What's growing
Limb buds become hands and feet
Around 1.6 cm. Major organ systems are laid down; this is the most sensitive window for teratogen exposure.
Source: Moore, Persaud & Torchia, The Developing Human, 11th ed. (2020)
What's changing in you
Nausea is invisible labor
Up to 80% of pregnancies involve nausea or vomiting in T1. It is real physiology, not 'in your head'.
Source: ACOG Practice Bulletin 189 — Nausea and Vomiting of Pregnancy (2018)
General info — not personalized medical advice.
Maternal brain
Gray-matter remodeling has begun
Reductions in volume in social-cognition regions are not loss — they are specialization, and they last at least two years.
Source: Hoekzema et al., Nature Neuroscience 20, 287–296 (2017)
You & baby
Speak the idea of them out loud
Naming your baby — even a placeholder — moves them from concept to relationship.
Source: Cranley, Nursing Research 30(5), 1981 — Maternal-Fetal Attachment Scale
For your partner
Smell, snacks, quiet evenings
Concrete, low-effort support beats reassurance. Practical partner behavior predicts lower maternal distress.
Source: Dennis & Dowswell, Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2013 — Psychosocial interventions, perinatal depression
Move with care
Walks over workouts
20 min of easy walking is enough on a nauseous day. ACOG 804 sets the target at 150 min/week, however you accumulate it.
Source: ACOG Committee Opinion 804 (reaffirmed 2020) — Physical Activity and Exercise During Pregnancy
General info — not personalized medical advice.
Eat for two brains
Small, salty-savory, frequent
Eating every 2–3 hours, with protein + complex carbs, often blunts nausea more than ginger alone.
Source: ACOG Practice Bulletin 189 — Nausea and Vomiting of Pregnancy (2018)
General info — not personalized medical advice.
60-second prompt
Who will you tell first — and who can wait?
Choosing your audience is part of protecting your inner experience.
Source: Lieberman et al., Psychological Science 18(5), 2007 — Affect labeling
Developed and curated by perinatal psychologists, family & couples counsellors, doulas, perinatal health & fitness specialists, and IBCLCs / lactation consultants. Educational — not a substitute for medical care.