What's happening with your baby at 7 weeks?
At 7 weeks, your baby is still called an embryo, roughly the size of a blueberry. Tiny arm and leg buds are forming, and small paddle-shaped hands are just starting to take shape.
The heart, which began beating around week 6, has now divided into right and left chambers and typically beats somewhere between 100 and 160 times a minute. Dark spots are marking where the eyes will be, and small pits are forming where the nostrils will develop.
The brain is growing quickly as the neural tube — which will become the brain and spinal cord — continues to close. The small tail-like structure your baby had a week or two ago is starting to shrink and will disappear over the coming weeks.
What symptoms are common at 7 weeks pregnant?
Nausea, fatigue, and breast tenderness are the most common symptoms at 7 weeks, and many people notice them more strongly now than a week or two ago. Not everyone gets all of these, and some people feel surprisingly few symptoms.
You may also notice frequent urination, food aversions, a heightened sense of smell, and mood swings that feel more intense than usual PMS. Mild bloating and occasional cramping as your uterus stretches are also common.
How strongly you feel any of this varies enormously from one pregnancy to the next. The intensity of your symptoms isn't a reliable sign of how the pregnancy is progressing.
Is morning sickness at 7 weeks a bad sign?
No — for most people, nausea and vomiting peak somewhere between weeks 6 and 9, so feeling worse now than you did last week is common and doesn't indicate a problem. It usually eases by the end of the first trimester, though the timeline varies.
Small, frequent meals, ginger, plain crackers, and staying hydrated can all help take the edge off. Some people find that eating something before getting out of bed in the morning reduces queasiness.
Call your provider if you can't keep any fluids down for 24 hours, you're losing weight, or you feel dizzy or faint. That level of vomiting is called hyperemesis gravidarum, and it's treatable — you don't need to just push through it.
What should you do at 7 weeks pregnant?
Keep taking a daily prenatal vitamin with folic acid, and book your first prenatal visit if you haven't already — most providers schedule this between weeks 8 and 12. If you have a chronic condition or a history of pregnancy complications, ask to be seen sooner.
Keep avoiding alcohol, smoking, raw or undercooked meat and fish, and unpasteurized dairy. If nausea is making it hard to eat well, don't worry about a perfectly balanced diet this week — focus on whatever you can keep down and stay hydrated.
If you're curious about your due date or how your dates line up, the [due date calculator](/due-date-calculator) can give you an estimate based on your last period or conception date.
When should you call your provider at 7 weeks?
Call the same day if you have heavy bleeding (soaking through a pad), severe abdominal pain, pain concentrated on one side, or fainting or severe dizziness. These can be signs of a complication that needs prompt attention, though most 7-week symptoms turn out to be ordinary.
Also call if you develop a fever, can't keep any liquids down, or notice light spotting that worries you — light spotting alone is common and often not a sign of a problem, but your provider can help you make sense of what you're seeing.