Something’s off. Your favorite brand of wine suddenly tastes flat. Your favorite meal of thick and juicy T-Bone steak suddenly turns your stomach and you’re repulsed by it. Fast-forward a few weeks. You’re holding a home pregnancy test kit in your hands, and it shows a positive. You suddenly realized that the food aversion you experienced a few weeks back was a sign that your body knew you were pregnant before your mind even realized it.

Of course, the symptoms of pregnancy are different for each woman. Furthermore there are cases where some women may not even notice any of them. But generally speaking, most women in their earliest stage of pregnancy experience some symptoms. Here are the 10 most common early signs of pregnancy.

Common Early Signs of Pregnancy

pregnancy sign with test tool

pregnancy sign with test tool : image wikipedia

1. Fatigue : In your first few weeks of pregnancy, your body is working overtime to support the pregnancy. Therefore fatigue is a perfectly normal response. Also, the extra progesterone produced after conception causes your basal body temperature to rise, which in turn contributes to a lack of energy. As your heart supports more than just you now, it inevitably has to deliver extra oxygen to the uterus, which means fatigue is the end result.

In addition, fatigue may also be attributed to the lower blood sugar that results from poor appetite. You should take prenatal vitamins early on, eat a healthful diet, drink plenty of fluids to keep your blood pressure high enough, and rest when you can.

2. Nausea and Vomiting : Nausea and vomiting can be some of the first indications that you’re pregnant. The majority of pregnant women feel nauseous or sick in the early stages of their pregnancy. Some women just feel a bit queasy whereas others are actually sick, sometimes a few times a day. This is sometimes known as nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP), but is more commonly called morning sickness, although it can happen at any time of day.

Ginger and lemons have soothing effect for most women. You can also take special vitamin B6 supplements which has nausea alleviating properties. Acupressure wristbands can also help. If you’re vomiting frequently or can’t hold down any liquids, see your OB for possible IV hydration and medication.

3. Breast Tenderness : Breast tenderness is a common first sign of pregnancy that typically begins one to six weeks after conception. The reason for this is that your body is producing high amounts of estrogen and progesterone in early pregnancy, this causes the glands in the breasts to grow. This hormone surge causes breasts to retain more fluids and feel heavy, sore or more sensitive than normal PMS tenderness.

The best thing to do about breast tenderness is to get a better bra. A sports bra, for instance, can give you more support.

4. Food Cravings and Aversions : Dying for potato chips? Can’t stop dreaming of ice cream? Want a pickle so bad you can taste it? Or perhaps steaks now turn your stomach? If you notice food issues that weren’t there before, it could be your body telling you you’re pregnant.

pregnancy signs

pregnancy signs : image wikipedia

The yearning for a particular type of food is an undeniable part of carrying a baby. Many women crave at least one specific food during their pregnancy. Those cravings can be overpowering, in extreme cases a woman reportedly had an all-out craving for peaches, up to five pounds a day in the course of nine months.

On the flip side, pregnancy can also cause food aversions. Progesterone causes a lot of things to slow down and that includes your digestive processes, resulting indigestion or food aversions.

Since your stomach doesn’t empty as quickly as it normally does, it thinks there’s too much going on in there and wants to purge in some way—either into the gut or out through the mouth.

Another theory is that nausea and food aversions are protective effects of the body on the fetus. If things like free radicals or nitrates in some foods could hurt a growing baby, you may naturally develop a distaste to steer clear of them.

5. Mood Swings : Find yourself weeping over an episode of ‘Glee?’ Or having an intense hissy fit because you can’t seem to log in to Facebook?

Because of the flux in hormones, you can go from being tearful to angry instantly. Mood swings in pregnancy is universal and we commonly attribute these changes to ‘hormones’. Generally, mood swings in early pregnancy don’t require any medical attention.

6. Frequent Urination : When you gotta go, you gotta go! But hold up, again? Really? Frequent urination can be a sign of pregnancy. Not only can the swelling uterus put pressure on your bladder, but the extra blood flow to the kidneys (which begins right away) also causes them to produce more urine.

Frequent urination isn’t something that you need to really worry or do something about. Unless the frequent urination is accompanied by burning or other signs of infection. This also doesn’t mean that you should cut back on your fluid intake. This is normal.

7. Bloating, Cramps and Backache : Many women mistake these common early signs of pregnancy for PMS symptoms, but actually they’re caused by hormonal changes and the growth of the uterus. Again, these symptoms are nothing to worry about, unless the pain is severe or are accompanied by bleeding.

8. Dizziness and Fainting : This is the go-to symptom they use to signify pregnancy in movies and soap operas, however it’s based in reality. Low blood sugar or blood pressure can cause a woozy episode. Progesterone can contribute to lightheadedness by making your body temperature rise and causing blood vessels to dilate, which lowers blood pressure.

Try to move slowly, and don’t abruptly leap out of bed or off the couch. Keep blood sugar stable by eating every three to four hours, and drink plenty of water to keep your blood pressure steady. Avoid overheating, and if you do feel faint, sit down with your head between your knees.

9. Shortness of Breath : Some women feel mildly short of breath when they first become pregnant and sometimes throughout pregnancy. This is because you need extra oxygen due to the growing embryo. The further along you are, the worse this gets. Still, don’t just brush this off as a ‘normal’ sign of pregnancy.

Consult your doctor if you are concerned or if any of the following are true for you:
• You have a sudden onset of shortness of breath that is not associated with exercise.
• Breathing is painful.
• The breathless feeling is worse when you are lying down.

10. Missed Periods : Missing a menstrual period, especially if you always had regular menstrual periods, is a significant event for most women. While it is true that pregnant women have no menstrual period, not every woman who misses her period is pregnant. If you miss your period, ask yourself these questions:

1. Am I trying to get pregnant?
2. Have I had sex during my fertile days?
3. Have I not used contraception?
4. Did I ovulate?

If you answered “yes” to all questions, then there is a high chance that you are pregnant. But only a positive pregnancy test will confirm your suspicion.

Related posts:
1. Ectopic pregnancy
2. Depo Provera and pregnancy

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