Detecting the Early Signs of Pregnancy

Pregnancy can be such a wonderful and miraculous time. For some it comes rather unexpectedly and therefore can catch you off guard. For others, it can come after years of trying and a great deal of stress along the way. No matter how prepared you truly are, the early signs of pregnancy can be something that you want to focus on. Though they say that every pregnancy is different, there are certain signs that act as a good indicator if a woman is pregnant or not; and although these can be symptoms of other health conditions, their presence means it is often well worth taking a pregnancy test to see if that’s what is going on. It is also worth noting that many times, the earliest signs of pregnancy can tend to come in pairs, leaving less room for doubt and necessitating confirmation.

Food Plays a Big Role

Some women may float through their pregnancies without one single food aversion. Others feel sick at the very look of chicken or other common culprits. As you will see on any early signs of pregnancy list, food aversions are often a big indicator. Food cravings often come later on, but the aversion to coffee, meat, or other commonly enjoyed foods can usually tell you that something is different. Some of the very things that you’ve always enjoyed or consumed on a daily basis may all of a sudden make you want to vomit. Just the smell of something like bacon cooking in a pan may make you physically ill. Food often plays a big role and shows up in the aversion form early on in a pregnancy, so keep an eye out for this.

Subtle Yet Obvious Body Changes

One of the biggest things to look for is the way in which your body changes. Have you noticed that all of a sudden your breasts feel very tender for no apparent reason? Do you feel as if you are getting headaches every day and can’t really explain why? Though you aren’t going to necessarily put on the pregnancy weight until later on, the reality is that your body is going to change and it will likely happen early on. Some of the most obvious early signs of pregnancy include headaches, vomiting, and extreme nausea. These are often due to the changing hormones and the way that your body responds to them. The good news is that these symptoms usually go away into the second trimester, but they can make for a bumpy ride along the way. Keep tuned into this and if you feel nausea well beyond a day or two or feel as if you are constantly battling a headache, it may be time to take a pregnancy test.

Use Your Cycle to Guide You

Some women don’t necessarily keep track of their monthly menstrual cycle. However one of the first signs of pregnancy early on is a missed period. You may not even miss a period, but you may notice that you have a very light one a little earlier or right around the time that you would have had your period. This could be implantation whereby the embryo is implanting itself into the uterus. So look out for either a missed period or a slightly different period because those are usually good indicators. And of course if you have any lingering question, a positive pregnancy test is of course your best indicator that you are pregnant.

Early Signs of Pregnancy

You have been trying for weeks or maybe months. Every little thing that feels different in your body makes you wonder. You are tracking every date of every little change and every event that takes place. You are ready and you are waiting, but how will you really know when you are pregnant? What are the signs?

Well, rest assured that there are definite signs that you are pregnant. Usually, the first sign that tips a woman off is when she misses her menstruation. This is a dead giveaway that there is now a new life growing inside your body. However, when you look back to the week or two prior to your late menstruation, you might, on hindsight, realize that there were other telltale signs of your pregnancy.

Fatigue is one of the early signs of pregnancy. Even before you miss your menstruation or have your pregnancy confirmed by a test, your body is already working very hard to grow that baby. Everything is changing and changing quickly and your body is striving to keep up with those changes. This is likely to cause fatigue in the first few weeks of your pregnancy, beginning soon after conception.

Another noticeable sign of early pregnancy is the shift in hormones. You just might feel moodier than usual. Early in pregnancy it is also common to feel nauseous. While this generally doesn’t come on until about the eighth week for many women, it is not uncommon for it to happen earlier. Morning sickness or nausea due to certain smells and foods can be a sure sign something is up.

One of the most noticeable signs of early pregnancy is breast tenderness. Women generally tend to experience changes in their breasts soon after conception. After all, the breasts are a crucial part of having a baby and the body begins immediately to prepare the breasts to produce milk.

In addition to the above-listed signs of early pregnancy there are a few others that commonly occur. These include food cravings or aversions, the need to urinate more frequently, dizziness or fainting, heartburn or constipation, higher body temperature, lower back pain, bloating, and implantation bleeding (spotting when the embryo implants on the wall of the uterus).

It is important to know that not every woman will experience all of these symptoms or experience them to the same degree as another woman. Some women will feel ultra fatigued, but notice no other signs. Some women will feel nothing at all until they miss their menstruation. One woman might not even experience the same signs from one pregnancy to the next. This means that, while the above early signs of pregnancy are common, you have to be aware of your own body and how it feels.

It can also be frustrating that these symptoms are very similar to those experienced each month when you are due to menstruate. This means that you cannot be sure if you are pregnant until you take a pregnancy test. If you are trying to become pregnant, then this can feel like the most frustrating thing in the world. The best thing to do is stay calm, try to remain stress-free, and wait until you can confirm your pregnancy with a test. Once you know for certain that you are pregnant you can celebrate the new life growing inside you.