You are 6 weeks and 6 days

Your baby's tiny arms and legs are beginning to develop this week.

232 days until your due date

It will be some weeks before your baby, still an embryo, looks like a recognizable human fetus. But by the end of this week there are four simple limb buds, each slightly flattened at the end where a hand or foot will form over the next two weeks.

Apart from muscle tone, which comes much later, every stage of arm development happens before the matching stage in the legs.

The eyes are the first recognizable features on the face. They start as two simple dips on the surface, then a second dip forms inside each one; the inner one will become the lens and the outer one the eyeball. The eyes are set wide apart, and the ears and nose haven't formed yet.

Focus on

Nutrition: Know your fish

Fish is packed with nutrients that help your baby develop, so try to eat at least two portions a week.

But be careful about mercury, found in trace amounts in nearly all fish and shellfish, because it can harm an unborn baby's nervous system. The FDA and EPA recommend that pregnant women:

Don't eat the fish highest in mercury, including shark and swordfish.
Eat up to 12 ounces a week of lower-mercury seafood, such as shrimp, salmon, pollock, catfish, and canned light tuna.
Check local advisories on mercury for locally caught fish. If there's no guidance, eat up to 6 ounces and no other fish that week.

Ask a Doctor

Can exercise increase the risk of miscarriage?

No. If you're healthy and your doctor has given you the all-clear, there's no evidence that exercise raises the risk of miscarriage. The benefits of regular moderate exercise in pregnancy far outweigh the risks to you and your baby.

At this stage, the key is to exercise at the same level as before you were pregnant. Don't start any new high-impact or strenuous activity or take up a new sport.

Explainer

The early circulation

The baby's circulatory system is still very basic. The heart forms a bulge in the upper body, and beneath it lies the liver, where blood cells are starting to be made.

This is general information based on NHS guidance, not medical advice, and every pregnancy is different. Talk to your midwife or GP about anything that worries you. If your baby's movements slow down or change, or you have bleeding, severe pain or leaking fluid, call your maternity unit straight away. In an emergency, call 999.