Week 8 of pregnancy
Updated 25 Oct 2026
Your baby this week
About the size of a peanut
Source: Vinmec – Bảng cân nặng và chiều dài thai nhi theo tiêu chuẩn của WHO
Your baby's development
Look! Your baby's retinas are forming. Blue eyes or coffee-brown eyes?
Boy or girl? These parts are forming. But it is still too early for the doctor to identify them on ultrasound.
All systems go
By the end of this week, all the essential organs and body systems have begun to develop
Baby is growing fast
Your baby is growing at an amazing rate, parents. About 15 - 20 mm long, roughly the size of a strawberry. Although growth is happening at a rate of one millimetre a day, it is not just about getting longer. Big growth spurts can happen in the arms, legs, back and other parts of that tiny body! Big changes will take place over the coming months.
Lips, nose and eyelids are forming
What else is changing at 8 weeks pregnant? The tail from week 7 has disappeared, and your baby now looks much more like a little person: although your baby will still have webbed hands and feet, the fingers and toes are only now starting to separate. Your baby's upper lip has formed, along with a cute little nose and tiny eyelids.
Heartbeat and movement
All this development is exciting for your baby. Your baby's heart is beating at an amazing 150 to 170 beats per minute - twice as fast as yours. And although you can't feel it yet, your baby is now making spontaneous little movements, flexing and stretching that tiny body. The amount of amniotic fluid is increasing and your uterus is expanding to make room for this growing “cute little lodger”.
Brain waves appear
This week brain waves have appeared and your baby's nerve cells are starting to work.
Your body
Morning sickness
You may feel your clothes starting to get a bit tight around your tummy. That is because your uterus is growing; normally the size of a fist, it grows to the size of a large grapefruit by week 8 of pregnancy. Admittedly, that is still quite small!
At this stage most mums still have morning sickness. This may be due to rising levels of HCG and oestrogen circulating in the body, or to relaxation of the muscles in the digestive tract (making digestion less efficient) caused by rising progesterone levels. Whatever the cause, feel your heart - your baby's heart is beating. What a wonderful thing.
You should eat more fruit and fibre. Eat little and often; this will also help your body fight another stubborn enemy that is about to appear: heartburn in pregnancy. Nausea and vomiting will gradually ease after 12 to 14 weeks, so in just four to six weeks you will feel relief. For now, hang in there! Morning sickness is a sign that your pregnancy is progressing normally.
Eating fruit in pregnancy
Fruit is always your good friend throughout pregnancy. Nature's sweetest reward contains essential vitamins and other nutrients that are good for both you and your baby. If you can, choose fruit by the "colours of the rainbow", meaning the more variety of fruits in different colours the better. They will help you get enough of the fibre, vitamins and minerals you need.
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Signs that need a doctor now
If you notice any of the signs below, please go to the nearest health facility to be checked by a doctor.
Vaginal bleeding in pregnancy
This sign needs to be checked by a doctor. Please go to the nearest health facility now. If the bleeding is heavy or comes with severe pain or faintness, call the emergency number 115.
Source: Bệnh viện Đa khoa Tâm Anh – Các dấu hiệu nguy hiểm trong thai kỳ
Convulsions (fits)
A convulsion in pregnancy is an emergency. Family members should call 115 at once, lay the mother on her side in a safe place and get her to the nearest hospital.
Source: Bệnh viện Đa khoa Tâm Anh – Các dấu hiệu nguy hiểm trong thai kỳ
Fever in pregnancy
A temperature above 38°C counts as a fever. Please go to a health facility so a doctor can find the cause and advise on safe ways to bring it down; do not take medicine on your own.
Source: Bệnh viện Đa khoa Tâm Anh – Các dấu hiệu nguy hiểm trong thai kỳ
Leaking fluid or waters breaking
Fluid leaking from the vagina may mean the waters are leaking or have broken and needs to be checked by a doctor. Please go to a health facility soon, lying with your head low while travelling.
Source: Bệnh viện Đa khoa Tâm Anh – Các dấu hiệu nguy hiểm trong thai kỳ
Severe headache, blurred vision, sudden swelling
Headache with blurred vision, or sudden swelling of the face, hands or eyelids, can be a sign of high blood pressure in pregnancy or pre-eclampsia. This sign needs to be checked by a doctor. Please go to the nearest health facility now.
Source: Bệnh viện Đa khoa Tâm Anh – Các dấu hiệu nguy hiểm trong thai kỳ
Reduced or no fetal movement
A clear drop in the baby's movements, or no movement, needs to be checked by a doctor. Please go to the nearest health facility now rather than waiting until tomorrow.
Source: Bệnh viện Đa khoa Tâm Anh – Các dấu hiệu nguy hiểm trong thai kỳ
Severe or worsening abdominal pain
Abdominal pain that keeps getting worse, does not ease, or is severe needs to be checked by a doctor. Please go to the nearest health facility now. If the pain is severe with sweating, faintness or bleeding, call 115.
Source: Bệnh viện Đa khoa Tâm Anh – Các dấu hiệu nguy hiểm trong thai kỳ
Sources
Content advised by our doctors.
- Bệnh viện Từ Dũ (accessed 22 Oct 2026)
- Vinmec (accessed 22 Oct 2026)
- NHS (accessed 22 Oct 2026)
- Source for fetal size: Vinmec – Bảng cân nặng và chiều dài thai nhi theo tiêu chuẩn của WHO
- Source for the signs that need a doctor: Bệnh viện Đa khoa Tâm Anh – Các dấu hiệu nguy hiểm trong thai kỳ
This article helps you understand and prepare. It does not replace a check-up. For an answer about your own situation, please ask the doctor who is caring for you.