Week 7

What's growing

Tiny but precise

About 1 cm. Hand and foot plates form, the brain doubles in size in this week alone.

Source: Moore, Persaud & Torchia, The Developing Human, 11th ed. (2020)

What's changing in you

More fatigue than logic explains

Progesterone is sedating; cardiac output is rising. Naps are work.

Source: Soma-Pillay et al., Cardiovascular Journal of Africa 27(2), 2016 — Physiological changes in pregnancy

General info — not personalized medical advice.

Maternal brain

Dreams may intensify

Vivid pregnancy dreams are documented across trimesters. Not omens — processing.

Source: Hoekzema et al., Nature Neuroscience 20, 287–296 (2017)

You & baby

Your first scan may be soon

For many, the first heartbeat scan is when bonding visibly accelerates.

Source: Condon, British Journal of Medical Psychology 66(2), 1993 — Antenatal emotional attachment

For your partner

Come to the first appointment

Co-presence at early scans predicts stronger paternal-fetal attachment trajectories.

Source: Feldman, Hormones and Behavior 77, 2016 — The neurobiology of human attachments

Move with care

Pelvic floor, gently

Start 360° pelvic-floor breathing now — not at week 30. Bø et al. show that early integration outperforms late starts at preventing leaking.

Source: Bø et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine 50(10), 2016 — Pelvic floor & exercise in pregnancy

General info — not personalized medical advice.

Eat for two brains

Iron-aware meals

Iron needs begin to climb. Pair plant iron with vitamin C; avoid coffee/tea with iron-rich meals.

Source: WHO Guideline: Daily iron and folic acid supplementation in pregnant women (2012)

General info — not personalized medical advice.

60-second prompt

What's one thing you'd like to drop?

An expectation, a comparison, a metric.

Source: Lieberman et al., Psychological Science 18(5), 2007 — Affect labeling