What are the early signs and symptoms of pregnancy?

How do you know if you are pregnant? As we know the most common and first sign of pregnancy is missed a period. What else? You may confirm it with a pregnancy test. All women need care and attention at this time and this care should come from her family. The women who have good care during pregnancy are more likely to have safer births and healthier babies. This article provides you with detailed information about early signs and symptoms of pregnancy. Many early pregnancy symptoms include slight bleeding, food aversions, swollen breasts, headaches, tiredness, cramping, etc. And don’t worry if you do not have any of these symptoms because every pregnancy is different. Here’s what to look for.

Signs and symptoms

Now let’s have a look at some of the signs and symptoms of being a pregnant woman and how will it affect the mother’s body:

1.  Missed period: This is the most common sign of pregnancy. If your period is late you can take a pregnancy test to check whether you are pregnant or not.
2. Sore breasts: During the early weeks of pregnancy, women have a tingly feeling in their beast. Your breast may also feel heavier. The skin around their nipples looks bumpier too than usual because of the extra hormones that you have in your body during pregnancy.
3. Feeling sick: Some women feel slightly sick as during pregnancy hormones are flooding your body. You might be more sensitive to smells.
4. Cramps: Cramps are caused by hormonal changes and the growth of the uterus. This pregnancy sign is triggered by implantation when the fertilized egg attaches to the uterine wall.
5. Feeling tired: This one is very obvious. Your body is going through some major hormonal changes during pregnancy. Your body temperature is also higher due to the amount of progesterone circulating through your body.
6. Heartburn: At this time your uterus starts to push upwards as it grows. The increasing HCG will also slow down your digestion which increases the stomach acid causing heartburn.
7. Peeing more often: During the pregnancy, there may be an increase in the bathroom breaks which sometimes start early. It is also more frequent when the baby presses on your bladder. Do not cut back on your fluid intake. You feel to urinate more frequently as hormones cause blood flow to increase especially through the kidneys.
8. Cravings: Food cravings are common too. When you are pregnant you might find yourself turning up your nose at certain foods like fried foods, ice cream, etc. For some women, food cravings can last for the entire pregnancy but in most cases, they disappear by the end of the first trimester.
9. Vomiting: It usually occurs around 4-6 weeks and starts any time during the day or night. Hormones may play a role in this situation.
10. Fatigue: It also ranks high among the early symptoms of pregnancy. During this time, levels of the hormone make you feel sleepy.

1. Nausea: It is one of the classic symptoms of pregnancy. But not every woman gets it. The exact cause of this is not known. Pregnant women also tend to have a heightened sense of smell may cause waves of nausea in early pregnancy. It can be experienced with or without vomiting.
2. Mood swings: Hormonal changes during early pregnancy can also cause you to feel more emotional than you usually do. Your emotions are heightened at this time. Regular exercise can help you to be in a happier state of mind. Mood swings are considered as a common symptom in the first Mood swings are common and may cause feelings of depression, anxiety, and irritability.
3. Increased heart rate and body temperature: Your heart may begin pumping faster. This is normally due to hormones. Your body temperature also increases slightly soon after ovulation.
4. Bloating and constipation: Similar to symptoms of a missed period, bloating may occur during early pregnancy. This is again due to hormone change which slowdowns your digestive system down. You may feel constipated and blocked.
5. Headaches: Having headaches in early pregnancy is another common sign. The sudden rise of hormones in your body leads you to experience the headaches. It may also be caused by the increase in blood flow.
6. Darkening of the skin: The skin on the forehead, upper lip or bridge of the nose may darken at the time of pregnancy. The medical term for this is melasma or chloasma.
7. Stress: During pregnancy, rapid change in hormone levels may be responsible for the feeling of stress. Women may feel depressed and may have crying spells.
8. Change in taste: Some women may experience a metallic taste in their mouths during pregnancy. While some may experience a change in taste or even an increase in saliva. If you notice yourself no longer appreciating the smell of chocolate or coffee then perhaps you might be about to come into some exciting news.
9. Other symptoms: Many women believe that they have an intuition about pregnancy signs. They just start feeling pregnant. Sometimes this may often correct. Maybe they feel different signs: tired, moody, lightheaded or sometimes find yourself making frequent trips to the toilet. You may feel a stiffness in your lower back. A simple pregnancy test can remove all the stressful thoughts from your mind.

Final Words

Of course, many of the symptoms are considered normal for many women but if you are experiencing one or more of the symptoms above you should take a pregnancy test.  As nothing is definite until it is confirmed. Some can indicate that you are getting sick or that your period is around to start. You should know these symptoms may also be caused by other things besides being pregnant. So the fact that you may notice some of these symptoms does not necessarily mean you are pregnant. Just relax and try on the pregnancy test to be sure whether you are actually pregnant or it’s just some common viral symptoms acting on your body.