Do you think you may be pregnant? It could be because you have been trying to conceive and are hopeful that you succeeded this month, or perhaps you were just surprised by an extreme fatigue or are experiencing what you think could be morning sickness. A missed period followed by a positive pregnancy test is a dead give away, but what are the other pregnancy signs to watch out for?
Thanks to ilyoungko/Flickr Creative Commons.
Nausea
Three quarters of all pregnant women experience some form of pregnancy nausea, more commonly known as morning sickness. In some women, this manifests as a constant low-level nausea that makes them think they want to vomit, but they never quite get to that stage. In other women, morning sickness shows up as daily vomiting. Some women experience nausea in the morning, and others during different times of the day. For some, pregnancy nausea is an all-day affair.
Pregnancy nausea and vomiting can indeed set in after conception but before a missed period. If you think there is a chance you conceived and are now suddenly feeling sick, you might be pregnant.
Fatigue
An immense, nearly all-encompassing fatigue is also an early pregnancy sign. Newly pregnant women have a lot of changes going on in their body, from the tiny embryo and its rapidly dividing cells to hormonal fluctuations and a rising blood volume. It is really not surprising that extreme fatigue is a common early pregnancy symptom. As with morning sickness, it is quite possible to start noticing pregnancy fatigue before your period is due.
Being very tired doesn’t automatically mean you are pregnant, however. It is quite possible that you are just busy and overwhelmed by day to day obligations, and that you are not pregnant at all.
Mood swings
Early pregnancy comes with a whole lot of hormonal changes. Your end of cycle mood swings may just be PMS, but if you find yourself fluctuating between crying and laughing without an obvious reason and this doesn’t normally happen to you when your period is getting close, your symptoms may point towards pregnancy.
Abdominal bloating
Any women who has ever taken a conscious look at her body throughout her menstrual cycle knows that the days right before menstruation often go along with abdominal bloating and tenderness. You may look quite a lot fatter just before your period starts! Abdominal bloating can, however, also happen during the very early stages of pregnancy. You may be so bloated that it actually looks as if you already have a baby bump.
Newly pregnant women with bloated abdomens are not “showing” yet, though — the bloating is caused by changing hormone levels and fluid retention. If you are pregnant, the bloating that you see has nothing to do with a growing uterus or baby yet. At this point, your baby is tiny.
Frequent urination
The need to run to the bathroom every five minutes — or so it seems — is one side effect of those early pregnancy hormones that are raging through an expectant mom’s body in the weeks after conception. This symptom will stay with you throughout pregnancy, though later on your baby will actually press on your bladder too, increasing your need to urinate all the time. If you have been pregnant before, you know that this symptom can show up quite quickly after conception.
Don’t be too sure yet, though — you may also simply have a urinary tract infection! Go to the doctor if you notice that characteristic burning sensation while you pee.
Implantation bleeding
An implantation bleeding is a light vaginal spotting that some pregnant ladies notice between seven and 10 days after conception. It occurs as the embryo nestles into the endometrium, the lining of the uterus. The endometrium is a blood-rich environment, and the implantation process can interfere with tiny blood vessels. When that happens, an implantation bleeding can be the result.
An implantation bleeding causes a light spotting that is barely visible and does not last longer than a day. If you notice heavier bleeding that goes on for longer, it is probably your period.
Missed period — time to test
Have you had what you think are pregnancy symptoms for a while now? The day you think your period is due, you can run to the pharmacy and do a pregnancy test. Those other symptoms may be informative, but you can never be sure that you are pregnant until you get your positive pregnancy test.
