Are you or could you be pregnant? The proof is your pregnancy test. However, a missed period is one of the significant signs of pregnancy. There are different signs of early pregnancy from person to person and pregnancy to pregnancy. Even there are chances you may not notice any symptoms at all, although you could be pregnant or feel your body making various changes though you might not be pregnant. So here are 20 early signs and symptoms of pregnancy.
The first sign that you are pregnant is going to be a missed period. Many women do not notice a missed period or their periods. When you miss your period, it could mean that you are pregnant. Your period is also going to be irregular or missing. It may be light or heavy or short or long. You may also have cramps. Other signs and symptoms of pregnancy include nausea, vomiting, fatigue, headache, breast tenderness, backaches, swelling, a change in skin color, and weight gain.
Pregnancy always comes with a lot of physical changes in women’s bodies. This can make them feel tired and bloated, have heavy periods, and have cramps. These are among the most common symptoms of early pregnancy. These signs and symptoms may appear early in pregnancy, but other symptoms appear later on in pregnancy. Some of these signs and symptoms include spotting, lower back pain, headaches, and lower abdominal pain. Most pregnant women do not show these symptoms until about three months into their pregnancy. Many women also experience nausea, but that tends to happen much later on in pregnancy.
Most Common Early Signs & Symptoms of Pregnancy:
It’s pretty obvious no two people are similar in all aspects. Thus everyone experiences different symptoms of pregnancy at different times. And it is very important never to compare your pregnancy to another’s pregnancy symptoms, even if you both share the same aspects in everything. There are various early signs of pregnancy that you may or may not have, so here are a few most common early pregnancy symptoms:
Missed Period:
One of the most common early pregnancy symptoms is a missed menstrual period. Usually, a woman’s period begins on day one of her cycle. But sometimes, the period will start late, which may cause you to wonder if you’re pregnant. Although it creates most of the misunderstanding as sometimes, a missed period does not mean that you are pregnant.
You might just have skipped a period. A missed period can also occur due to various reasons. Some of these reasons are: you are not breastfeeding your baby; you are using contraception that can affect your menstrual cycle; you may have a condition called polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) which can cause an irregular cycle; you may have taken certain medication that can delay your period.
Swollen Breasts:
Swallowing of the breast can be another common symptom of early pregnancy as the breast increases in size due to hormonal changes in the body. During your pregnancy, your breasts can become tender to the touch. How your breasts feel before a period may be similar to how your breasts feel before a period.
The area around your nipple could also begin to enlarge. Once your body gets used to the increased hormones, you will no longer experience this soreness. You even notice that your breasts are larger, and your regular and old bras are tighter than normal.
Increased Urination:
You might notice that you must pee more often before missing a period. Because you have more blood, this happens. Your body’s blood supply increases as you are pregnant. Pregnancy hormones may cause you to urinate more frequently. This can happen for several reasons. But if you are pregnant, the increased blood flow affects the way your kidney filters your blood, and as the blood increases, more waste is filtered, and thus you feel the urgency of using the restroom more frequently.
Another reason for your increased urination may be that you’re consuming more fluid than usual. Your appetite may increase with the increase in estrogen and progesterone levels. This could lead to your feeling fuller faster than usual.
Fatigue:
Another common early pregnancy symptom is fatigue, i.e., feeling tired and sleepy most of the time. In fact, if you don’t know, this sign of pregnancy may set in with you as soon as one week after conception. It’s all due to the sudden changes in hormone levels which particularly increase progesterone.
High levels of the hormone progesterone cause this sign of pregnancy. The fatigue tends to get better in the second trimester. However, mostly in many cases, it does come back in the third trimester.
Nausea:
Nausea is a very common and usually temporary side effect of pregnancy. It’s when you feel queasy. It can happen as soon as two weeks into pregnancy. Yet, many women report nausea in their first trimester, but it does go away in the second trimester. Some women get pregnant again straight after having their first baby, and those who have had children in the past feel queasier than others.
You might find yourself feeling nauseous after you eat and also during and right after a meal. It doesn’t seem to bother you much, but it can be embarrassing if it is bad enough. It tends to come and go during the day and doesn’t last long. Nausea gets better gradually as the pregnancy increases.
Light or Spotting Bleeding:
Another one of the most common pregnancy symptoms experienced by one-third of pregnant women in their early pregnancy. It is most commonly referred to as implantation bleeding by doctors. It happens when the fertilized egg implants into the uterus. This is not the same as bleeding that could happen from a miscarriage. It is generally the light or spots of bleeding.
Ten to Fourteen days after conception, implantation bleeding can occur, which can be just before or right around the time your period is due. Many pregnant women might think that they have gotten their period, but it’s actually their egg implanting itself, and they are pregnant.
Moodiness:
Mood swings are another symptom of early pregnancy. The hormonal release and the continuous change in the body make these changes as the body adapts according to the changes. Being pregnant is a fun and exciting experience for many women. Pregnancy is also a natural time when women’s hormone levels usually rise, and their moods also begin to change.
For example, a woman may be more emotional, may have more of a sense of well-being, or even become more sensitive. In addition, she may also get more moody and irritable at times. Sometimes she may even feel depressed. Some women may feel that they are having more frequent and heavier mood swings than usual pregnancy.
Some Other Less Common Signs of Early Pregnancy:
Apart from these, there are other signs of pregnancy too, but not everyone experiences these signs. So read on to know these signs of pregnancy too:
Food Cravings:
Women sometimes crave certain foods when they are pregnant. One of the things that some women experience is a sudden craving for sweets. They may even want to eat sugary snacks. Some women may also suddenly want to eat fatty food. They may also want to eat more salty foods. They may start craving sweets or even different kinds of food. Even some pregnant women may find that they like certain foods that they had no interest in eating before getting pregnant.
Pregnant women tend to crave different kinds of foods because there is continuously changing, and even now, they have also to supply food and other vitamins and minerals to the baby. Thus there are sudden urges of particular food cravings at the time of pregnancy.
Cramping:
As you might expect, some women experience cramps during pregnancy. While cramps are one of the main reasons why pregnant women get ill, cramping does not usually indicate that you are going to have a miscarriage. But sometimes, they can be a sign that something is wrong.
Cramps happen when the uterus contracts and pushes the blood down into the legs. The pain can also be felt when the muscles of the pelvic floor contract. Cramps usually go away after a while, but in case it lasts too long, or if these cramps are felt mainly on one side of your body or are severe and other symptoms accompany them, you should see a doctor immediately.
Congestion:
Many pregnant women complain of nasal congestion. This happens due to the change in the nasal cavity caused by pregnancy. Your nose runs more during the night, and you have difficulty breathing while sleeping. You may also have a stuffy nose while sneezing. This is because the mucus flows more when the mucus glands in your nose are activated. It’s a very less symptom and not experienced by most pregnant women.
Acne:
Pregnancy causes many changes in the skin, and it is not surprising that the skin gets oily and acne prone. The skin becomes much thicker, the pores get bigger, and the oil glands become active. The hormonal changes of pregnancy also lead to acne. Some pregnant women get a glow and clearer skin during their pregnancies, but others may get more skin problems.
Darkening areolas:
Your areolas, the areas around your nipples, are likely to grow when you are pregnant. These changes tend to be gradual and continue throughout the pregnancy. In combination with other symptoms, some women notice these changes very early.
The darkening of the areola is not a problem for most people. It is caused due to the change in hormones that happen during pregnancy.
Bloating or constipation
It’s not uncommon for us to experience blobby stools from time to time, but it’s also not uncommon during pregnancy. The changing hormones are once again the culprit. They slow down digestion, which can cause a build-up of air in the gut and lead to snoozing.
It may be mild and accompanied by other symptoms early on in the pregnancy. These symptoms may stick around for the rest of your baby’s life if you’re pregnant.
Smell Sensitivity:
A lot of women report having an increased sensitivity to smell during pregnancy. Some of them actually find it difficult to detect certain smells. For example, they might not be able to smell something that’s in front of them. The increased sensitivity to smell can make it hard for them to determine whether or not food is spoiled.
They might also have trouble detecting certain odors in the home and in public places. This heightened sense of smell can stick around through the first trimester and contribute to other symptoms such as nausea and food cravings or aversions.
Headaches:
Another one of the most common pregnancy symptoms is headaches. There are many causes of headaches, including high blood pressure and stress. If you are experiencing frequent headaches, you should see your doctor. He or she can offer advice on what to do about your symptoms and help you prevent more serious problems.
Change of Taste:
There is a change of taste in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. This happens because of the amount of salt in the blood increases. You may want to drink more water or eat less salty foods. You may also notice a change in the types of food you like. These changes usually happen toward the end of the third trimester. During the last few months of pregnancy, your body becomes more acidic. This is because your levels of the enzyme carbonic acid increase. You may experience this as a burning sensation in your mouth.
Increased Basal Temperature:
Pregnant women have a higher basal body temperature. At the beginning of pregnancy, the temperature stays at normal levels, but after that, it starts to go up. This happens due to the increased amount of hormone progesterone in your body. Your body produces progesterone when you ovulate. It is the hormone that makes your menstrual cycles regular.
Progesterone is also known to raise the temperature of your body. It causes your body temperature to rise when you wake up in the morning and goes down again when you go to bed at night. Progesterone is also responsible for making you sleepy. It works by lowering your blood pressure. It also causes your body to produce more sweat.
Shortness of Breathe:
Another early sign of pregnancy is shortness of breath. Shortness of breath usually occurs in the first weeks of pregnancy. You may also experience nausea. Nausea can cause you to have a feeling of light-headedness. This can be annoying, and you may wish you had never started your period. In some cases, women with early pregnancy symptoms have heartburn.
Lack of Focus:
A lack of focus is another symptom that can occur during early pregnancy. Women with early pregnancy symptoms may have trouble focusing on what they have to do. When this happens, it can be extremely frustrating. If you want to keep your focus in check, you should eat healthy foods daily. This will help you to maintain your energy level throughout the day. You should also get plenty of rest. You may find that if you are not getting enough sleep, you can feel exhausted.
Dreams:
The start of different sleep patterns is one of the most common symptoms of pregnant women. With so many changes taking place at the same time to accommodate according to the growth of the baby, few pregnant women feel like bouts of insomnia and weeks where they need more time to sleep.
With more sleep and a high level of different hormones in the body, many pregnant women report that they experience detailed, vivid dreams. Dreams can be impacted by many mental and emotional changes, along with physical processes.
So these were the few most common early signs of pregnancy and some less common signs. Apart from these, there are more such signs which help in knowing if you are pregnant or not.
When do pregnancy symptoms start?
It’s difficult to say when would the pregnancy symptoms start for individuals as everyone is different in the same way every pregnancy is different. Though some of the most common pregnancy symptoms, such as fatigue, nausea, tiredness, and swallowing of the breast, can be experienced between one to two weeks after conception. But again, everyone’s body is different, so some can experience these after two weeks of conception too. It’s better to do a pregnancy test at the right time if you feel or experience something related to pregnancy, you can also take help from your doctor, and they will be able to guide you better.
Is diarrhea a symptom of pregnancy?
Diarrhea is one of the common symptoms of pregnancy. It is common during pregnancy. In fact, it can occur in up to 30 percent of women at some point during pregnancy. Many pregnant women experience diarrhea as early as two to three weeks after conception. Most women have no trouble with it. However, some women experience it for long periods of time.
This can be caused by several reasons, including hormonal changes in the body, increased blood volume, and increased intestinal permeability. It is also possible to have a bacterial infection, which is also a cause of diarrhea. Treating diarrhea as soon as you notice it is important so you don’t make it worse. You should drink plenty of water. Your doctor may suggest over-the-counter medicines. You should also consider contacting your doctor if you take any medications that might worsen diarrhea.
When do ectopic pregnancy symptoms start?
The first symptoms of ectopic pregnancy are often very similar to those of normal pregnancy and usually develop between the 4th and 12th weeks of pregnancy. These include abdominal cramps and back pain. Some women also experience nausea, vaginal bleeding, and light spotting.
It is sometimes possible to confuse ectopic pregnancy with miscarriage. In fact, you may even feel like you are having a miscarriage. The difference between the two conditions is that the woman with an ectopic pregnancy will develop an infection. You should go to your doctor if you are experiencing any of the symptoms mentioned above. Your doctor can help you identify the correct cause of your discomfort.
Conclusion:
The symptoms of early pregnancy are many and varied. A woman can undergo several changes in her body that will indicate the presence of a developing fetus. This can be both exciting and frightening at the same time. But it is important to understand what is normal and what is not so that you can take the necessary steps to deal with this new situation.
The sooner you find out about a pregnancy, the more time you have to prepare for it. While pregnancy is a very common condition, many women don’t know that they’re pregnant until it’s too late to take action. So, these are the 20 early signs and symptoms of pregnancy that you should be aware of so that you can get help quickly if you are pregnant. For more pregnancy-related content, stay tuned to our website, MOM NEWS TODAY, and also don’t forget to share your thoughts and advice in the comment section below that can help other pregnant mothers.