6 weeks pregnant

What happens at 6 weeks pregnant?

At 6 weeks a baby is around 0.6 cm long, about the size of a silver cachous ball. That is roughly 1½ months, in the first trimester, with about 34 weeks to go until 40.

Published length

0.6 cm long

In months

Roughly 1½ months

Trimester

first · 34 weeks to go

What is developing at 6 weeks

A heartbeat can sometimes be seen on an early scan, flickering at around 110 beats a minute. Dark spots mark where the eyes will be and small pits where the ears are forming, and buds have appeared where the arms and legs will grow. The embryo is curled into a C shape, with a tail that will disappear over the next few weeks.

The size comparison above is a silver cachous ball, which measures 0.6 cm across. Every comparison on this site is a real object with a real measurement, checked against the published length. The same week is drawn in seven other sets below, from Australian animals to fast food, if this one means nothing to you.

6 weeks, in eight rulers

Every other pregnancy tool measures a baby in fruit. This one offers eight sets to choose from, and each object below carries its real measurement, checked against the 0.6 cm the NHS publishes for week 6. Pick whichever ruler you actually have a feel for. Why not fruit.

  • Sweet treats

    a silver cachous ball

    0.6 cm across

  • Australian animals

    a green ant

    0.6 cm head to abdomen

  • The 90s

    a Hot Wheels wheel

    0.8 cm across

  • Sport

    a smear of chalk off a cue tip

    0.6 cm across

  • Things you already own

    the hole a hole-punch makes

    0.6 cm across

  • Gaming

    the up arrow on a D-pad

    0.6 cm across

  • Fast food

    one sprinkle on a soft serve

    0.6 cm end to end

  • Toys

    a bead off a friendship bracelet

    0.6 cm across

Your dates, from 6 weeks

Set to someone who is exactly 6 weeks today, so the due date below is the one that implies. Change the date to your own and everything follows from it — nothing is saved unless you do.

How far along am I?

Measure your baby in

The lolly aisle, scaled up week by week.

Do not know your due date yet? The due date calculator estimates one from your last period. A dating ultrasound is more accurate than any calendar method — if your pregnancy care team has given you a date, use theirs.

Questions about 6 weeks

How many months is 6 weeks pregnant?
6 weeks is roughly 1½ months. Months are an awkward unit in pregnancy because they do not divide evenly into weeks — a calendar month averages about 4.3 weeks, which is why 40 weeks works out a little over nine months rather than ten. Appointments and scans are always booked in weeks, so weeks are the figure worth carrying.
How big is a baby at 6 weeks?
The NHS publishes around 0.6 cm long for week 6. Rather than one fruit, that length is offered here against eight rulers, each object carrying its own measurement: a silver cachous ball (0.6 cm across), a green ant (0.6 cm head to abdomen), a Hot Wheels wheel (0.8 cm across), a smear of chalk off a cue tip (0.6 cm across), and four more. Published lengths are averages across many babies, not a measurement of any particular one, and a scan estimate that differs is a normal thing rather than a finding.
What trimester is 6 weeks?
Week 6 is in the first trimester, on the commonly published split of weeks 1–12, 13–26 and 27 onward. The boundaries are conventions for talking about pregnancy rather than biological switches — nothing changes overnight at week 13 or week 27.

Where these numbers come from

Stop doing this maths in your head

Once the counting turns into feeds, sleeps and nappies, BubSync keeps that record shared across everyone caring for your baby.

Cream and peach BubSync graphic reading “Weeks pregnant calculator,” with text about counting weeks and days from a due date, a progress bar illustration and a note that sizes are compared to everyday objects.

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