Are you and your partner trying for a baby? Did you recently have unprotected sex? Then, it is normal to wonder if you are pregnant or not. It becomes tricky because most of the early symptoms of pregnancy mimic the PMS symptoms. Hence, you need to listen to your body carefully to check if you need to take a home pregnancy test. Here are some of the common signs pointing towards the stroke’s visit to your home.
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Find out about 10 Early Signs of Pregnancy
1. Missed Period
It is one of the positive signs of pregnancy [1]. It indicates the need to take a pregnancy test. You may not get the monthlies because, after the implantation, the body starts producing HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin) to maintain pregnancy. It stops releasing eggs, and you may not get periods. But, often, missed periods do not indicate pregnancy. Some women may not have a regular cycle. It becomes difficult to detect if they are pregnant or not. So, wait for at least eight days after the missed period to take the test. This is one of the most prominent early symptoms of pregnancy.
2. Implantation Bleeding
Up to 30% of an expectant mother sees implantation bleeding. What is implantation bleeding? You can experience light vaginal spotting that may not have the same flow as your regular period. It usually occurs around six to twelve days after the fertilized egg implants into your uterine wall. Many women mistake this for their regular period. But, apart from a light flow, implantation bleeding appears pink or brown instead of red. While some women may experience menstrual period-like cramp with the bleeding, others may not. You should know about these early pregnancy symptoms.
3. Dizziness
When you become pregnant, your normal or high blood pressure starts to drop. It can make you feel dizzy. It usually occurs due to the dilation of blood vessels.
4. Nausea
Did you have a child before? How soon did you know you were pregnant with the first pregnancy? While most people feel women with children can detect another with ease [2], it is not always true. Just like pregnancy signs vary with women, the symptoms linked to each pregnancy may differ in the same person. But, nausea is a problem affecting most pregnant women. It can hit any time of the day after week six of your pregnancy. It is usually referred to as morning sickness and affects at least 85% of all pregnant women. Pregnant women can feel the queasy feeling in their stomachs with smells or motions.
5. Sore Breasts
One or two weeks after implantation of a fertilized egg, your body starts making high levels of progesterone and estrogen to support the fetus. The high levels of these hormones can result in the breast glands growing. Due to the hormone surge, you tend to retain fluids in the breasts. Hence, you will feel soreness in the breast. It feels more sensitive and heavy compared to normal premenstrual breast tenderness. This tingly sensation in your breast indicates that your breasts have started preparing milk to feed the baby.
6. Cramps And Back Aches
Many mistakes the back pain and cramps as the signs indicating you will get periods within a few days. But, it may indicate a possible pregnancy. Around 30% of women experience such pain in their back or lower abdomen. It occurs due to the fertilized egg attaching to the uterine wall. As a result, your uterus starts stretching a little, leading to cramps. It is the initial preparation of the uterus to expand as the baby grows in the next nine months. The hormonal changes and uterus expansion can lead to back pain.
7. Feeling Exhausted
Fatigue is one of the early symptoms of pregnancy. As a result of egg implantation, your body works 24×7 to support the growing baby. Due to the release of high levels of progesterone, you feel a lack of energy. Also, your heart pumps faster to deliver the extra oxygen needed for the baby to the uterus. This can zap your usual pep. Remember, pregnancy takes a good deal of energy as your body tries to build a solid life-support system for the baby.
8. Food Aversions And Cravings
Have you seen pregnant women suddenly craving certain foods like ice creams, pickles, and others? It is because the body is trying to get enough nutrients for a growing baby and the expectant mother. It is one of the initial signs indicating pregnancy. Your overworking body likes to get the necessary carbs needed for the baby. You crave carbs more because the body can quickly metabolize them to boost energy levels. Like food cravings, you may feel a strong dislike for certain foods during pregnancy. The increased levels of HCG hormone can affect your taste and smell. It, in turn, can affect the food you eat.
9. High Basal Body Temperature
Taking your body temperature first thing in the body can inform you about the right time for ovulation. Many women opt for this method to try for a baby. When your ovaries release the egg, the basal body temperature increases around half to one degree compared to the average body temperature. If you become pregnant, this temperature stays elevated. So, high basal body temperature may be the early positive signs of pregnancy you can check.
10. Frequent Urination
If you think frequent urination can occur in the later stages of the pregnancy, then you are wrong. While pregnant women tend to urinate more during their second or last trimester due to the pressure of growing the baby on the bladder, it can also occur during the initial stages of pregnancy. But do you know bathroom breaks can increase early? With the fertilized egg implanting the uterus, it starts to swell. This slight swelling can put pressure on the bladder and makes you take frequent bathroom trips. It may also occur due to extra blood flowing to the kidney due to hormonal changes. This results in kidneys producing more urine.
Conclusion
The symptoms mentioned above only give you an indication of a possible pregnancy. Hence, they are not definite. So, what is a positive sign of pregnancy? A blood test indicating high levels of HCG hormones, detecting fetal heartbeat, and an ultrasound image of the fetus are definite signs of pregnancy [3]. With the initial pregnancy signs, you can take a pregnancy test. If it comes positive, you can make an appointment with a gynecologist to get the lab tests or ultrasound to confirm the happy news.
