Pregnancy Week 1 - The Journey From Conception
Author: Julie Watkins
During pregnancy week 1 your future baby's inherent blueprint has already been planned in as your body prepares itself for pregnancy. Only the most fertile sperm will enter through the sturdy casing of the egg, known as the 'oocyte' to blend with it's deepest cell. The two adjoining cells of the egg and the sperm will now be known as a 'zygote'. This moment of formation is when your pregnancy has begun.
Cell replication from the 'zygote' will get underway within 24 hours which then become known as 'blastomeres' that make their passage along the fallopian tube. After arriving in your uterus, about 72 hours later, the cells will have developed into a lively ball of cells called a 'blastocyst'. It usually takes around 1 week from the time of conception for the blastocyst to connect itself onto the wall of your uterus using little finger-like projections. The blastocyst will then expel the hCG hormone to tell the body that you are now pregnant. This ensures that it continues producing progesterone as well which will aid to keep the pregnancy viable.
Producing these hormones will ensure that the blastocyst stays secluded and intact. Also, in order to stop your immune system mistaking the blastocyst as a foreign body and attacking it, an immunosuppressant protein will also be released during this process. Now that the blastocyst is carefully attached and acknowledged by the body it will continue on with it's swift cell division. Three cell layers are shaped in the first stages of pregnancy, known as 'germ layers'. Each layer is accountable for a different part of the baby's growth. You will not know that you are pregnant during pregnancy week 1, however, your body is already well under way. In preparation for your pregnancy, your body will have already begun to undergo changes such as a thickening cervix and a softened uterus. The hCG hormone that is released by the body is the same hormone that is used by home pregnancy test kits to ascertain the pregnancy. These levels will not be elevated enough inside the body yet to generate an accurate impression. If you deduce that you may be pregnant then you will either need to wait until the end of the second week to effectively use a home testing kit or see your GP for a blood test - this will ensure a 100% reading within the first week.About the Author:
For more information on
pregnancy week 1 or to discover more about your various pregnancy stages week by week for both you and your baby you can visit us at:
Stages Of Pregnancy Development.
Pregnancy Announcement Cards and Announcing Pregnancy Cards