6-weeks pregnant: baby development and diet tips
Your baby’s growth is in overdrive right about now. So many exciting developments in such a tiny little being! Read more about this week.
Baby development
Guess what? Your baby is now starting to develop skin! And, amazingly, all their other organs, while still tiny, are already in place. Optic nerves are developing, and their head is now well-formed, though still much larger than the rest of them. Their heart and liver are taking up a lot of room in your womb this now. Their arms and legs are lengthening, and the little ‘tail' will soon disappear. In the next couple of weeks, their ‘webbed’ hands and feet will make room for proper, well-separated fingers and toes. What a busy week!
Your body
You are well on your way, with your baby due in around 33 weeks. Many women have to shift down a gear around this time. Some of the less-than-pleasant side effects of pregnancy might be rearing their heads. They include for example, the much talked-about nausea, sleeping problems and mood changes. They appear because of the normal hormonal changes in your body due to pregnancy.
Still, don’t push yourself too much right now! Being pregnant may not be an illness, but there is still a strain on your body. Perhaps your daily routine and your working life will allow you to take an extra break here or there.
Nutrition
Experts recommend women eat a diet of folate-rich foods and take a multivitamin with at least 0.4 mg of folic acid, and iron, every day starting at least 3 months before pregnancy, and then continued throughout pregnancy and for 4 to 6 weeks postpartum and throughout breastfeeding.
Tips
Been wondering if you can or should stay physically active during pregnancy? The short answer is yes! Speak to your doctor if you have any questions about maintaining or starting exercise during pregnancy.
Reference:
SOGC. Pre-conception Folic Acid and Multivitamin Supplementation for the Primary and Secondary Prevention of Neural Tube Defects and Other Folic Acid-Sensitive Congenital Anomalies. SOGC Clinical Practice Guideline, No. 324. J Obstet Gynaecol Can. 2015;37(6):534-549.
Related articles
39-weeks pregnant: baby development and diet tips
You might have felt a few contractions already and were wondering if that was “it”. Don’t worry, you won’t miss the start of labour! Read more about the 39th week of pregnancy.
3 mins to read
22-weeks pregnant: baby development and diet tips
If you could look inside, you may see your baby sucking their thumb. It’s nature’s way of getting them ready to breastfeed from birth.
3 mins to read
Gestational diabetes symptoms
10 essential questions about gestational diabetes answered
6 mins to read
Food choices for a healthy pregnancy nutrition
Eating for two doesn’t mean eating twice as much food, but it should mean making your food work twice as hard.
5 mins to read
16-weeks pregnant: baby development and diet tips
16-weeks pregnant? Find out all you need to know about nutrition, diet and baby development at 16 weeks in our week-by-week pregnancy calendar.
2 mins to read
32-weeks pregnant: baby development and diet tips
Your baby is still developing as you head into the final lap, but it’s mostly perfecting and polishing from here on out. He or she is getting ready to meet you!
2 mins to read
What’s your blood sugar number?
The key question to ask if you’re being tested for, or monitoring, gestational diabetes.
2 mins to read
11-weeks pregnant: baby development and diet tips
If you could look inside, you’d see thin little hairs developing on your baby’s eyebrows and above their lip. Read more about this week.
2 mins to read
27-weeks pregnant: baby development and diet tips
Your baby still has some growing to do but as of today, they’re over 30 cm long, big enough laying down to fit on your forearm between your hand and your elbow.
3 mins to read
Your pregnancy snack selector
Moms-to-be in their second and third trimesters need to think about adding a few more calories to their diets — make them healthy ones with these nutritious snack ideas.
3 mins to read
5-weeks pregnant: baby development and diet tips
Though only around the size of a pea, your baby is growing by leaps and bounds. Relatively speaking!
Read more about this week.
2 mins to read
38-weeks pregnant: baby development and diet tips
Two more weeks! Yes, it’s true, you and your little one will soon be making each other’s acquaintance. Everything is pretty much in place.
3 mins to read
Did you know?
Maternal nutrition during pregnancy can influence baby's lifelong health
1 min to read
17-weeks pregnant: baby development and diet tips
Your little one now weighs more than 200g and is looking more and more like a “real” baby every day. Read more to learn what to expect during week 17 of pregnancy.
2 mins to read
33-weeks pregnant: baby development and diet tips
Six weeks. That’s about how long you’ve got left before you get to meet the little person growing inside you. Amazing, right? We think so.
3 mins to read
Pregnancy weight gain
There are many things you can do to prepare for the delivery of a healthy baby. One of the most important things is eating right to gain the extra weight you’ll need to support another life.
1 min to read
12-weeks pregnant: baby development and diet tips
You’re coming to the end of your first trimester. Congratulations! Read more about this week.
2 mins to read
28-weeks pregnant: baby development and diet tips
Your little one is around 35 cm long from crown to toe and already weights about 1.3 kilos, a third of their birth weight. Their feet measure nearly 6 cm – yes, they are tiny!
2 mins to read
They are what you eat
Did you know? Making wise food choices when you’re pregnant can set your baby up for a healthier future.
5 mins to read
