If you’ve been tracking your cycle with Basal Body Temperature BBT), you may suspect on day 29 that you’re pregnant, when your temperature remains elevated.  Even if you don’t have a balanced cycle, you can be fairly certain that if your BBT remains elevated for 18 days, pregnancy is likely.  Or maybe it’s been five to six weeks since your last period and no signs of bleeding have occurred.  With an irregular cycle, you might just assume you’re experiencing another delayed period and wonder how heavy your period is going to be this cycle.  Any one of these reasons commonly causes women to take a urinary pregnancy test, which detects the presence of Hcg hormone.  An ultrasound this early usually can’t confirm anything (but ultrasound does introduce non-ionizing radiation to your rapidly developing baby, so use this sparingly).

Approximately 25% of women will experience spotting from implantation (when the placenta cells begin attaching to the uterine lining around one week after ovulation).  Most of the placenta’s circulation develops in the first trimester, but growth will continue through the whole pregnancy.  Implantation bleeding is characterized by spotting (light pink or brown discharge that does not drip into the toilet or require a pad) and may coincide with minor cramping.  It’s often mistaken for signs of an early period or low progesterone.  Bleeding and cramping in the first trimester may be miscarriage but can also be subchorionic or subplacental bleeding (bleeding between the membranes and uterus), which usually resolves by twenty weeks.  More than one day of spotting is a reason to reach out to a care provider.

However you choose to monitor your pregnancy, your body and baby are already communicating with you that changes are occurring. Without any modern methods of pregnancy confirmation, you may notice an increase of warmth and breast fullness remains after 4 weeks if progesterone is rising.  You may feel sore breasts or moody if progesterone is low.  You may continue to feel restful and introspective longer than usual after ovulation and may begin to desire the presence of women friends and family as your hormones begin to change, requiring more of these nurturing atmospheres in this time.

Around six to eight weeks gestation (from the time the follicle has started maturing), you may start to notice food desires changing, or even strong cravings and nausea. This is more common when there are nutrient imbalances and toxin overloads.  While your uterus isn’t above the pubic arch yet, many women begin to feel fullness in their belly at this time, or even bloating if their food choices have been heavy on grains, sugar and other sweeteners or processed foods, or low in nutrients.

No matter what you may experience with appetite, your baby has brought everything they will use during the first few months of pregnancy with the genetics provided from the sperm and the egg.  Toxins can be detrimental to a developing baby at this time, but the conceived baby won’t be influenced significantly by mom’s nutrition during the first trimester.  This means your pre-conception nourishment (12 months prior) is vital, so your baby has all they need in the first months.  When their nervous system and spinal cord start developing in the first days after conception, pre-conception nutrition makes this happen.  When their heart starts beating in the first week of their life, mom’s and dad’s nourishment through epigenetics in pre-conception set the rhythm for every beat thereafter.  When a baby’s organs, fingers, and toes are developing, all within the first two months of life, they’re using everything that was given to them before conception.  Waiting for a positive pregnancy test is too late to create the genetics for this baby.  At this point, we are affecting mom’s experience of pregnancy.

During the first trimester, avoiding any toxic substances, hormone disruptors, and abortifacient herbs or medications is crucial for preventing miscarriage and some congenital birth complications.  However, the focus in these first months is encouraging the placenta to attach and develop a strong circulatory communication with mom, balancing mom’s blood sugar, stress and hormones, and setting the tone for the remainder of the pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.  Foods that support a robust immune system and encourage cell growth, such as antioxidants, dark leafy greens, and vitamin-rich nutrient-dense foods are crucial for mom’s ability to maintain, and thrive within, a health pregnancy.  These choices also affect the way baby’s created genetics turn on and off for the rest of their life.