Pregnancy Symptoms: what to expect?
Are you expecting? If you have been trying to conceive it may be a few short weeks after conception before you know for sure you are pregnant. However there are a few common symptoms that you can learn to identify that you are in the stages of early pregnancy.
Physical changes
Missed period: If you are generally regular in having your monthly period and never missed a period so far, then a missed period is a sure sign that you are expecting. To confirm that you are indeed pregnant you can have a home pregnancy test.
Nausea and morning sickness: Morning sickness doesn’t usually start until the sixth or seventh week of pregnancy but in some cases that queasy feeling can hit at any time – sometimes just a few short weeks into your pregnancy. Hormones mainly HCG and progesterone are to blame to make you feel like running to the nearest bathroom.
Sore, heavy and tender breasts: You can blame the hormones for all the physical symptoms throughout your pregnancy. That feeling of full, heavy and sore breasts that makes you go ouch when you touch them is another symptom of pregnancy.
Frequent urination: The frequent need to pee is another common symptom that you are expecting. Your growing uterus will put pressure on your bladder giving you that urge to pee every minute. The pregnancy hormone HCG is also responsible for you to pee frequently as it increases the blood flow to your kidney and making them get rid of body waste like urine more proficiently.
Increased blood flow: You blood volume to areas like uterus, cervix, vagina and vulva will increase dramatically during pregnancy. In a few weeks after conception, these tissues look distinctly bluish or purple in color. You may not notice this at first, but your doctor will on doing a pelvic examination.
Hunger and food cravings: You will have this sudden urge to eat everything in sight. Some women say it’s impossible to control the pregnancy hunger and food cravings. The most common food craving is to eat something sweet or salty. Doctors say that the simplest reason for food cravings during pregnancy is your body requires the additional calories for the growth and development of a healthy baby.
Vaginal bleeding and cramping: This bleeding will be light and different than your regular period. It’s popularly known as implantation bleeding and is considered normal. It usually occurs around 10 to 12 days after the first day of your last period. Implantation bleeding is seen as a sign of a successful embryo being implanted in your womb.
Heightened sense of smell and food aversions: Pregnancy hormones mainly progesterone gives you a heightened sense of smell. Mild odors that don’t seem to bother anyone else will appear really strong to you and make you want to throw up. Along with food cravings, you will notice you will have developed an aversion to things you used to enjoy like coffee, cola or alcohol.
Backaches and headaches: Backaches can be an annoying symptom of your pregnancy. It starts in early pregnancy and is likely to appear throughout your pregnancy. The hormonal changes in your body are responsible for the headaches and backaches. You can use warm compress to ease your backaches. Dehydration can worsen your headaches so drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. If your headaches are unbearable check with your doctor before you take any painkillers.
Fatigue: In early pregnancy most of your body’s resources are used to develop the baby in your womb. These hormonal and physical changes can often leave you feeling like a marathon runner, running on an empty fuel tank.
Bloating: You may start to notice, your skirts and jeans don’t fit you anymore especially at the waist. The pregnancy hormone progesterone slows down your digestion leaving you feeling full and heavy.
Higher body temperature: It is common for woman’s body temperature to increase during ovulation. If you have been monitoring your body temperature to know when you will ovulate then you will notice an increase in your body temperature.
Emotional changes
Moody and tearful: Pregnancy hormones are not only responsible for physical changes in your body, they can affect you emotionally too. It is common to have sudden teary outbursts during pregnancy. When you feel overwhelmed watch a light hearted movie or talk to a supportive friend.
Feeling different: Sometimes in early pregnancy it’s difficult to describe how exactly you feel. You may feel distracted or feel like you aren’t really there.
If you have been trying to conceive and can’t wait to find out if you are really pregnant, then a home pregnancy test is the best option. Most tests performed after six weeks after the first day of your last period are rarely wrong in predicting a positive pregnancy test. But remember, every pregnancy is different and you may have different pregnancy symptoms than your friend.
