In 60 seconds
What to know now
- Pause and notice how you feel; excitement, fear, uncertainty and mixed emotions can all coexist.
- Arrange prenatal care and save the urgent contact route for your area.
- Do not start or stop medicine because of a generic online list.
What you may notice
Your body and how you may feel
A home test detects a pregnancy hormone, but it cannot confirm pregnancy location, exact dating or how the pregnancy is progressing.
Mild symptoms or no symptoms can both occur early. Severe one-sided pain, fainting, shoulder-tip pain or heavy bleeding need urgent assessment.
What is happening
Baby’s development this week
Pregnancy is dated from the first day of the last menstrual period, so the numbered week may begin before conception actually occurred.
Plain-language examples
What this means in real life
Concrete example: if your last period began five weeks ago and the test is positive today, care will usually call this about five weeks pregnant even though conception happened later.
If the pregnancy is wanted but the news feels frightening, that reaction does not make you a bad parent. Start with one care contact, not a nine-month plan.
A short checklist
What to do now
- Contact the maternity-care route for your area. Ask who provides pregnancy care, when the first appointment is, and which number handles urgent concerns.
- List prescriptions, painkillers, allergy remedies, vitamins, herbal products and anything used occasionally; review the list with a clinician or pharmacist.
- Save the urgent-care route and choose one trusted person for support if that feels safe.
Pause and check
What not to do—or what to ask first
- Avoid alcohol, smoking and recreational drugs; ask for nonjudgmental support if stopping is difficult.
- Ask before changing prescribed medicine.
- Use the pregnancy essentials and ask your doctor before an uncertain food, supplement or activity.
What may be coming up
Appointments, tests and decisions
The timing of a first routine visit depends on symptoms, medical history and the care plan you are given.
For the support person
One useful thing a partner can do
- Listen before problem-solving, protect privacy and help make the first contact if invited.
Contact your care team
Contact your doctor or maternity team promptly
Some concerns need advice before the next routine appointment even when they do not feel like an emergency. If a symptom becomes severe, sudden or frightening, use urgent care instead.
See when to contact careUrgent or emergency
Urgent signs during pregnancy or within a year after birth
Get medical care immediately for these symptoms. The list is not exhaustive; if something feels seriously wrong, seek help.
Open urgent warning signs