Hello, I’m 7 weeks pregnant. Well, about 7 weeks and 6 days now. I think this might genuinely be the worst week of pregnancy so far – and that’s saying something given how rough the previous weeks have been!
Baby Development at 7 Weeks Pregnant
This is what the baby supposedly looks like this week. It’s like Voldemort or something equally unsettling. Then in the second photo, it looks like a prawn! So strange to think that this alien-looking thing is actually inside me, growing away. I still don’t quite believe it’s real. I’m hoping it gets cuter soon because right now, it really is a face only a mother could love…
7 Weeks Pregnant: What to Expect
If you’ve landed here at exactly 7 weeks wondering what’s normal — I get it, I was googling constantly at this stage. Here’s a quick summary of what’s typically happening at 7 weeks, and what I experienced:
Size: Your baby is about the size of a blueberry at this point — around 10mm. It sounds tiny because it is, but the growth happening is genuinely rapid. Heart rate is developing, as are the beginnings of facial features (though as I describe below, it still looks fairly alien at this point).
Symptoms you might be feeling: Symptoms you might be feeling: Most people hit peak nausea at weeks 7-9, which is exactly where I was. Common symptoms at 7 weeks include: nausea and vomiting, extreme fatigue, food and smell aversions, tender or heavy breasts, increased urination, bloating, and heightened emotions. The fatigue at this stage was unlike any tiredness I’d experienced before — it wasn’t just being tired, it was a bone-deep exhaustion that no amount of sleep fixed. Some women feel very little at 7 weeks; that’s also completely normal and doesn’t mean anything is wrong.
What you probably won’t have yet: Most NHS trusts don’t offer a first scan until around 8-12 weeks. If you haven’t had any problems, week 7 is usually a waiting period. If you have had bleeding (I did, and I describe it below), you can request an early scan via your GP or an early pregnancy unit.
Vitamins: This was a turning point for me, and I think it’s genuinely one of the most useful things I can share about week 7. I discovered that the iron in my prenatal vitamins was very likely making my nausea significantly worse. The way I found out was by accident — I forgot to take them one night, and woke up feeling dramatically better. Then I remembered I’d had the same experience a couple of weeks before. After researching, it’s a known thing: iron can aggravate nausea in some women, particularly in the first trimester when you’re already struggling. I switched to folic acid-only tablets and the improvement was noticeable. If you’re taking standard combined prenatal vitamins and your sickness is very bad, it might be worth raising this with your GP or midwife. You can get iron from food — dark leafy vegetables, fortified bread, lentils — while taking just the folic acid separately. Always check before changing anything, but please do raise it rather than just suffering through it.
Morning sickness remedies that actually helped (slightly): ginger biscuits, cold still water, eating small amounts very frequently rather than waiting until I felt hungry (by which point I felt too sick to eat), and sea-band wristbands. Nothing completely fixed it — at 7 weeks I was on prescription anti-sickness medication and still struggling — but these helped take the edge off on some days.
If week 7 is the worst week you’ve had so far, you’re not alone. For most women it does ease by the end of the first trimester. I kept going back and reading that, and it did help, even on the worst days.
7 Weeks Pregnant: Peak Morning Sickness
‘ve still been feeling ill constantly, despite the anti-sickness medication. Yesterday was the absolute worst in terms of how I’ve felt throughout the entire pregnancy so far. The food aversions are getting progressively worse, and my sense of smell has become unbearable. The kitchen smells awful. The utility room smells awful. Even the bathroom smells terrible. All smells that weren’t there before – or at least, I couldn’t detect before – but now I can’t stand any of them. Every smell hits my stomach so hard and makes me want to gag immediately.
I was so fed up yesterday that I spent the entire day either in bed or on the sofa, unable to function. I tried to have a bath, thinking it might make me feel better, but I couldn’t even manage to wash my hair in it. The effort felt too much, and the smell of my shampoo made me feel worse. I ended up getting out with just the tips of my hair wet (brilliant!), after having been lying in the bath for almost two hours until the water went cold.
Severe Food and Smell Aversions
The range of food I can tolerate has been shrinking day by day, and it’s now down to just bread, crisps, and fruit. That’s it. Anything else makes me feel worse. It’s quite stressful because eating is the only thing that genuinely helps ease the nausea, but it’s such an ordeal actually getting the food ready and then forcing myself to eat it when I feel so sick. It’s a horrible catch-22 situation.
Last night, I ended up sleeping on the sofa. I stayed up late because I felt too nauseous to lie down and try to sleep. When I finally started falling asleep from sheer exhaustion, I just turned the TV off and stayed where I was. I didn’t want to risk going upstairs to bed and waking myself up properly, because I knew if I did that, I wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep. The sofa has become my refuge during this pregnancy.
Pregnancy Vitamins Making Sickness Worse
Because I slept on the sofa and my tablets were upstairs, I didn’t take my pregnancy vitamins last night. I’m usually taking a mixture of vitamins that includes folic acid and iron. When I woke up this morning, I felt noticeably better. Then I remembered that a couple of weeks ago, I’d also forgotten to take my vitamins one night, and the next day I’d felt great too. That got me thinking, so I did some research. Turns out, the iron in prenatal vitamins can actually aggravate morning sickness in some women. That would explain a lot!
I’ve ordered some tablets that contain just folic acid (without the iron), which should arrive tomorrow. I’ve also been reading up on natural sources of folic acid, and it’s found in oranges, orange juice, and fortified bread – so I’m not too worried about missing out on it for just one day whilst I wait for the new tablets. Interestingly, before I’d even read about this, I’d already had a glass of orange juice and some toast this morning – clearly my body was craving what it needed! I’m really hoping this isn’t just a coincidence and that I’ve genuinely found a way to help manage my morning sickness. If removing iron from my vitamins makes this much difference, it would be absolutely life-changing to have more days this good. I’m still not feeling 100%, but I’m so much better than I was yesterday.
I’m still taking the prescription anti-sickness medication, but I’ve noticed it’s helping less and less as time goes on. I was kind of expecting this to happen, as my hCG levels (pregnancy hormones) are due to peak over the next couple of weeks. The higher the hormones, the worse the sickness tends to be. Week 7-9 are apparently the peak for most women, so I’m bracing myself for it to potentially get even worse before it gets better.
More bleeding in early pregnancy
Now for the truly terrifying news. I had more bleeding this morning. This time it was red blood – not the dark brown spotting I’d had at 6 weeks. Bright red bleeding in early pregnancy is exactly what you don’t want to see.
I immediately called my GP, trying to stay calm but internally panicking. They were really good and have arranged an early scan for tomorrow morning, when I’ll be exactly 8 weeks pregnant. The bleeding seems to have stopped now, which is reassuring, but I’m still absolutely terrified.
I’m hoping and praying that everything is fine and trying desperately not to get myself worked up, but it’s impossible not to worry. To make matters worse, the fact that my morning sickness has been better today has now become an added concern. I know from all my research that women often stop having pregnancy symptoms when they’re miscarrying. Is my nausea easing because the iron theory is correct, or because something is wrong with the baby?
I hate that my brain is going there, but I can’t help it. I’m just hoping and praying that tomorrow’s scan will show everything is okay and that I’ll get to see my baby with a strong heartbeat. Please let week 8 be better than this nightmare. (Spoiler: the scan went well, but I’ll save the details for the next update!)
Final Thoughts
Week 7 of pregnancy was genuinely the worst week I’d experienced so far. The morning sickness reached its peak, I could barely eat anything, and the red bleeding scare sent me into a complete panic. Finding out that the iron in my vitamins might be making my nausea worse was a revelation, though I wish I’d worked it out sooner!
The red bleeding was absolutely terrifying, especially after the brown spotting at 6 weeks. Having to wait overnight for the scan whilst not knowing if my baby was okay was one of the worst nights of my life. If you’re experiencing bleeding at this stage, please call your GP or midwife immediately – don’t wait and worry like I did.
I’m so grateful the scan showed everything was fine (more on that in my week 8 update). If you’re in week 7 right now and feeling as rough as I did, please know it does get better. For most women the worst is weeks 7-9, and once those hCG levels start to settle, so does the nausea. It doesn’t always feel like it when you’re in the middle of it, but it passes.
Frequently Asked Questions: 7 Weeks Pregnant
Is week 7 the worst for morning sickness?
For many women, weeks 7-9 are the peak period for morning sickness as hCG levels reach their highest point. Week 7 was definitely the worst for me – constant nausea, severe food and smell aversions, and barely able to function. It’s completely normal to feel awful at this stage.
Can pregnancy vitamins make morning sickness worse?
Yes, the iron in prenatal vitamins can aggravate morning sickness for some women. I noticed I felt better on days I forgot to take my vitamins. After researching, I switched to folic acid-only tablets and felt much better. Always check with your GP before changing your supplements.
Is red bleeding normal at 7 weeks pregnant?
Red bleeding at 7 weeks is concerning and should always be checked by a doctor. Brown spotting can be normal, but bright red blood warrants an immediate call to your GP or midwife. I had red bleeding at 7 weeks and was given an emergency scan – everything was fine, but it’s always better to get checked.
What does a baby look like at 7 weeks?
At 7 weeks, your baby is about the size of a blueberry (around 10mm long) and honestly looks quite alien-like – I described mine as looking like Voldemort or a prawn! The head is large compared to the body, and facial features are just starting to develop. It definitely gets cuter as the weeks progress!
Why do smells become unbearable during pregnancy?
Heightened sense of smell is very common in early pregnancy, caused by increased hormone levels. At 7 weeks, every smell in my house became unbearable – the kitchen, bathroom, utility room – all made me gag. This usually improves after the first trimester when hormones stabilise.
What can you eat when food aversions are severe?
When my food aversions were at their worst at 7 weeks, I could only manage bread, crisps, and fruit. Eat whatever you can tolerate – it’s more important to keep something down than to eat a perfectly balanced diet at this stage. The key is to eat small amounts regularly to keep nausea at bay.
All my pregnancy diary blog posts:
Pregnancy Diary – 6 weeks pregnant
Pregnancy Diary – 7 weeks pregnant
Pregnancy Diary – 8 Weeks Pregnant
Pregnancy Diary – 9 Weeks Pregnant
Pregnancy Diary – 10 weeks pregnant
Pregnancy Diary – 11 & 12 weeks pregnant
Pregnancy Diary: 13 & 14 weeks pregnant
Pregnancy Diary: 15 & 16 weeks pregnant
Pregnancy Diary: 17 & 18 weeks pregnant
Pregnancy Diary: 19 & 20 weeks pregnant
Pregnancy Diary: 21 & 22 weeks pregnant
Pregnancy Diary: 23 & 24 weeks pregnant
Pregnancy Diary: 25 & 26 weeks pregnant
Pregnancy Diary: 27 & 28 weeks pregnant
Pregnancy Diary: 29 & 30 weeks pregnant
Pregnancy Diary: 31 & 32 weeks pregnant
Pregnancy Diary: 33 & 34 weeks pregnant
Pregnancy Diary: 35 & 36 weeks pregnant
Pregnancy Diary: 37 & 38 weeks pregnant
