Your Pregnancy: Week 6

Your pēpi is the size of a pea.

At week 6, your baby measures approximately 4mm from head to bottom, or crown to rump. The crown rump length or CRL is a measurement used in ultrasound scans to date your pregnancy in the first trimester. As the embryo is curled up in utero its full length can’t be measured but it’s approximately the size of a pea.

Your baby’s tiny heart is beating and pumping blood, if the heartbeat can be picked up on an ultrasound it looks like it’s fluttering. Little buds which are to become the legs and arms are starting to grow. So is your baby’s brain and central nervous system. Along the sides of the head, optic vessels are forming to eventually become the eyes. The inner ear, larynx, and digestive and respiratory systems are developing too.

You probably don’t look pregnant yet but many people are feeling it and beginning to suffer from extreme tiredness around now, often accompanied by nausea and occasional vomiting. Read our advice on how to help soothe your morning sickness if you’re experiencing symptoms.