You probably don't look pregnant yet. If it's your first pregnancy you might not start showing until at least week 12. However, if this isn't your first baby, you may start showing sooner, as the muscles in your uterus (womb) and belly may have been stretched from your last pregnancy.
In week 4 of pregnancy, your body is beginning to form the placenta and amniotic sac. Symptoms like abdominal pressure and tender breasts may appear this week, and as the cluster of cells that will soon become your baby burrows into your uterine lining, you may also spot some implantation bleeding.
4 weeks pregnant bellies
Though you just found out you're pregnant, you may already feel the button on your pants digging into your belly. That's due to bloating, which can make your clothes uncomfortable even this early in your pregnancy journey.
By the time you're four weeks pregnant, your twins will each be about the size of a poppy seed. Their hearts will begin to beat in the next week, pumping blood throughout their tiny bodies. Even at this early stage, vital parts of your twins' nervous systems are already developing.
Week 4 of pregnancy
For example, a fertilised egg may have implanted in your womb just 2 weeks ago, but if the first day of your last period was 4 weeks ago, this means you're officially four weeks pregnant! Pregnancy normally lasts from 37 weeks to 42 weeks from the first day of your last period.
4 weeks pregnant and chances are you've missed a period so you already know something's up. Week 4 of pregnancy is when most women find out they're pregnant – either through a home pregnancy test or by officially visiting their doctor and getting a blood test done.
In a twin pregnancy, there are elevated levels of hCG, making it possible to have a very early positive result. However, home pregnancy tests won't confirm if twins are present, only the presence of hCG. It takes around 2 weeks after conception for hCG to be detected in a hCG pregnancy test.
You may have a positive pregnancy test this week, although it's still early enough for a false negative. If you do have a positive pregnancy test and are pregnant with twins, you won't know there are two babies until your provider sees two on ultrasound.
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!
Your first call at week 4 of pregnancy should be to your doctor to schedule your first prenatal visit, where they'll confirm your pregnancy with a urine or blood test. For updates on what's happening with you and baby throughout your pregnancy, sign up for The Bump pregnancy week-by-week newsletter emails.
It is very common to get backache or back pain during pregnancy, especially in the early stages. During pregnancy, the ligaments in your body naturally become softer and stretch to prepare you for labour. This can put a strain on the joints of your lower back and pelvis, which can cause back pain.
Is it normal to feel tired in pregnancy? It's common to feel tired, or even exhausted, during pregnancy, especially in the first 12 weeks. Hormonal changes at this time can make you feel tired, nauseous and emotional. The only answer is to rest as much as possible.
Pregnant women carrying girls have a greater chance of experiencing nausea and fatigue, according to the results of a study from the USA's Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
This is because of hormone changes and increased blood supply to the skin. Some women feel colder than usual in pregnancy. This does not necessarily mean that there is something wrong with you or your baby's health. It may just be that your body is going into overdrive while it tries to cool down.
3 weeks is usually too early to take a test if you want the most accurate result. Some women, however, will get a positive result by the end of this week. Although you might be desperate to find out, if you think you could be pregnant it's best to wait until next week.
It is estimated that 1 in 250 natural pregnancies will naturally result in twins. While twin pregnancies can happen by chance, there are some factors that may increase your odds of having two babies at the same time.
Range of hCG levels and what they can mean
The range for singletons is 5 – 397 and for twins it is 48 – 683.
Factors that increase the chance of twins include: consuming high amounts of dairy foods, being over the age of 30, and conceiving while breastfeeding. Many fertility drugs including Clomid, Gonal-F, and Follistim also increase the odds of a twin pregnancy.
Any positive line, no matter how faint, means your result is pregnant. Levels of hCG in your body will increase over the course of your pregnancy. If you test early, your hCG levels may be still be low and you'll see a faint positive line.
Even if a home pregnancy test confirms you're pregnant, you still need to make an appointment with an Ob/Gyn. The American Pregnancy Association recommends you make an appointment with your doctor for your first prenatal visit within eight weeks of your last menstrual period (LMP).
At 4 weeks, the blastocyst is splitting into an embryo and placenta, and an ultrasound of your uterus will only show what looks like a tiny dot called the gestational sac, and will not show a pregnancy until it is further advanced.