Congratulations! You’ve reached the 2nd month mark of your pregnancy and your uterus should be the size of an orange by now.

By pregnancy week 8, you would be preparing for your very first appointment with your obstetrician or pregnancy doctor.

Here are some tips about what to expect during your first appointment.

1. Your obstetrician will ask you about your

a) Menstrual cycle

b) Lifestyle (smoking, drinking, medication use)

c) History of previous pregnancies and

d) Calculate your EDD using their pregnancy wheel

2. Your obstetrician will then examine you and order for an ultrasound scan called the dating scan:

• The dating scan usually occurs between pregnancy week 6 and 12 to accurately date your pregnancy.

3. Blood tests: Your doctor will order blood tests to check for

a) Red blood count as anaemia, due to iron deficiency, is common in pregnancy

b) Blood type and rhesus status to ensure that the chance of your body rejecting your baby is low

c) Glucose

d) Hepatitis B

e) Syphilis

f) HIV and

g) Thalassemia

4. Urine test: Your doctor will also order a urine test  - to detect glucose, protein or urine infection.

5. Your doctor may also briefly discuss Down's Syndrome screening with you

The entire length of pregnancy usually warrants 10 to 12 appointments with your obstetrician.
The frequency of your appointments throughout your pregnancy is as follows:

• Pregnancy week 20 - 32: Every 4 weeks
• Pregnancy week 32 - 36: Every 2 weeks
• Pregnancy week 36 onwards: Every week

6 ways to cope with nausea and vomiting

Pregnancy weeks 8-10 is the period when your morning sickness peaks and intensifies.

Here are 6 useful tips to deal with nausea and vomiting:

1. Eat small and frequent meals throughout the day. This may be better than having large heavy meals.
2. Keep to a regular eating schedule and try not to skip meals
3. Avoid foods and smells that trigger nausea
4. Drink sufficient water as vomiting can cause dehydration
5. In cases of worsening or excessive symptoms, seek help and consult your doctor. You may require an anti-vomiting medication or have an underlying condition that needs to be investigated.
6. You may discover that some sour foods may help you deal with the nausea. Stick with what works for you.

Your baby's CRL is about 1.5cm in length this week. That's slightly smaller than a Singapore 5 cent coin! It's still extremely tiny but is getting more complex each week.

Limb development at pregnancy week 8

Grooves are starting to form on the paddle shaped limb buds, they will become the bends in your child's arm and eventually, little fingers and toes.

Heart development at pregnancy week 8

If you're lucky enough to have your first ultrasound, known as the dating scan this week, you might hear the first thuds of your child's heart beating. What was previously tube shaped beginnings of a heart is now more defined. You may even see the 4 chambers, though they may not yet be fully developed. 

Your placenta grows... and is that a tail?

The yolk sac the embryo had been dependent on for nutrients while the placenta was developing is now starting to shrink as its role is being taken over and demands are greater than it can supply. It will disappear shortly.

On the ultrasound scan, your doctor may have pointed out a funny looking tail to you. It's true, your baby does have what we call an embryonic tail. Everyone does at this stage, but it's slowly disappearing and becoming shorter as the weeks go by. 

Ref: L20

Click the link for the complete listing of articles for Pregnancy Week 1 - Week 40.