Early Symptoms Of Pregnancy

Oftentimes, the early signs of pregnancy may be very similar to or even almost the same as PMS or pre-menstrual symptoms, a condition which many women across the globe have to face. So how do you know if you are truly pregnant?

Here are some common signs of pregnancy, using which you can judge whether you need to make that urgent trip to your gynecologist!

1) Missed Period

The most common indication of pregnancy is a missed period. If you have had sexual intercourse and do not get your period within a time frame of 8-10 days after the expected date, you should suspect pregnancy.

2) Very Light Bleeding

If you have experienced some unusually light bleeding or spotting at around the time of your menstrual period, you may consider a probable pregnancy. The developing embryo burrows itself strongly into the endometrial lining, causing the light bleeding at the time of implantation.

3) Nausea

Nausea and vomiting, also called morning sickness, are some of the common signs of pregnancy. They can occur at any time of the day or night and tend to leave the woman feeling sick and uneasy. If you are having these symptoms, it may turn out to be a sign of bad digestion. But it could even be an indication to good news as well! So make sure to visit your doctor if these symptoms are too prolonged.

4) Dizziness

Many pregnant women experience spells of dizziness and fainting as early as within the first week after conception. If you are feeling uncommonly light-headed and faint, you might actually have good reason to celebrate!

5) Prolonged Tiredness

If you are, of late, feeling overly tired and sluggish, you might actually be on your way to introducing a brand new member into the family! The sudden imbalance, created by rising levels of hormones during pregnancy, are the cause for this symptom.

If you are experiencing any of the above-mentioned symptoms, you should know they might actually be signs of pregnancy. While they may just be signs of general tiredness, indigestion or hormonal imbalance, make an appointment with your doctor and confirm the reason for your condition.

Would you like to know about all the stages in pregnancy, week by week? Here is a guide that will tell you how your baby develops through the nine months inside your womb.

1) Maintaining your general health is very important if you need to carry your baby to term and deliver a healthy child. Visiting a preconceptional health center is a good idea.

2) If ovulation has taken place in you recently, chances are that life is already forming within you as you read this!

3) After fertilization, the next step is implantation. Your zygote begins its weeklong journey to the uterus, during which time, cell division also occurs.

4) A urine pregnancy test can confirm your pregnancy at this stage.

5) Your baby’s heart begins to beat!

6) Your baby starts to form the larynx and inner ear. The heart bulges out and limb buds appear on her developing body.

7) Nasal pits and hand plates start forming.

Bones, joints and elbows start developing this week and the baby starts moving. The genitalia start developing simultaneously.

9) Toe rays start forming now.

10) The little tail disappears and the eyes are open.

11) Finger nails start appearing and the baby weighs about 7 grams.

12) You can hear your baby’s heartbeat with an ultrasound at this time!

13) The baby’s teeth are forming, so is the intestinal tract.

14) She now starts urinating into the amniotic fluid!

15) The scalp hair pattern is visible now and baby might start sucking her thumb!

16) The ears start developing clearly. Limb movements are coordinated.

17) Baby weighs about 5 ounces by now.

18) Pads of fingers and toes start developing now.

19) Fine hairs appear all over her body.

20) You may actually get a good peek at your baby with ultrasound now!

21) Baby starts moving towards the head down position.

22) She starts developing eyebrows!

23) Her first stool is developing.

24) She is almost completely formed now.

25) Baby weighs about 1 pound 9 ounces.

26) The baby responds to external sounds. She can also perceive light.

27) The veins are clearly visible now.

28) The eyelashes are developing. If it is a boy, the testes starts descending.

29) Red blood cells are produced in the baby’s body.

30) Baby is now capable of maintaining her body temperature.

31) Her irises dilate and contract to adjust to light.

32) Baby weighs about 1.7 kilos now!

33) Your baby has enough surfactant, which helps her lungs function.

34) Your breasts start developing mother’s milk.

35) All her vital organs are in place by now.

36) Baby gets a final touchup before coming out a few weeks later!

37) She now practices breathing.

38) She remains stable now.

39) Baby continues to prepare for coming into the world!

40) Her immune system is yet to develop fully.

41) Baby is patiently waiting for her call!

42) Baby finally gets to see the world.

This pregnancy week by week calendar is only an estimate. Your baby might come out a little late if you are a first time mother. Do not worry at all. Just hang in there and pray for her good health!

Very many symptoms of early pregnancy may closely resemble normal everyday events. In order to know for sure if you are pregnant or not, it is desirable for you to take a pregnancy test as soon as you detect some early symptoms.

There are various types of pregnancy tests available today. Listed below are the various tests for pregnancy:

Urine Tests

Pregnancy can be confirmed as early as ten days after conception, with the help of blood tests, taken by the physician. These tests detect the level of the human chorionic gonadotropin hormone, or HCG. If the level is higher than normal, pregnancy is confirmed. The level of the HCG hormone, produced by the placenta, almost doubles day after day, during the first two months of the pregnancy.

Blood Tests

Blood tests performed by the physician are also absolutely accurate and can detect pregnancy as early as two weeks into conception.

Home Pregnancy Tests

If a woman is unsure about her pregnancy and would like to conduct a test herself, she can easily purchase a home pregnancy kit from the nearest medical store. The at-home pregnancy kit analyzes a sample of her urine. This can be performed about two weeks after conception. Though home pregnancy tests are over 97% these days, it is advisable for the woman to repeat the test a few days later, so that she can be sure if she really needs to visit her doctor or not.

No matter what the result of your at-home pregnancy test, it is always desirable for you to go visit your doctor and undertake a thorough physical examination. If your pregnancy kit is showing negative and you still suspect pregnancy, do meet your doctor at the earliest to confirm it either way.

Online Pregnancy Tests

There are many sites today on the Internet that offer online pregnancy tests. Here, you are required to answer a questionnaire, based on which you are given positive or negative results. But this only gives you a possible status of pregnancy, so it is best to visit your physician, who will take a proper pregnancy test and give you accurate results.

Pregnancy symptoms vary from woman to woman. Each woman has a different personality and outlook towards life and its events, and so, her experiences during this period might be very different from those of another. But generally, women have certain common symptoms during pregnancy. They are as follows:

Nausea / Vomiting

These symptoms, popularly referred to as ‘morning sickness’, start as early as the first week of pregnancy. This can occur anytime during the day and night and have no apparent reason for showing up. Many women find relief by eating smaller, more frequent meals each day.

Dizziness / Fainting

This happens because the expanding uterus compresses the arteries in the legs, creating a drop in the blood pressure.

Tenderness In The Breast

Many pregnant women report an unexplained tenderness in the breasts. The breasts and nipples get extremely sensitive, swell up and increase in size.

Tiredness

Sluggishness and constant sleepiness is yet another symptom of pregnancy. The high levels of progesterone in the body give rise to a heightened body temperature and a feeling of tiredness.

Light Bleeding

Sometimes, bleeding can occur during 8-10 days of fertilization. While some women mistake this to be an unusually light period, they may actually be pregnant. This happens because the fertilized egg firmly gnaws its way into the endometrial lining!

Frequent Urination

The expanding uterus puts pressure on the bladder, making the woman feel like visiting the washroom more often. This can happen within one to two weeks into the pregnancy.

Bad Temper

Blame your hormones for this! The raging hormonal action can make the happiest woman really crabby during their pregnancy. This may, in some cases, last right up to the start of the second trimester.

Heartburn

The increasing size of the uterus puts pressure upward, on the heart. The growing levels of the HCG hormone, as well, causes the process of digestion to slow down, giving rise to an increase in stomach acids, causing acidity and heartburn.

Pregnancy symptoms present themselves in various ways. If you feel you are experiencing some of the symptoms mentioned above, do visit your doctor and get yourself thoroughly checked up!

Have you lately been getting a vague, hitherto unfamiliar, feeling that you might be pregnant? It is said that some women are so perceptive of even the slight changes in their bodies that they could even know the exact time and date when they conceive! Of course, this theory has never been proved. But if you have been feeling an unexplained uneasiness since the last week or two and you suspect these might actually be early pregnancy symptoms, then you may have to visit your doctor very soon!

Here are some early pregnancy symptoms we have listed out for you, so that you can at least estimate whether any of your symptoms match the ones mentioned below:

A missed period is almost a sure sign of pregnancy. Of course, it could also occur due to some freakish hormone imbalance, but by and large, if your period does not occur even 10 days after its expected date, it could mean you might be pregnant.

If you experienced sudden and unexplained light spotting or bleeding, that could also indicate a probable pregnancy. The little fertilized egg within you is much stronger and tenacious than you can think. It is perfectly capable of gnawing its way into your endometrial lining, so that it can attach itself to you, thereby enabling its survival for the next 9 months. Some women bleed at the time of this implantation process. This usually happens a few days before your expected period. Also, the color of the blood is markedly different and lighter than normal menstrual bleeding.

Morning sickness is a very common complaint among pregnant women. If you are feeling overly nauseous, it could be time to get mentally prepared for a family!

Have you been feeling washed out lately? It is normal to feel unduly tired on some days. But if this goes on for more than a week, you may think of pregnancy.

Some pregnant women complain of breast tenderness. This happens due to sudden and rapid changes in your hormones.

All of the early pregnant symptoms mentioned above could also apply to normal everyday life. If you think you might be pregnant, do visit your physician and have a thorough medical examination to confirm one way or the other.