First trimester
8 weeks pregnant
The embryo is around the size of a raspberry and has started making small spontaneous movements. You cannot feel them and will not for months, but they are happening.
Size of
kidney bean
Length
16 mm
Weight
1 g
Your baby at 8 weeks
Fingers and toes are becoming distinct, though still slightly webbed. Elbows and knees are identifiable, and the limbs can flex.
The tail-like structure present in earlier weeks has disappeared. Facial features are more defined, with eyelids forming and the upper lip and nose taking shape.
All the major organs are now present in some early form. The remainder of pregnancy is largely about growth and maturation rather than new structures appearing.
How you may be feeling
Many people have their booking appointment around now or shortly after. It typically involves a detailed medical history, blood tests, blood pressure, and a conversation about screening choices.
Symptoms usually continue at full strength. The uterus is around the size of a large orange, which is enough to cause bloating and a feeling of fullness even though you are not visibly pregnant.
Common symptoms around week 8
- Nausea and fatigue, typically still prominent
- Bloating and a feeling of abdominal fullness
- Breast changes, including visible veins and darkening areolae
- Occasional dizziness, particularly on standing quickly
- Mild headaches, which are common in early pregnancy
Appointments and tests around now
The booking appointment is usually offered somewhere between weeks 8 and 12. Blood tests typically cover blood group, rhesus status, haemoglobin, and immunity to certain infections. Screening options for chromosomal conditions are usually discussed here, because some are time-limited.
What is normal, and what varies
It is normal to feel ambivalent, anxious, or simply strange about all this, including in a wanted pregnancy. Those feelings are common and worth mentioning at appointments rather than hiding.
Worth doing this week
Take your questions to booking
Screening decisions are easier to make when you have asked what each test does and does not tell you, and what the timescales are.
Stand up slowly
Blood pressure changes in pregnancy make light-headedness common. Moving gradually from lying to sitting to standing helps.
Know your rhesus status
If you are rhesus negative, it affects care later in pregnancy. It is worth knowing the result rather than assuming it is on file somewhere.
Looking ahead
Next week the embryo officially becomes a fetus, and the most intense phase of organ formation is behind you.
Nearby weeks
Not sure which week you are in? The week tracker works it out from the first day of your last period, and the due date calculator gives you an estimated due date.