The first stage of pregnancy falls into the first trimester and lasts for about 0 to 12-14 weeks. Your body undergoes many changes as it adjusts to your growing baby. From the first stage of pregnancy onwards, you should pay attention to your health and pump yourself with enough vitamins, minerals and nutrients, as they are essential for growth and development. It's a good idea to consult with your health care provider to determine what is best for you. Eat the right foods and begin to chart the stages of your baby's growth through the first stage itself.

During the first month of the embryo's growth, you can trace the forming of the vital organs and evidence of the brain and beginning of the spine. By the fifth week, heart begins to beat and circulate blood; arm and led buds emerge; brain, spinal cord, and nervous system are established. In the sixth week, the digestive system forms, arms, and legs begin to grow. A week later, the umbilical cord joins the embryo to the placenta; long bones and internal organs develop.

The fetus' second month is marked by tiny human face, arms, legs, fingers, toes, elbows, knees, eyelids and bone cells, forming. Four weeks later, you can find out whether the baby growing within you is a boy or girl. Fingers and toes begin to move; teeth buds are present and the kidney and bladder form. Baby is a miniature human about 2-4" long and weighing an ounce or two.

Keeping pace with the changes taking place in the fetus transforming it gradually into a baby, are physical changes taking place in your body that convey through many outward signs, that your pregnancy is progressing.

The Indicators: Breasts, Nausea, Fatigue

The breasts swell and become tender in preparing for breastfeeding owing to the mammary glands that prepare to feed the baby when it arrives. The woman's areolas enlarge (the pigmented areas around each breast's nipple), they darken and become covered with small, white bumps called Montgomery's tubercles. There is an increase in sensitivity in your breasts.

Morning sickness or bouts of vomiting usually occur during the first stage of pregnancy. Rapid estrogen levels in the blood produced by the fetus and placenta causes this symptom, which may last through the day.

Fatigue is common in the first stage of pregnancy due to the physical and emotional demands of pregnancy. During your pregnancy, you might feel tired even though you may have slept soundly at night. Many women find they're exhausted in the first trimester, but this is a normal feeling! This is the body's way of telling you that you need more rest.

Other Related Indicators: Mood and Appetite

Mood changes and nausea owing to surges in hormones; growing frequency of urination; gastrointestinal symptoms, and dizziness owing to low blood sugar levels are all related causes signaling the first stage of pregnancy in a woman. Varicose veins might form looking like swollen veins raised above the surface of the skin, twisted or bulging in shape and dark purple or blue in color, and found most often on the backs of the calves or on the inside of the leg. They are caused when pressure on the large veins behind the uterus and leg veins causes the blood to slow in its return to the heart, and coupled with the pregnant woman's expanded blood volume and hormone-induced relaxation of the muscle tissue in the veins, lead to these swollen veins.

During this period, owing to the body's increased need for more nutrients and energy, your appetite might increase. Sometimes you may crave unhealthy food. Show restraint in what you eat; and wait, as most cravings weaken by the fourth month. The first stage of pregnancy ends even as you prepare to settle into the familiarity of having the baby grow inside your womb.