Cramping during 5 weeks pregnant
Baby Development, Symptoms and Tips
Key Takeaways at 5 Weeks Pregnant
- Missed your period? If you’ve diligently been charting your cycle, you’ve probably taken a test and gotten the good news. Congrats!
- You may also feel pregnant. Symptoms like morning sickness, exhaustion, bloating and sore breasts tend to kick in around this time as hCG is now ever present in your system.
- You might be able to hear the baby's heartbeat at 5 weeks, but it could take more time. Many doctors and midwives won’t schedule your first prenatal visit for another couple of weeks.
You’ve just been initiated to the pregnancy club! Week 5 is a common time for moms-to-be to find out they’re pregnant. That’s because by now you’ve probably realized you’ve missed your period and then thought, whoa—maybe I should take a test! Plus, at 5 weeks pregnant, heightened hormone levels may be giving you symptoms that are tough to ignore, like sore breasts, nausea and fatigue. For updates on what’s happening with you and baby throughout your pregnancy, sign up for The Bump pregnancy week-by-week newsletter emails.
Baby at Week 5
Your week-5 embryo doesn't look like much more than a tadpole right now, but they’re already starting to form major organs (heart, stomach, liver and kidneys) and systems (digestive, circulatory and nervous).
How big is baby at 5 weeks?
At 5 weeks pregnant, baby is the size of an apple seed. Yep, your embryo is now measurable—though at week five of pregnancy, it's a wee 0.13 inches from crown to rump (a.k.a. head to bum)—and baby's gearing up for much more growth. In fact, in the next week they’ll almost double in size. Grow, baby, grow!
5 weeks pregnant is how many months?
At 5 weeks pregnant, you're entering your second month of pregnancy. Remember, most doctors start counting pregnancy from the first day of your last period. While many people think of pregnancy as lasting 9 months, it’s really 40 weeks long.
If you’re counting four weeks to a month, that adds up to 10 months! Of course, some months have five weeks. That’s why many doctors avoid tracking pregnancy by month and refer to your progress simply by week.
5 week ultrasound
If you don’t have a medical history that puts you at higher risk for pregnancy complications, you won’t likely have a 5 weeks pregnant ultrasound. Instead, you’ll just have to wait impatiently until your first prenatal visit, around week 8 or 9. We feel your pain!
When you do have your first ultrasound, the doctor or technician will measure baby from crown to rump and could adjust your due date based on baby’s size (which would change which week of pregnancy you’re in). You’ll have a slew of blood tests and urine tests to be sure you and baby are both doing fine. So while you’re totally amped up to see baby’s tiny fluttering heartbeat on the ultrasound screen, remind yourself you can wait a few weeks for the blood draws and peeing in a cup.
Is there a heartbeat at 5 weeks?
A heartbeat may be detectable between 5 and a half weeks and 6 weeks, but not always. That’s why, unless you have preexisting conditions or fertility concerns, most doctors wait until at least 8 weeks for your first ultrasound.
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Pregnancy Symptoms at Week 5
The pregnancy symptoms you feel at 5 weeks are just the beginning of the slew of changes your body is about to go through. No need to dread the entire pregnancy based on what’s happening right now: Many moms-to-be say the first trimester is the toughest, so think of it as getting the rough stuff out of the way early. In the meantime, take care of yourself and get plenty of rest, eat right and figure out ways to help yourself feel better. If you’re wondering what to expect at 5 weeks pregnant, here’s what’s most common:
Sore breasts
Morning sickness gets all the attention, but aching breasts may actually be the most common symptom at 5 weeks pregnant.
Morning sickness
This bad boy is so inaccurately named. Nausea in early pregnancy can happen at any time of the day, not just morning. And unfortunately, some pregnant moms feel queasy pretty much all day. In fact, if you’re 5 weeks pregnant with twins, you may be more likely to have severe morning sickness. Experiment with different strategies to find what helps you deal with the queasies best. Eating small, frequent meals is one good one. You might also try Vitamin B6, ginger capsules, special nausea-reducing lozenges or lollipops and acupressure wristbands.
Fatigue
At 5 weeks pregnant, it’s normal to want to nap in the middle of a board meeting, a dinner date, a… well, pretty much any time. You’re zapped from making a baby and there’s not much you can do about it except get some extra rest, do some light exercise and eat every few hours.
Frequent urination
You might notice yourself having the urge to pee more often early in pregnancy.
This symptom at 5 weeks pregnant is in part because your kidneys are actually expanding. (Whoa!)
Cramps
Around 4 or 5 weeks, cramping could be a sign the embryo has implanted nicely into the lining of your uterus. Or it could be a sign your uterus is expanding and stretching your ligaments. If you’re feeling cramping at 5 weeks pregnant that’s severe or painful, call your doctor and get checked out to make sure it’s not a sign of a problem.
Spotting
When you’re 5 weeks pregnant, spotting can seem scary, but a little blood on your underwear could also be a sign of implantation. You might also spot a bit after sex, since your cervix is more sensitive now that you’re pregnant. This is totally normal, but if you’re having something that’s less like spotting and more like bleeding at 5 weeks pregnant—or really, if you’re concerned at all—call the doctor.
Some moms-to-be who are 5 weeks pregnant feel no symptoms at all. Or it might feel like, at 5 weeks pregnant, symptoms come and go.
And all of that is totally okay! Just because you’re not feeling sick or sore doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with the pregnancy. It just means you’re lucky!
What you might feel like at 5 weeks pregnant
The experience at 5 weeks pregnant can vary a lot from person to person, so it might be best not to expect anything specific, but to prepare for everything. If nothing else, you’re likely to feel more tired than usual, and your body is probably just starting to feel a little wonky, but hopefully you’re not in the thick of it quite yet. If your symptoms are severe, there’s never any harm in calling your doctor to check in (and possibly check for multiples!).
Your Pregnant Belly at 5 Weeks
At 5 weeks pregnant, your belly may look unchanged—or you may be a bit bloated or feel like you’ve already gained a pound. Heck, you might feel so sick that you can’t eat and worry you could have lost a pound. All those scenarios are considered perfectly normal and totally okay! All pregnant women are different and how their bodies change throughout pregnancy varies widely.
You’re probably starting to wonder a bit about overall pregnancy weight gain. The short answer is: You don’t need to worry too much about it yet. Doctors only recommend gaining a few pounds (1 to 5 to be exact) during the first trimester (which ends after week 13), and that will probably happen without you thinking too much about it.
The long answer is that you will need to gain weight during your pregnancy.
Your doctor will discuss personalized weight gain recommendations with you, since they vary based on body type. Here’s what the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends:
If you’re underweight (BMI under 18.5): Your recommended total pregnancy weight gain is 28 to 40 pounds.
In the second and third trimesters, aim to gain about a pound (1 to 1.3 pounds to be exact) per week.
If you’re of normal weight (BMI of 18.5 to 24.9):
- Your recommended total pregnancy weight gain is 25 to 35 pounds.
- In the second and third trimesters, aim to gain about a pound or a little less (0.8 to 1 pound to be exact) per week.
If you’re overweight (BMI of 25 to 29.9):
- Your recommended total pregnancy weight gain is 15 to 25 pounds.
- In the second and third trimesters, aim to gain a little over a half pound (0.5 to 0.7 pound to be exact) per week.
If you’re obese (BMI of 30 and above):
- Your recommended total pregnancy weight gain is 11 to 20 pounds.
- In the second and third trimesters, aim to gain about a half pound (0.4 to 0.6 pound to be exact) per week.
If you’re 5 weeks pregnant with twins (and starting at a normal BMI):
- Your recommended total pregnancy weight gain is 37 to 54 pounds.
- In the first half of pregnancy, aim to gain about a pound per week. In the second half, gain a little over a pound per week.
Wondering if you could be 5 weeks pregnant with twins? If you were, you probably wouldn’t know it yet, though as we mentioned above, some twin moms swear they had worse morning sickness.
They also may gain weight more rapidly and “start to show” earlier than women having one baby would.
Five weeks pregnant is a good time to ask your partner for a massage. You might not have a big bump, but at five weeks pregnant, your body is working fast and furiously to grow baby, so you deserve a little TLC, right?
Should I see a doctor at 5 weeks pregnant?
Unless you have any reason to believe there’s a problem with your pregnancy, there’s no real reason to see your doctor quite yet. The first prenatal appointment often takes place around week 8 or 9. But while you may need to wait a little bit longer to have your pregnancy officially confirmed, now is the time to call and schedule that first visit and ultrasound. If you have any concerns, share them when you call so you can get in to see your doctor when you need to.
"Most OB providers will see you around 8 to 10 weeks of gestation, unless you’re particularly high risk. But don’t call at 8 weeks expecting to get in the next day; do your homework early and make sure the office takes your insurance, delivers at the hospital you like and check out with friends about their philosophies.
" - Heather Bartos, MD, an ob-gyn and medical director of Be. Women’s Health & Wellness in Frisco, Texas.
Tips for 5 Weeks Pregnant
You’re at the very start of this long and exciting journey. Here’s what to keep in mind as you get your footing.
Skip certain foods
Now that you know you’re pregnant, there are certain foods you’ll have to put aside. As annoying as it is, some foods pose a safety concern for you and baby. Until your child is born, hold off on alcohol, raw dough and batter, raw or undercooked meat, hot dogs and cold cuts, paté and other refrigerated meat spreads, raw and undercooked seafood and eggs (including eggs with runny yolks and cured fish like lox), fish known for having high mercury levels, unwashed fruits and veggies, raw bean sprouts and any cheese, milk or juice that’s unpasteurized.
Break your coffee habit
The effects of too much caffeine on baby are unknown, so it’s smart to cut back on your habit.
As exhausted as you probably are right now, limit yourself to less than 200 milligrams of caffeine per day—or about two small cups of coffee or less. If you’re a tea drinker, the same general rules apply.
Avoid smoke
If you’re a smoker, stop smoking right away as it’s harmful to baby. If you are around people who smoke frequently, ask them to stay a significant distance away when they smoke so you’re not inhaling secondhand smoke (and so the smell of the smoke doesn’t make you nauseous!).
Pass on the litter box
You are officially off the hook for cleaning the litter box, as there’s the potential for contracting an infection called toxoplasmosis, which could harm baby. Oh darn. Enjoy passing this unpleasant task (that could make you heave anyway) off to someone else! It’s a good idea to avoid uncovered sandboxes and gardening without gloves too, since outdoor cats often use garden beds and sandboxes as their own personal toilets.
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Pregnancy Checklist at 5 Weeks Pregnant
Reminders for the week:
- Establish a healthy diet
- Start a pregnancy journal
- Come up with a plan to save for baby
5 Weeks Pregnant | Pregnancy
When you're pregnant, you have lots of questions.
Our week-by-week pregnancy guide is packed with lots of useful information. From what's happening inside your body, to how your baby is developing, and tips and advice on having a healthy pregnancy – this is your one-stop pregnancy guide!
- 1st trimester
- 2nd trimester
- 3rd trimester
Our week-by-week pregnancy guide is full of essential information. From early pregnancy symptoms to how your baby is growing and developing, you' ll find it all here.
- Week 4
- Week 5
- Week 6
- Week 7
- Week 8
- Week 9
- Week 10
- Week 11
- Week 12
To the outside world, you'll look much the same as usual – but on the inside, some amazing things are happening.
What's happening in my body?
Your baby's nervous system is developing, and the brain and spinal cord are taking shape.
The tiny heart is starting to form and will beat for the first time around now.
Many women realise that they're pregnant around week 5. You might notice that your period is late, and you may feel a bit under the weather. If you're wondering when to take a pregnancy test, now is a good time as they are sensitive to changes in your urine from week 3 or 4 onwards.
Finding out that you are pregnant can be exciting, but it's normal to have worries too. More than 1 in 10 mums feel anxious during pregnancy. Try not to keep your worries to yourself – talk to your midwife or doctor. You could also try doing some relaxing breathing exercises.
Food cravings
Are you getting food cravings? Some people do, some don't. Pregnancy cravings are caused by hormonal changes affecting your senses of taste and smell. Try to eat a balanced healthy diet. If you have any unusual cravings, like wanting to eat dirt, talk to your midwife or doctor, as you may have a condition called pica which is caused by a lack of iron.
Early pregnancy symptoms (at 5 weeks)
It's still early days, and many women won't know they're pregnant at 5 weeks. Not everyone has regular menstrual cycles, so you may not realise that your period is late. You might notice some light bleeding, and think it's your period, but it can also be a sign of implantation bleeding (when an embryo attaches to the lining of the womb).
In the 1st trimester, many women feel extreme tiredness. Other early signs of pregnancy can include:
- a metallic taste in your mouth
- sore breasts
- nausea - also known as "morning sickness", although you can experience it at any time (read about morning sickness in week 6)
- mood swings (week 8's page has information on mood swings)
- new food likes and dislikes
- a heightened sense of smell
- needing to pee more frequently
- a milky white pregnancy discharge from your vagina
- light spotting (see your doctor if you get bleeding in pregnancy)
- cramping, a bit like period pains
- darkened skin on your face or brown patches – this is known as chloasma faciei or the "mask of pregnancy"
- thicker and shinier hair
- bloating (read about bloating on week 16's page)
Read Tommy's guide to common pregnancy symptoms.
What does my baby look like?
Your baby, or embryo, is around 2mm long (about the size of a sesame seed). The face is starting to take shape, with a tiny nose and little eyes which stay closed until around 28 weeks. Your baby's brain and spinal cord are forming rapidly inside you.
Your baby already has some of its own blood vessels and a string of them will make up the umbilical cord. This cord delivers everything it needs from the placenta. The placenta, which is being created now, will give your baby nutrients and oxygen, while removing waste products.
Action stations
The advice for week 5 is the same as for week 4 - basically keep up the good work looking after yourself!
In particular:
Share the news with your GP or ask for an appointment with a midwife at your doctors' surgery. Alternatively you can refer yourself to your local hospital – look for contact details on their website.
You'll need to arrange a booking appointment.
This usually takes place between weeks 8 and 12 and takes around an hour. You can talk about the options for your pregnancy and the birth. You will also be offered screening tests for infectious diseases and conditions such as Down's syndrome. Now is a good time to ask about the Maternity Transformation Programme and how it could benefit you.
You will be offered your first dating scan at 8 to 14 weeks.
If it's your first pregnancy, you will probably have around 10 appointments and 2 scans in total.
Ask your midwife or doctor about online antenatal classes – they may be able to recommend one. The charity Tommy's has lots of useful information on antenatal classes and preparing you for birth.
Antenatal classes will give you the chance to meet other people and prepare you for parenthood. The NCT offers online antenatal classes with small groups of people that live locally to you.
Take prenatal vitamins. You're advised to take 400 micrograms of folic acid, every day, until at least week 12.
This helps your baby's nervous system to form and offers some protection from conditions such as spina bifida.
To keep bones and muscles healthy, we need vitamin D. From late March/early April to the end of September, most people make enough vitamin D from sunlight on their skin. However, between October and early March, consider taking a daily vitamin D supplement because we cannot make enough from sunlight.
Some people should take a vitamin D supplement all year round, find out if this applies to you on the NHS website. You just need 10 micrograms (it's the same for grown-ups and kids). Check if you're entitled to free vitamins.
Do you think you or your partner could have a sexually transmitted infection (STI)? If so, get it checked out, as this could affect your baby's development. Talk to your midwife or GP, or visit a sexual health clinic.
It's recommended that you do 150 minutes of exercise a week while pregnant. You could start off with just 10 minutes of daily exercise - perhaps take a brisk walk outside.
Check out Sport England's #StayInWorkOut online exercises (scroll to the pregnancy section). Listen to your body and do what feels right for you.
There's no need to eat for 2. If you pile on the pounds, you could put you and your baby at risk of health problems such as high blood pressure. Eat healthily, with plenty of fresh fruit and veg, and avoid processed, fatty and salty foods. You may be able to get free milk, fruit and veg through the Healthy Start scheme.
If you have a long-term health condition, then let your specialist or GP know that you're pregnant as soon as possible. Don't stop taking any regular medication without discussing it first with your doctor.
How are you today? If you're feeling anxious or low, then talk to your midwife or doctor who can point you in the right direction to get all the support that you need.
You could also discuss your worries with your partner, friends and family. You may be worried about your relationship, or money, or having somewhere permanent to live.
Don't keep it to yourself. It's important to ask for help if you need it.
You and your family should follow the government and NHS guidance on coronavirus (COVID-19):
To find out about about COVID-19 and pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding, have a look at advice on the:
Go back to week 4
Go to week 6
Convulsions during pregnancy | What to do with leg cramps in pregnant women
Why cramps occur during pregnancy and how to prevent or reduce pain.
Tuesday, October 23rd, 2018
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Cramping is a severe, sharp pain that most often occurs in the calf muscle, as well as in the neck, back, hands, back and front of the thigh.
Unpleasant contractions can disturb the expectant mother at any stage of pregnancy.
Seizures occur day and night, last a few seconds or minutes, and muscle tenderness persists for up to a day after the episode.
Causes of convulsions during pregnancy and solutions
Pain can occur due to a lack of certain vitamins and minerals in the body of a pregnant woman, and may also indicate a serious illness. Let's look at the most common causes and find solutions to the problem.
Deficiency of vitamins and microelements
A woman carrying a baby needs much more nutrients than usual. And the lack of calcium and magnesium often becomes the culprit of leg cramps during pregnancy.
What to do?
Take prenatal vitamins (only as directed by your doctor!) and eat foods rich in essential nutrients. For example, with a lack of calcium, which ensures the work of muscle cells, painful contractions may disturb.
Therefore, such a microelement is a must in the daily diet.
Do not forget about magnesium, which helps in the absorption of calcium by the body. Magnesium is rich in parsley, basil, dill, avocado, lentils, beans, coriander.
Toxicosis of pregnant women
When a woman vomits, she loses useful trace elements, previously obtained from food and vitamin-mineral complexes. It is very important not only to quickly fill this shortage, but also to reduce toxicosis at the beginning of pregnancy.
What to do?
Try to eat neutral foods that do not cause nausea in the morning: crackers, bread, raisins. During the day, eat fractionally, in small portions. If toxicosis is debilitating and prolonged, inform your doctor.
See also: Toxicosis - norm or pathology
Low hemoglobin level
Sometimes cramps of the calf muscles in pregnant women are accompanied by dizziness and weakness.
The cause of this condition may be a low level of hemoglobin. A blood test helps to identify this.
What to do?
Low hemoglobin is an indicator of iron deficiency in the body. Enrich your diet with iron-containing foods: egg yolks, beef, liver, buckwheat, nuts, pomegranate juice. And also follow the doctor's recommendations.
Increased progesterone levels
As soon as a woman begins to bear a child, the concentration of the hormone progesterone increases and blood flow in the legs worsens.
What to do?
To improve blood metabolism in the calf muscles, try to do light physical activity. Walk outdoors and do morning exercises. Also, applying a cream against varicose veins, a roller under the legs for easy lifting, massage, and contrast baths will help prevent or weaken nighttime leg cramps during pregnancy.
Some studies show that light exercise before bed for a few minutes can prevent sleep cramps.
Taking diuretics
Faced with edema, some mothers take drugs that remove fluid from the body. But along with excess water, a woman also loses valuable substances. And when the balance is disturbed, convulsions appear.
What to do?
No need to fight excess fluid - just reduce your intake! But do not overdo it, because in the opposite situation, metabolic disorders may occur. Additionally, adjust the daily menu: exclude from it pickles, black bread, sauerkraut, herring, that is, everything that retains fluid in the body and provokes you to take an additional portion of water.
Also Read: Pregnancy Drinking Routine
Advice from the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons
- Stop Cramping Activities
- Massage your muscles and lightly stretch
- Use warm compresses to relieve tension
- Apply cold to reduce muscle soreness
- If you feel pain, keep your leg in a stretched position until symptoms subside
Wear comfortable shoes, especially if you have varicose veins or flat feet.
Sometimes convulsions during pregnancy are a symptom of an illness or a complication during the period of bearing a child. Therefore, if there are pain in the muscles (even rare and minor), be sure to seek help from your doctor.
Similar articles:
Can pregnant women go in for sports?
How to prevent varicose veins in the legs?
How to get rid of swollen legs
Read more
Interventions for leg cramps during pregnancy
What is the problem?
Leg cramps manifest themselves as sudden, intense involuntary contractions of the leg muscles. This is a common problem during pregnancy, especially in the third trimester. They are painful and can interfere with daily activities, disrupt sleep, and reduce quality of life. Various types of interventions are used to treat leg cramps during pregnancy, including medications, electrolytes (magnesium, calcium, sodium) and vitamins, as well as non-drug therapies such as muscle stretching.
Why is this important?
The purpose of this review was to find out which treatment for leg cramps during pregnancy is effective and safe.
What evidence did we find?
In September 2019, we searched for evidence and identified eight randomized controlled trials in 576 women 14 to 36 weeks pregnant comparing magnesium, calcium, calcium with vitamin D, or B vitamins versus placebo or no treatment, and compared vitamin C with calcium. All drugs were given as tablets to chew or swallow.
Magnesium supplements may reduce the incidence of leg cramps in women compared with placebo or no treatment, although studies have not been consistent. Different studies have assessed the effect of magnesium supplementation differently. Some studies have shown magnesium to help reduce the incidence of leg cramps, while others have shown little or no effect.
Data on the effect of magnesium on pain reduction was also inconclusive, with only one study showing a reduction in pain intensity, while others showed no difference. Differences in the occurrence of side effects such as nausea and diarrhea were negligible or non-existent.
Calcium did not always reduce the incidence of leg cramps in women after treatment compared to those who did not receive any treatment. It also found that the evidence was of very low quality, so we cannot be sure of the results.
More women who received B-vitamin supplements made a full recovery compared to those who received no treatment; however, these results were based on a small sample size and the study had design limitations.
Frequency of leg cramps did not differ between women receiving calcium and women receiving vitamin C. with placebo.
What does this mean?
The quality of the evidence was low to very low. This was mainly due to small study sample sizes and study design weaknesses.
Four studies were well-conducted and presented their reports. The remaining four had flaws in their design: in several studies, women were not best assigned to different treatment groups, and in two studies, women knew whether they were receiving treatment or not. Adverse effects, such as the effect of treatment on complications of pregnancy, childbirth and child, were not reported. Several studies have focused primarily on serum calcium and magnesium levels. The frequency and intensity of seizures and duration of pain were not uniformly reported, and there was often no information on whether they were assessed during treatment, at the end of treatment, or after treatment was discontinued.
It is not clear from the evidence reviewed whether any oral interventions (magnesium, calcium, calcium with vitamin D, B vitamins, vitamin D, or vitamin C) are an effective and safe treatment for leg cramps during pregnancy. Supplements can have different effects depending on how women usually take them.
