When you are planning to have a baby, a missed period can put you on the path to happiness. But are you really pregnant or not? Only a pregnancy test could tell. However, there are also other symptoms that make you feel a little off track while your period is away!
Here are some early signs and symptoms of pregnancy:
Classic or standard signs
Missed Period
If you happen to be in your childbearing years and a week or two have passed without a bleeding day in sign or the start of your menstrual cycle, you might be pregnant. However, this is not the sole symptom of pregnancy and can often be misleading. Delayed or irregular cycles are common in women. Thus, a missed period cycle can be a result of that too.
Swollen and tender breasts
Early hormonal changes during the initial days of pregnancy can lead to sore breasts and make your breast area sensitive. The discomfort is usually not a lot and reduces after a few weeks as your body adjusts to the new hormonal changes happening.
Nausea and vomiting
Early symptoms of pregnancy can also involve nausea, with or without vomiting. Often known as morning sickness, it can strike at any time of the day or night. This symptom often begins once you are one month into the pregnancy. However, it varies for different individuals. Some might feel nausea and vomiting during the early days, while others might never experience it. The cause of nausea during pregnancy isn’t very clear, but studies have shown that pregnancy hormones have a role to play here.
Increased urge to urinate
The early symptoms of pregnancy may also include a constant and frequent urge to urinate. This includes having the urge to urinate more than often or as usual. This happens because during pregnancy, the blood flow in your body increases, which causes your kidneys to produce extra fluid that ends up going to your bladder.
Fatigue
Fatigue is also common and ranks highly as one of the early symptoms of pregnancy. During early pregnancy, levels of the hormone progesterone increase. This might make you feel sleepy and tired.
Other signs of pregnancy
Other signs and symptoms of pregnancy that you might face during the first three months may include the following:
Moody temperament
The blood flow and the hormones in the body tend to fluctuate during the early periods of pregnancy. This can make you unusually weepy or emotional. Mood swings are a common symptom during the early days of pregnancy.
Bloating
The hormonal changes during the early months of pregnancy can make you feel bloated and make you look heavier. The body tends to retain weight, similar to how your body reacts during the start of the menstrual period.
Light blood spotting
Often times, a small amount of blood or light spotting can also occur as the first signs of pregnancy. This is known as implantation bleeding, and it takes place when the fertilized egg gets attached to the lining of the uterus. This happens after 10 to 14 days of conception. This period, known as the implantation period, occurs during or around the time of the menstrual period. However, not all women experience this symptom.
The occurrence of nasal congestion
Increases and fluctuations in the hormonal levels and blood production in the body during the early pregnancy months can lead to swelling or drying out of the mucous membranes in your nose, causing them to bleed easily. This might lead to you having a stuffy or runny nose.
Cramping and constipation
Some women also experience mild uterine cramping during early pregnancy.
At the same time, hormone level changes cause your digestive system to slow down, which can lead to constipation.
