Week 11 usually opens the dating scan window, and with it the first screening choices anyone offers you. There is a lot of paperwork attached to a week in which you still do not look pregnant. It is worth reading before the appointment rather than in the waiting room.
Your body this week
Stretching muscles and ligaments can give aching pains around the stomach as things start to bulge. The NHS says to see a midwife or doctor promptly if it hurts a lot, which is a distinction worth taking seriously — ordinary stretching aches and pain that stops you doing things are not the same thing.
Blood volume is up to around 50% higher than usual, which can leave you hot, sweaty and dizzy. The placenta is close to taking over from the yolk sac, and the hormone shifts during that handover leave many women tired and emotional.
What you may notice
Aches around the bump, nausea, mood swings, a metallic taste, sore breasts, indigestion and heartburn, headaches, dizziness, new food likes and dislikes, a heightened sense of smell, a white milky discharge, cramping, darker skin patches, greasier skin, thicker hair, and bloating.
Tiredness is often the dominant one. Gentle exercise — the NHS suggests walking — helps some women more than rest does, which is counter-intuitive and worth trying once.
Your baby this week
Around week 11, the length quoted is about 41mm from head to bottom, which the NHS compares to a fig. The head is still large relative to the body, and the body is catching up quickly. These figures describe averages, not an individual pregnancy.
Fingers and toes are separating. There are tiny fingernails and small ears. Movement is happening constantly at this stage, and almost nobody feels anything for several more weeks.
What care usually happens around now
In England, the dating scan is offered between 8 and 14 weeks, and most women have it between 11 and 14 weeks so that screening can be done at the same visit. It measures the pregnancy to work out how far along it is and checks how many babies there are.
Screening for Down's syndrome, Edwards' syndrome and Patau's syndrome is offered around now. In the UK the combined test uses a nuchal translucency measurement — the fluid at the back of the baby's neck — together with a blood test. ACOG describes a similar first-trimester screening combination in the US.
The point everyone skips: a screening result is a chance, not an answer. It says how likely something is, and a further test is what gives a yes or a no. Screening is offered, never required, and what is offered varies between countries.
This week's tip
Decide, before the scan, whether you want screening — and talk it through with whoever will be with you. The appointment is not a good place to make that decision for the first time, because the scan and the blood test often happen in the same visit and the sonographer will ask. Either answer is allowed.
When to see a doctor
Report bleeding, severe or one-sided pain, or pain around the bump that is more than an ache. Dizziness that comes with a headache or vision changes needs care today. Pregnancy warning signs has the list.
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
Does a dating scan change my due date?
It can. A scan measurement is usually treated as more accurate than a remembered period date, and dates are often adjusted after it. Check where you are before and after.
Do I have to have screening?
No. It is offered and you may decline any part of it. Week 12 covers the scan itself, and week 10 covers the booking appointment where it is usually first discussed.