During the first 12 weeks or 3 months of your pregnancy, you will usually only put on about 1 or 2 kilos, or possibly less if you have morning sickness. Most of this weight is in the placenta (the afterbirth) and in your breasts, uterus and in the extra blood your body will make.

• During pregnancy your body works harder, your heartbeat and breathing rate are faster.
• Hormones may make your breasts become tender to the touch, and become larger and heavier.
• Your uterus will get bigger and put pressure on your bladder so that you need to urinate (pass water) more often.

Don’t worry if you think you are different from the week by week stages, as each woman will experience her pregnancy slightly differently.

First Few Weeks

• Each week of your pregnancy is numbered by the amount of weeks from the first day of your last period. This means that if you have a regular four week cycle, week 3 of your pregnancy will actually be the first week after your baby was conceived. At this stage, you will not have missed your period and won’t know if you are pregnant.
• During week 3 the fertilised egg burrows into the lining of your uterus and is the size of a full stop.
• During week 4, you still haven’t missed your period, but if you have been trying to conceive (get pregnant) you will probably be feeling very excited as you wonder if you have been successful this month.
• Specialised layers of cells are beginning to develop, which will form your baby’s vital organs, nervous system, bones, muscles and blood.