In the early stages of your pregnancy it’s helpful to learn as much as possible about what is happening to you and your baby.

First Month

You'll probably miss your first period about two weeks after your egg has been fertilized. Many of the pregnancy testing kits you can buy over-the-counter at the pharmacy can be used just a few days after your period would usually have started.

Always follow any pregnancy tests to the letter and always confirm the result with your healthcare professional. Some women jump for joy when they get the positive result. However, it's just as normal a reaction to feel ambiguous about a positive result even when you want a baby. Becoming a parent creates such major changes in your life that it's not surprising if the idea can sometimes take a bit of getting used to - sometimes several month's worth. Some women find that they don’t want to tell anyone, even their partner, for a little bit. The important thing is to do it when you feel ready.

Morning Sickness

In the early weeks of pregnancy, the most common symptom is nausea and often vomiting brought about by the increasingly high levels of pregnancy hormones. Morning sickness might be one of the first signs of pregnancy. It may be difficult but you can try to take some comfort in knowing that morning sickness actually means your pregnancy is progressing normally.

Although it is called morning sickness, it can strike at any time and many women feel sick towards the end of the day. It can occur more frequently when you don't eat enough, so always keep some snacks, such as dry crackers or fresh fruit, close at hand.

Pregnancy heightens your sense of smell, so some familiar foods can set off nausea. Common examples of this are tea, coffee, chocolate and foods that are high in fat or sugar. You might even find that the smell of your favourite perfume makes you nauseous!

For most women, morning sickness goes away at about month three of pregnancy when your body has adjusted to the high levels of pregnancy hormones.

What Can Help?

Food can relieve the symptoms of morning sickness and at this stage of your pregnancy it is important to be eating a good diet made up of the right foods for the health of both you and your baby. It can be better to eat small snacks often rather than two or three large meals.

The following tips can help to keep nausea at bay:

• Avoid certain smells such as smoky rooms – a good idea when you’re pregnant anyway.
• When you feel a wave of nausea coming, sit down and bend over so your head is resting between your legs.
• Eat and drink little and often.

Foods and snacks that can help to decrease feelings of nausea include:

• Ginger - as tea, cookies, capsules or cakes
• Toasted bread
• Fizzy water
• Natural yogurt
• Plain crackers, such as saltines
• Fruit juice
• Dried fruit
• Raw vegetables
• Herbal tea - especially ginger, chamomile or peppermint
• Glucose drinks
• Candies

If your morning sickness is very serious and you are vomiting several times a day and are unable to keep your food down, you could get dehydrated and should consult your healthcare professional. In extreme cases, and if left untreated, it can lead to dehydration which may require hospital treatment. Your healthcare professional might prescribe anti-nausea drugs that are known to be safe in the early stages of pregnancy. It’s important you only take medicines approved by your healthcare professional throughout your pregnancy.

Weeks 5-6

If you have a transvaginal ultrasound scan, which is sometimes done to confirm that a pregnancy is in place, your baby's heartbeat will show up as a tiny pinprick of light strobing on and off.

Weeks 7-8

• Your womb has grown from the size of a tangerine to that of a large apple, and a doctor can detect your pregnancy with a pelvic examination.
• Your breasts will be bigger and rounder. Your nipples will develop raised bumps which are known as Montgomery's Tubercules.
• Your cervix will have softened. Your cervical mucus will also have thickened to form a plug in the cervical canal, sealing off your womb.

Weeks 9-10

A rich hormonal mix of estrogen, progesterone, HCG and many others is circulating in your system at the moment. It's not uncommon to experience major mood swings as a result. This is totally normal and only temporary.

At this time your healthcare professional will ask about your diet, smoking and drinking, check your blood pressure, urine and weight, give you a blood test to check for anemia and whether you're immune to German measles, offer you a cervical smear and give you general information and advice about pregnancy.