Early pregnancy symptoms differ from person to person. A woman who has experienced particular symptoms during her first early pregnancy may not experience the same during the following pregnancies. Therefore, a pregnancy test can help you save time and give immediate results about pregnancy.
You have probably been tracking your period while expecting a baby. And every time you go to the restroom, you may check your periods. If you haven’t gotten your period and suspect you are pregnant, you should take the pregnancy test.
However, if you don’t have access to the pregnancy test kit, you can check for other early pregnancy symptoms.This article covers all the details about early pregnancy signs and symptoms.
When Do The Early Pregnancy Symptoms Start?
The first week of pregnancy starts with the last menstrual period. You count the pregnancy weeks by calculating them through the last day of the previous menstrual period.
However, some pregnancy symptoms manifest even before you miss your period, and some women can feel early pregnancy symptoms in the first week of conception. The week of the last menstrual period is usually considered the first week of pregnancy, even if you haven’t missed a period.
Common Early Signs Of Pregnancy
Pregnancy symptoms vary dramatically from person to person, so you cannot compare your pregnancy with others. However, the following are some most common early signs and symptoms of pregnancy that women feel during their early days.
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Frequent Urination
Frequent urination is one of the early signs of pregnancy, and it occurs even if you have not missed your period. The blood during pregnancy increases, and the kidney must filter all the blood from toxins.
Therefore, you have to pee more often to empty your bladder. The more blood in the body, the more the kidney filters the blood, and you have to go to the bathroom more frequently.
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Missed Period
A missed period is one of the significant early pregnancy symptoms. A fertilized egg attaches to the uterus lining after traveling from the fallopian tube. Therefore, the body produces hormones to stop ovulation and the shedding of the uterus lining.Here, you can find everything about ovulation calculators.
So, that’s how your menstrual cycle stops, and you don’t get periods until the baby’s birth. However, missed periods are not always because of conception and pregnancy symptoms.
You can also miss periods because of stress, dieting, excessive exercise, hormonal imbalance, and other factors. Moreover, some women have the problem of an irregular menstrual cycle. Therefore, you should not consider yourself pregnant based on a missed period until you feel the other pregnancy signs and go through the pregnancy tests.
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Fatigue
Fatigue is also a common early sign of pregnancy. Many women feel exhausted during early pregnancy, and it occurs because of hormonal changes in the body during pregnancy. The level of hormone progesterone increases during early pregnancy.
This hormone is responsible for keeping the fertilized egg intact and the body going through the early stages. The high level of hormone progesterone causes fatigue in the first trimester, and the situation improves in the second trimester. However, fatigue returns in the third trimester again.
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Morning Sickness Or Nausea
This condition happens to most pregnant women. Despite the name morning sickness, women feel nausea earlier in the pregnancy at any time of the day. This condition happens in the second week of pregnancy. Moreover, it is possible that women feel nausea but never vomit. The situation varies among women.
Morning sickness is the most common time for nausea in pregnant ladies, which can occur because of dehydration in the body. Every woman feels different levels of nausea.In such cases, ensure to hydrate yourself with enough fluids that includes fresh juices or probiotic drinks. However, if a woman cannot keep down food or fluid because of nausea, she may have hyperemesis gravidarum.
Hyperemesis gravidarum occurs because of extreme nausea and dehydration. Therefore, you should consult a gynecologist to overcome the situation.
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Swollen Breasts
Women’s breast tenderness increases during pregnancy. However, you can also feel soreness in them, like during your periods. They become tender to the touch, and areolas (the area around your nipple) feel large and darker. It is one of the common early pregnancy symptoms and occurs because of the higher hormone levels.
Once the body gets used to increased hormone levels, the soreness goes away. However, you may notice that your breasts become larger, tightening your bra during early pregnancy. You will notice these breast changes during the first trimester.
Less Common Symptoms Of Pregnancy
Besides the above symptoms of pregnancy, other signs enable you to predict pregnancy. However, these are less common among women and may not happen to everyone in the first few weeks. Regardless, you should also read the following if you have seen any symptoms in your body.
Here are the less common symptoms of pregnancy:
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Food Aversions, Cravings, And Constant Hunger
Food aversions occur during pregnancy and are experienced by most women. You may enjoy some foods before pregnancy, but you may not like the same taste during pregnancy.
Moreover, it also happens that you may start to like foods that you have not liked before. Food cravings for certain tastes increase during pregnancy. However, these food aversions can happen throughout the pregnancy, and food cravings are more unstable during the early stages.
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Implantation Bleeding Or Spotting
Bleeding is a bad sign during pregnancy, but light spotting may be because of an embryo implanted in the uterus lining. Implantation bleeding occurs after 10 days of conception when the fertilized egg attaches to the uterus lining.
Vaginal bleeding occurs in small drops of blood or a brownish discharge like a light period. Moreover, it may cause women to think they have periods and are not pregnant.
However, implantation bleeding is normal, but not all women have to face this symptom. If the bleeding does not stop and stays for a longer period, consult with a healthcare provider about light bleeding.
Tips To Avoid Implantation Bleeding:
You can avoid light spotting during early pregnancy by following these tips:
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- Avoid using illegal substances, alcohol, and drugs.
- Consult the doctor before using any medication or food supplement.
- Do not smoke during early pregnancy.
- Moreover, if implantation bleeding occurs, do not use tampons as they increase the risk of infection.
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Metallic Taste
Some women feel a metallic taste in their mouth during early pregnancy, like they have placed a pile of metallic coins in their mouth. Moreover, it can happen any time of the day, whether you eat something or not. These pregnancy symptoms occur because of hormonal changes in the body that also affect the taste of the mouth.
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Mood Swings
Continuous hormonal changes also cause mood swings in pregnant ladies. Many women show this symptom, but everyone doesn’t need to suffer from mood swings during pregnancy.
Sometimes, women feel depressed and become anxious during pregnancy. Therefore, it is better to consult a mental health professional to overcome this state. However, if the situation lasts longer, it is an early sign of complication in the pregnancy and symptoms of anxiety.
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Cramping
Pregnancy symptoms also include cramping, like period cramps. However, they go over in a few weeks. If the cramps stay longer, it’s better to consult the healthcare provider to avoid complications, as it may be a symptom of ectopic pregnancy.
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Bloating
Bloating is one of the early pregnancy symptoms. Stomach acid increases these days, and you pass more gas than usual. If you feel a bump in your stomach during early pregnancy, do not mistake it for a baby bump, as it may take time to appear. Therefore, take medications to decrease stomach acid.
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Congestion
Pregnancy hormones affect the body differently. The hormonal changes may cause congestion and a stuffy nose. The mucous membrane of the nose becomes dry and causes bleeding sometimes.
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Dizziness
Headache, dizziness, and lightheadedness are also symptoms of pregnancy. This usually occurs because of hormonal changes, increased blood levels, and increased blood flow.
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Acne Or Skin Changes
Skin changes occur during early pregnancy days. It occurs because of hormonal pregnancy changes in the body. Some women get clearer and brightened skin, whereas some get pimples. It varies from body to body. Moreover, it is not a common early symptom of pregnancy.
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Increased Heart Rate
Take a pregnancy test when you are expecting a baby and feel an increased heart rate more often. Palpitations and arrhythmias are common pregnancy symptoms. Moreover, your blood pressure may fluctuate while pregnancy progresses.
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Raised Body Temperature
The basal body temperature increases as pregnancy progresses, which you may consider fever. Therefore, drink more water to lower the basal body temperature and exercise cautiously.
How To Check Pregnancy Through A Pregnancy Test?
When you have any of the above symptoms, you should do a pregnancy test either by yourself or can go to the doctor. However, we will guide you on how to do the home pregnancy test.
Purchase the test kits from a drug store, grocery store, or online. These kits are designed to detect the pregnancy hormone in the urine. When you go to the bathroom, urinate in a cup and put the dipstick in the urine. Dip the stick for almost ten seconds and remove it from the urine afterward.
Wait for a while until it shows the results. The single line on the display means that you are not pregnant. However, the stick should show double lines for a positive pregnancy test. Moreover, according to the manufacturers, pregnancy sticks show accurate results 99% of the time.
In addition, for accurate results, use the first urine in the morning, as the concentrated urine shows clear results. Diluted urine may not have enough pregnancy hormones to show the results. Moreover, they must consult the doctor after getting positive pregnancy tests. A home pregnancy test may vary in results sometimes.
FAQs Regarding Pregnancy Signs
What do I do if the pregnancy test is negative, but I observe pregnancy symptoms?
If you take a pregnancy test that results in a negative display but observe the symptoms, it may be a sign that your periods are about to start. However, there is something known as a false negative. So you might be pregnant despite a negative test result. Therefore, you should retake the test after a few weeks if you have not gotten your period.
What pregnancy are symptoms normal?
Pregnancy symptoms, including missed periods, swollen breasts, nausea, frequent urination, and fatigue, are considered normal. However, if you are not pregnant and feel these symptoms, it may signify your regular period is starting.
Is vaginal discharge normal in pregnancy?
Vaginal discharge continues throughout pregnancy, and it is normal as the discharge avoids itching and bacterial infection. However, if you feel a burning sensation or bad smell, you should consult with your doctor.
What pregnancy symptoms are warning signs and require one to consult the doctor?
You should consult the doctor immediately when you feel continuous and alarming pain, especially on the right side of the body. Moreover, consult the physician if you feel any other symptoms like bleeding, blurred vision, cramping, swollen hands, lower back pain or aching feet, severe headaches, or any unusual changes in your body.
However, the symptoms mentioned above are not dire, and you don’t have to worry about meeting the doctor besides a routine check-up.
Do all women feel nausea earlier?
During the first months, nausea is common, but not all women report this symptom. Therefore, it is normal if you are not feeling nauseous during pregnancy.
When should I take a pregnancy test?
Human gonadotropin level increases in the body during pregnancy. Therefore, it helps to find the pregnancy through urine. You can take the pregnancy test when you have missed the period.
However, you should wait at least one week after missing the period for accurate results. It will help you to avoid false positive results. Moreover, you can consult a doctor for surety about the pregnancy.
Is it possible that pregnancy tests are negative, but I am still pregnant?
Yes, it might be a case that you get a negative display from the pregnancy test kit but still be pregnant. Manufacturers claim that 99% of the time, these testing kits work. Therefore, you could fall with that 1%. Moreover, home pregnancy tests are not very reliable.
Therefore, it would be better to consult the doctor after taking a pregnancy test at home. Moreover, some early pregnancy symptoms are similar to the period-starting symptoms. So, you should not mix that symptom with the period starting and take a pregnancy test.
What is an ectopic pregnancy, and what are the symptoms?
When the embryo or fertilized egg implants out of the uterus cavity, it is called an ectopic pregnancy. It is not normal as the fertilized egg cannot survive outside the uterus lining. The outer cavity can be the fallopian tube, cervix of the uterus, lower abdomen, etc. The uterus lining is important for a normal fertilized egg as it provides the perfect environment for the embryo to grow.
The symptoms of ectopic pregnancy include vaginal bleeding and pelvic pain. Moreover, if the outer cavity is the fallopian tube, you will feel shoulder pain and the urge to have a bowel movement.
How many types of pregnancy tests are available?
There are two types of pregnancy tests available. One is through urine testing, and the other one includes testing through blood. Most doctors check pregnancy through urine tests, but if the results are ambiguous, they advise you to take a blood test. The higher level of pregnancy hormones is checked to confirm the positive pregnancy test.
Conclusion: What Are The Early Signs Of Pregnancy?
Early pregnancy symptoms are somehow related to the starting symbols of the periods. Therefore, you should take a test to make it clear. Moreover, early pregnancy symptoms vary from woman to woman.
You don’t need to observe all the symptoms to validate your pregnancy. However, we included some most common and less common early pregnancy symptoms.
Early pregnancy symptoms include missed periods, swollen breasts, nausea, frequent urination, and fatigue. These are the most common symptoms of pregnancy.
However, the less common symptoms include food aversions, cravings, congestion, bloating, higher basal body temperature, crampings, headache, dizziness, metallic taste, mood swings, and implantation bleeding.You should confirm pregnancy through the test if you observe any of the above early symptoms. Moreover, you can do pregnancy testing at home, or you should go to a doctor.
