Week Five

Your Baby's Development

Until now, the embryo has been a mass of cells, but by this point in your pregnancy a distinct shape begins to form. The neural tube, which will eventually form into the spinal cord and brain, runs from the top to the bottom of the embryo. A bulge in the center of the embryo will develop into your baby's heart. At this time, the placenta develops. It is through the placenta and its fingerlike projections, called chorionic villi, that an embryo receives nourishment from its mother.

Your Body

Even if nausea hasn't hit you yet, you'll want to steer clear of certain foods when you're pregnant. Foodborne illnesses, such as listeriosis and toxoplasmosis, may cause birth defects or even miscarriage. Here are some foods you'll want to avoid:

* soft cheeses such as feta, goat, brie, Camembert, and blue cheese
* unpasteurized milk and juices
* raw or undercooked meats, including hot dogs and deli meats
* raw eggs or foods containing raw eggs, including mousse and tiramisu
* raw shellfish
* paté

Toxoplasmosis can also be spread from soiled cat litter boxes, so try to have someone else clean the litter box during your pregnancy.

Is it safe to change cat litter during pregnancy?

Cat feces can carry a parasite that causes toxoplasmosis, an infection that isn't serious for you but can pose a danger to your developing baby.

Some birds and other animals, as well as some raw, cured or undercooked meats, can also carry the parasite. Toxoplasmosis causes most severe damage to the fetus if a woman comes down with it in her first trimester.

Happily, the odds of contracting toxoplasmosis during pregnancy are low, and if you've had it once, you can't catch it again. What's more, it's rare for a woman to be infected for the first time during pregnancy and some experts argue that you're much more likely to catch it from eating raw, undercooked or cured meat than from your cat. Plus, if you live with cats, the likelihood is even higher that you've already contracted the disease and developed an immunity to it.

Experts recommend that pregnant women should avoid emptying the cat litter tray. Ideally it should be cleared every day by someone else. If you have to do it yourself, always wear rubber gloves and wash both your hands and the gloves thoroughly afterwards.

Wear gloves when you're gardening and handling soil or sand, too, to cut down the risk of infection from cat and animal feces. Always wash your hands before preparing or handling food and be very strict about food hygiene.

There is a blood test which can show whether you have had toxoplasmosis. If you are worried, speak to your doctor about it.