Week 3 of the pregnancy is the period of time when most women actually become pregnant. Remember, for the first 2 weeks, you are not actually pregnant, as pregnancy medically starts from the first day of your last menstrual cycle.

So, at 3 weeks pregnant, one egg will have become dominant, released from the ovaries, and travelled down one of the fallopian tubes. The fallopian tube is the conduit that leads to the womb from the ovary. An ovum can remain in the tube for around a day, and it is during this time that fertilization of the egg by a sperm takes place. Check out the rest of this article to find answers and ease any worries that you may be having if you think you are showing early signs of pregnancy at week 3.

3 Weeks Pregnancy Symptoms

Signs of pregnancy at week 3 may be subtle, but there are certain things to look out for as pregnancy symptoms for week 3. Here are some the most common signs:

• Metallic Taste
  If it feels like you’ve been sucking on a coin all day and can’t quite get the taste of your mouth, don’t worry, this is a common symptom at 3 weeks pregnant. As usual, hormonal changes are responsible for this symptom, and it may not settle down until the second trimester. There are some things you can do to counter this. Try to consume citrus foods or drink water diluted with apple cider vinegar – high-acid foods will help counter the metallic taste in your mouth. Just be sure to have everything in moderation and consult your doctor if the issue persists or worsens.
• Nausea and vomiting
  A common symptom at 3 weeks pregnant is feeling nauseated and throwing up. This might feel awful at the time, but it is perfectly normal, and many women experience this early sign of pregnancy at week 3.
• Frequent urination
  This not one of the common early signs of pregnancy in the first 3 weeks, and most women will usually experience this symptom later in the pregnancy cycle. Yet, it can happen as early as week 3 for some women.
• Abdominal pressure or cramps
  Any pressure that you may be feeling in your abdomen is very common at this stage, especially for women who are going through their first pregnancy. It can be a result of various factors – embryo implantation, thickening of the uterine line, or an increase in blood flow.
• Sense of Smell
  A very strong two weeks pregnant symptom is an increased sense of smell. This is caused by fluctuating hormones (particularly an increase in estrogen), and can magnify all smells, whether good or bad! Unfortunately, this also has the potential to exacerbate morning sickness, as you will become sensitive to smells that you may not have noticed before.

Your Body at Week 3

This is the week that you have ovulated, and conception has finally happened. So, although it might sound strange, being 3 weeks pregnant is the first week that you are actually pregnant! The first two weeks of your pregnancy (from the first day of your last cycle) are merely to help the doctor predict the due date of your baby.

So, at the first three weeks of pregnancy, the sperm has entered the outer layer of the ovum to form the zygote (fertilized egg). This zygote then creates a barrier around it to prohibit other sperms from entering. Then, this single-cell fertilized egg, splits to form two cells – then four, then eight, and so on and so forth. After a couple of days, the fertilized egg will be made up of around 100 cells, some which will form the embryo, and others which will eventually become the placenta.

Other interesting things are happening to your body when you are three weeks pregnant. After the egg is released, it is replaced in the follicle by a body of cells known as corpus luteum. This cluster of cells is essential throughout the first weeks of pregnancy, as it produces estrogen and progesterone to nourish the embryo until the placenta takes over at around week 10 of the pregnancy.

Photo by Bonnie Kittle on Unsplash

Baby Size at Week 3

At this stage of the pregnancy, your baby will be about the size of a vanilla seed – in other words, it will be absolutely tiny! The 3-week embryo is just a tiny consortium of cells that are dividing rapidly to prepare for the changes that your body will experience week by week of the pregnancy.

So, while the inner cells of the fertilized egg become the fetus at 3 weeks, the outer cells will develop into the placenta. This is all happening on a microscopic scale – your bay will be no bigger than a tiny vanilla seed or the head of a pin.

Week 3 Pregnant Ultrasound

A commonly asked question when you think you are displaying early symptoms of pregnancy at week 3, is whether or not an ultrasound is needed. The short answer is no. There is no ultrasound at week 3 as the pregnancy is still most likely undetected. An ultrasound can sometimes detect the baby at weeks 4-6, though it is usually not common to have one until even later.

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