Early Pregnancy Detection: Pregnancy Symptoms Before Missed Period
Other than a missed period and a pregnancy test, how far can you get before you realize you are pregnant? There are a few ways where early pregnancy can be detected, though the signs and time may actively differ for everyone. Your body goes through all kinds of changes after you conceive. And sometimes, you do not even realize it and miss all the symptoms. These symptoms include tender breasts, exhaustion, morning sickness, mood swings, and many more.
Some women feel the difference a week or two after conception. Some others will only notice the symptoms four or five weeks into their pregnancy. And there are others who are unaware of the symptoms and only realize it far into their pregnancy. As I said, the symptoms occur differently in different pregnant women. So, while it may be common and mistaken for period symptoms, they are usually unrecognized as pregnancy features. Below are the symptoms that are most common to pregnant women.
Fatigue:
Pregnancy and tiredness go hand in hand. Your body will feel exhausted more often since you will be producing more blood to carry nutrients for the growing baby. It is not just a symptom of early pregnancy, fatigue may even stay for the duration of your pregnancy.
Sore Breasts:
Your breasts will feel more tender and sore as you get into pregnancy. It is a hard symptom to identify for some women as they experience sore breasts as part of their menstruation. Usually, the soreness gets worse with time as you move up in your pregnancy. Your breasts might even begin to change the way they look.
Darkening Areolas:
Areolas are the area surrounding the nipple. One or two weeks after conception, they tend to become a shade darker and larger. This is due to the hormonal change that affects skin pigmentation. The veins will also become prominent due to the increased blood supply to the breasts.
Heightened Olfactory senses:
Most women note a heightened sense of smell right after they conceive. It is usually noticeable in the first trimester. Though it is not a confirmed symptom, the majority of pregnant women have experienced this condition. They become highly sensitive to smells as a sign of hormonal change.
Reaction to Food and morning sickness:
Hormones play another key role in your pregnancy cravings. They affect the way you react to different kinds of food. It can cause unusual food cravings, constant hunger, and aversions to some types of food, even causing nausea in a few. Morning sickness is usually the first symptom that many women notice in pregnancy. It stays until the first trimester, though for some it lasts during the entire pregnancy.
Bloating:
The body produces an increased amount of progesterone and estrogen to support pregnancy. This relaxes the muscles and builds up gas in the body. This in turn leads to abdominal pain, bloating, belching, and flatulence.
Mood Swings:
This is a very common symptom in pregnancy, though it is common in other conditions too. Pregnant women feel their body change in a large multitude, which may even make them moody. If you have PMS, you will experience mood swings in an extreme ratio, you will be laughing one minute and crying the next.
Cramping:
Since your body is preparing for a baby, your stomach starts to grow bit by bit. As it grows, so does your uterus. All this pulling and stretching may cause pain in your lower abdomen. These cramps feel similar to the ones you experience during menstruation.
High Basal Temperature:
Bas temperature refers to your waking temperature. It usually hikes during ovulation and gets down as you start your period. If you get pregnant, the temperature would not go
down. Basal body temperature staying high can be referred to as an early symptom of pregnancy.
Frequent urination:
Your need to urinate doubles during pregnancy. This is caused by the hormonal and physical changes your body goes through, resulting in an increased amount of pee being let out.
These are the ten most common symptoms you would notice early into your pregnancy. A lot of these symptoms are so common that you mistake them for period symptoms or just plain tiredness. You do not realize your body is undergoing a series of changes via hormones. While for some, it is plainly visible in the first week or two, others take four to five weeks to at least suspect pregnancy. This is because pregnancy treats every woman differently. Some have it easy, while others struggle until the final month.
Now a missed period almost confirms pregnancy, unlike the above symptoms. However, the only real way to know for sure is to take a pregnancy test. Consult a doctor if you want it confirmed and have a healthy pregnancy period.
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