Pregnancy in Québec, week by week
Week 5 of pregnancy: the baby, you, and Québec
Week 5: a tiny heart starts beating; fatigue and tender breasts are often the first signs.
Your baby
A beating heart
Around the fifth week, the embryo’s heart begins to beat, still too faintly to be heard at an exam. The neural tube, future brain and spinal cord, closes during these weeks: that is why folic acid is taken even before pregnancy.
You
Nausea and fatigue
Nausea, with or without vomiting, and marked fatigue are common in the first trimester and most often ease around fourteen weeks. Small frequent meals, drinking between meals and rest help; if you keep nothing down or lose weight, talk to your professional or call 811.
Folic acid and a multivitamin
A prenatal multivitamin with folic acid is recommended from the moment you plan a pregnancy and through the first trimester at least. The right product is chosen with the pharmacist or your professional; this page gives no dose.
Mood matters too
Anxiety and depression can begin during pregnancy, not only after. According to the INSPQ they are treatable, and the sooner the better. If worry or sadness has taken over for more than two weeks, talk to your professional, the CLSC or 811, where Info-Social also answers.
In Québec
Finding who will follow the pregnancy
In Québec a pregnancy can be followed by a family doctor, an obstetrician, a nurse practitioner or a midwife. The first appointment most often takes place between eight and eleven weeks and lasts longer than the following ones. Without a family doctor, the front-line access desk (Guichet d’accès) or the CLSC will direct you; birthing centres should be contacted early, as places are limited.
With Maliah
Your symptoms and questions, ready for the visit
Nausea, sleep, blood pressure taken at the pharmacy, the baby’s movements, questions that come at 3 a.m.: everything is logged in Maliah, by voice or in two taps, and is there at the next appointment. Nothing is interpreted: the app keeps the facts, your professional reads them.
Pregnancy week by week, in the app
In Maliah the pregnancy is followed at its own stage: the current week, appointments, preparation reminders (bag, car seat, birth plan) and your notes, shared with the other parent. The due date calculator gives the starting point.
Related free tools
- Due date calculator
- Hospital bag checklist
- Birth plan
- Contraction timer
- QPIP calculator
- Popular baby names in Québec
Sources : INSPQ : Mieux vivre avec notre enfant de la grossesse à deux ans (guide 2026) · INSPQ, Mieux vivre : Suivi de grossesse · INSPQ, Information périnatale : Rencontres prénatales · INSPQ, Information périnatale : Santé mentale en contexte périnatal · Québec.ca : RQAP, choix du régime et types de prestations · Québec.ca : Programme québécois d’immunisation · Directeur de l’état civil : Déclaration de naissance · Québec.ca : Trouver un service de garde et inscrire mon enfant (Portail d’inscription)
This article is for information; it does not replace advice from a health professional. In Québec, call Info-Santé 811 when in doubt (elsewhere in Canada, your provincial health line). In an emergency, call 911. Updated on October 27, 2026.