a notch. Your body is making a baby, which is a mammoth effort.

Make sure you don’t push yourself. Listen to your body when it’s telling you to rest. Taking care of yourself during the early weeks of pregnancy is important.

You might not have a huge baby bump to show for it yet, but your body is forming critical foundations for a brand new human being.

Make sure you’re getting plenty of rest or, even better, a little extra sleep. Focus on eating a healthy well-balanced diet with lots of colorful fruits and vegetables.

Drink plenty of water, too – even if you feel you can’t stray too far from the bathroom these days.

6 weeks pregnant

You might think it’s a bit early to be organizing your first prenatal appointment at your midwife or doctor’s office, but it’s not.

It’s important to start to consider your options for pregnancy and birth care.

Depending on what’s available in your area, options like private midwifery or birth centers might be popular choices and could have long waiting lists.

Be sure to do your own research. Find a birthplace where you feel comfortable and safe, and a practitioner who is aligned with the outcomes you want for your birth.

Read our article:  12 Questions To ask An Obstetrician Before Choosing One.

Also, talk to your healthcare provider about any current or potential health concerns you might have.

You can make a plan to control and treat health conditions such as obesity, high blood pressure, or low iron.

Certain conditions can have an impact on how and where you will give birth eight months from now.

It’s never too early to start planning for a healthy pregnancy.

6 weeks pregnant ultrasound

While there’s no official 6-week ultrasound for medical purposes, your care provider might refer you to have an ultrasound around the time you’re 6 weeks pregnant. This is also known as a dating scan.

An ultrasound at this stage will probably be able to give an estimated due date. If you’re a little earlier than you expected, however, you might need to have another scan in a couple of weeks time, for accuracy.

This will especially be the case if your cycles are irregular, or if you’re unsure of the dates of your last menstrual period.

For more in depth information, be sure to read 6 Week Ultrasound | Pictures, Twins and What To Expect.

6 weeks pregnant symptoms

Because you’re still in the early stages of pregnancy, you might still feel like your normal self.

But around 6 weeks pregnant, many women start to experience one or more of the common symptoms of pregnancy, such as:

• Nausea and vomiting
• Heartburn
• Bloating
• Constipation
• Increased appetite
• Occasional backache/lower backache
• Extreme fatigue
• Shortness of breath
• Feeling over emotional, with lots of crying or anxiety
• Mood swings
• Sore breasts/sore nipples
• Light headedness/dizziness
• Sensitivity to smells
• Frequent urination
• Noticing things taste ‘different’
• Wondering whether they are actually pregnant

There’s no way to predict which symptoms you might have, as each pregnancy will be different.

For more information please read our article Symptoms of Pregnancy In First Month.

6 weeks pregnant – no symptoms

It’s possible to be 6 weeks pregnant and have absolutely no symptoms whatsoever.

Pregnancy affects every woman differently; the same woman might experience pregnancy very differently each time .

Some women never experience any morning sickness. If that’s true for you, then you’re lucky; enjoy the freedom from nausea (but maybe don’t boast about it).

It’s possible to have such mild pregnancy symptoms you don’t notice them, until hindsight makes you realize what they were.

If you feel really concerned about having no symptoms, then speak to your care provider for reassurance your pregnancy is developing well.

6 weeks pregnant symptoms come and go

It’s totally normal for pregnancy symptoms to fluctuate in the first trimester. Some days you might feel absolutely fine, and forget for a moment that you’re actually pregnant. On other days, your symptoms might absolutely floor you.

Even moms-to-be with the most severe symptoms will have times when they feel absolutely fine, or when they don’t really feel pregnant.

You can thank your amazing pregnancy hormones for this.

At pregnancy week 6, if you’ve had a positive pregnancy test, chances are you are pregnant – even if you have no symptoms, or they come and go.

The strength or the intensity of your symptoms isn’t an indicator of your baby’s development or future health.

Try not to worry, or compare yourself with other moms.

6 weeks pregnant morning sickness

At this stage, there’s a very good chance morning sickness has paid you a visit. Surprisingly, morning sickness affects around 80-90% of pregnant women in their first trimester.

Don’t be misled by the name. Morning sickness can strike any time of the day, and sometimes even lasts all day.

Possible causes are pregnancy hormones (perticularly the pregnancy hormone hCG), blood pressure changes, and changes in the metabolism of carbohydrates.

The pregnancy hormone progesterone is an important part of maintaining your pregnancy but it also has a big effect on your body in early pregnancy.

Progesterone helps to relax the smooth muscle in the body, including the muscles involved in the gut to aid the digestive system. This hormone slows down the passage of food through the intestines and can leave you feeling bloated or constipated. It can often make you feel a bit sluggish and queasy – even if you didn’t already feel sick.

Some research has shown ginger can aid digestive responsiveness and the time it takes to empty the stomach, which in turn can help relieve the feeling of nausea.

For most women, morning sickness usually resolves at about 12-14 weeks of pregnancy.

Morning sickness tips

If you experience morning sickness often, try any of the suggestions below:

• Eating small meals and eating often. That way, you’ll avoid the excess acid an empty stomach can create, which can make matters much worse
• Ginger. This is often used as a remedy for nausea, or for settling the stomach. Nowadays ginger comes in many different forms, such as ginger tea, dried ginger, biscuits, or sweets. You might find one of these works for you
• Stick to plain foods. Try to focus on what you feel you can eat. These may be bland foods, such as dry crackers, rice cakes, or toast. Don’t worry too much at this stage about what you’re eating; just do what works for you. There will be plenty of time, later on, to focus on your pregnancy diet
• Drink plenty – even if you bring it up again. It’s very important to stay hydrated. Avoid gulping loads at a time, and avoid icy cold drinks, too
• Get a little extra rest. Your body is working very hard behind the scenes. Be kind to yourself over the next few weeks.

If you’re struggling with sickness, discuss it with your healthcare provider at your next prenatal visit.

Check out Morning Sickness – 10 Best Morning Sickness Remedies for tips to cope with pregnancy nausea.

Pregnancy hyperemesis gravidarum

A small percentage of women (about 0.3–2%) will develop a condition known as hyperemesis gravidarum, which is a severe form of vomiting in pregnancy.

Hyperemesis gravidarum is diagnosed if you’re vomiting several times a day, you’re unable to eat and drink without vomiting, and you’re losing weight.

If you’re a mom-to-be with hyperemesis gravidarum, you’ll need some practical and emotional support. It can mean a short stay in hospital so you can be rehydrated and, most likely, you’ll be medicated to stop the vomiting.

This can be particularly difficult if you have children or other family members to take care of.

6 weeks pregnant cramping

Implantation has certainly happened by now, so is it normal to experience cramping in the early weeks of pregnancy?

At pregnancy week 6, even though your baby is still quite tiny, your uterus is already beginning to change.

As the uterus prepares to make room for your developing baby, it begins to expand. This slow growth can cause cramping for many mamas-to-be.

Cramping in early pregnancy is often considered a normal symptom. However, any severe cramping, especially with localized, one-sided, or shoulder pain (with or without bleeding) should be reported to your doctor immediately, as this can be a sign of an ectopic pregnancy.

You can read more in Cramps During Pregnancy – What You Need To Know.

Bleeding at 6 weeks pregnant

Bleeding can happen in early pregnancy and it causes pregnant women a lot of concern. If bleeding happens around 6 weeks pregnant it’s roughly the time when your period was due. This could mean implantation bleeding has occurred.

Almost a quarter of all pregnant women say they experience some spotting or bleeding in the first trimester. This bleeding is usually lighter and can vary in color, from pink to red, or even brown.

It might only be noticeable when you wipe with toilet paper and can happen with or without cramping.

If there is bleeding similar to your normal period or more severe cramping, it’s important to seek professional medical advice. It might be nothing to worry about, but it’s always worth getting checked out.

Please read Early Pregnancy Bleeding | How Much Bleeding Is Normal? for more information.

6 weeks pregnant belly

With all those pregnancy symptoms likely to start around now, you can be forgiven for thinking you might have something to show for it – like a little belly bump.

It’s pretty common to be a little bloated at 6 weeks pregnant but it’s unlikely you’ll look pregnant from the outside, or to someone who doesn’t already know your pregnancy news.

However, women who have been pregnant before, or are carrying more than one baby, might notice their belly ‘pops’ out much faster than in their previous pregnancies.

By 6 weeks pregnant the volume of blood circulating around the body has already increased. This increased blood flow to the uterus and, eventually, to the placenta will help support your baby’s development throughout the pregnancy.

6 weeks pregnant – twins

Until you have an ultrasound, it’s not possible to tell you’re pregnant with twins very early on. Many mamas of twins, however, report they felt their early pregnancy symptoms ramped up a notch at the 6-week mark.

There tend to be more pregnancy hormones involved with twins so it’s not uncommon for you to feel more tired and have more morning sickness in the first trimester.

That being said, it’s not the case for all twin pregnancies.

An early ultrasound might be recommended if you’re known to be carrying twins early on in the pregnancy (for example if you’ve been having regular scans for IVF treatment). This is usually offered due to the higher risk of complications with multiple pregnancies.

6 weeks pregnant – your baby

What exactly is your baby up to in there when you’re 6 weeks pregnant?

If you were able to look closely at your baby’s body, you would see four tiny buds.

As your baby grows, these limb buds will soon become your baby’s arms and legs. On each side of your baby’s head, an eye has already started to develop.

During the coming weeks, the eyes move into the correct position and recognizable facial features begin to develop.

Nose, mouth, and ears are also taking shape and form your baby’s face.

The lungs are just starting to appear, along with the kidneys and intestines.

Between pregnancy weeks 4 and 6, your baby’s neural tube forms and then closes; this later becomes your baby’s spinal cord, spine, brain, and skull. If this fails to close properly during fetal development, your baby will develop what’s known as a neural tube defect or NTD.

Most care providers will recommend pregnant women take a daily dose of folic acid, which is known to prevent, or reduce the chances of your baby developing a NTD, such as spina bifida.

Is there a heartbeat at 6 weeks pregnant?

Your baby already has a circulatory system, but your baby’s heart, which is no bigger than a poppy seed, isn’t yet fully formed. It only has two chambers instead of the usual four. But they will soon develop.

The tiny heartbeat beats about 150 times a minute, which is about twice the rate of the average adult heart.

6 weeks pregnant baby size

At 6 weeks pregnant, your growing baby is about the size of a sweet pea – around 4-5 mm in length. If you could look really closely, you’d see he, or she, is starting to look like a little jellybean.

Doctors measure babies at this age from crown to rump (i.e. head to bottom), so the measurement excludes the legs. If you see the initials CRL (crown rump length) on your ultrasound or report, this is what it means.