Week 10 is the week trousers stop doing up, usually before anything looks different to anyone else. The womb is around the size of a large orange now. Most women have their booking appointment somewhere around this point.
Your body this week
Progesterone relaxes the muscles of the womb so that it can expand, and it does not do that selectively. The muscles of the digestive tract loosen too, which slows everything down and is the reason for the bloating, the burping and the heartburn.
The NHS's suggestions are practical: six small meals rather than three big ones, no late-night eating, eating slowly, sipping fluids, and a short walk after a meal. Some women find coffee or rich, spicy and fatty food are the trigger.
None of that is a cure, and it does not need to be. It is a set of adjustments for a symptom that eases as the pregnancy goes on and then often returns in the third trimester for a different reason.
What you may notice
Extreme tiredness, nausea, mood swings, a metallic taste, sore breasts, indigestion and heartburn, headaches, dizziness, food likes and dislikes, a sharper sense of smell, a white milky discharge, cramping, darker patches of skin, greasier skin, thicker hair, and bloating.
The NHS adds a line worth repeating: if any symptom is worrying you, talk to a midwife or doctor. There is no list you have to match before a symptom counts.
Your baby this week
Around week 10, the figure given is about 30mm from head to bottom — apricot-sized, in the NHS's comparison. These are averages taken across many pregnancies rather than a measurement of yours.
Jerky movements are happening and can be seen on a scan, though they are far too small to feel. The face is coming into proportion, the eyes are half closed but react to light, the ears are forming, and the jaw already holds early versions of milk teeth. The NHS notes a heart rate around 180 beats per minute at this stage — roughly three times an adult's.
What care usually happens around now
The booking appointment often lands around week 10 in the UK: history, blood pressure, urine, blood tests, and a discussion of the screening choices offered later. It is a long appointment and it is worth arriving with questions written down.
Screening for Down's syndrome, Edwards' syndrome and Patau's syndrome is usually offered with the dating scan between weeks 11 and 14 in the UK. Which tests are offered, and when, differs between countries.
This week's tip
Buy or borrow one pair of trousers that fit now — not maternity clothes for later, just something comfortable this week. Women routinely spend the whole of the first trimester in waistbands that hurt because buying maternity clothes feels premature. It is not premature; it is week 10.
When to see a doctor
Contact a midwife or GP for any bleeding, severe or one-sided pain, dizziness that does not settle, or heartburn severe enough to stop you eating or sleeping. Pregnancy warning signs has the full list, and the first appointment explains what booking covers.
Seek care now: Contact your local emergency services or go to your nearest emergency department if you have heavy bleeding, severe or one-sided tummy pain, pain in the tip of your shoulder, a severe headache with vision changes, sudden swelling of the face or hands, a fever, chest pain, trouble breathing, fainting, or a seizure. Femio cannot assess a pregnancy.
Frequently asked questions
Why am I bloated when I am barely eating?
Because hormones have slowed your digestion down, not because of how much you eat. Smaller, more frequent meals help more than eating less.
Is heartburn this early normal?
It is common from the first trimester onwards. Week 11 covers the tests offered next, and week 9 covers the peak of the sickness. Tell your midwife if it is stopping you sleeping.