Hormonal changes and the body adjusting to the growth of the new baby can lead to several changes in your physique and psyche. It is recommended to test for pregnancy 2 weeks after missing your periods. One of the signs that you are pregnant is missing your periods. But, even a couple of days before missing your periods, you can feel certain signs associated with pregnancy.
Read on to find the top 10 signs that you are pregnant. You can start taking care of your baby when you have most of them. Still, you need to get your pregnancy confirmed with a home test kit, or through a blood test.
1. Frequent urination
Are you visiting the loo very often lately? Then chances are there you are pregnant. The multiple changes going through in your hormones can lead to higher blood flow to your kidneys. This means you need to pee more. This is one of the signs you will see throughout the pregnancy. Not always because of the hormones. But, it is also due to the increasing weight of the baby creating more pressure to urinate frequently.
2. Constipation
One of the hormone changes is the increased progesterone during pregnancy. This is caused because the body wants to relax the muscles to facilitate pregnancy. One of the muscle groups is the digestive tract, and this means the poop can take a much longer time to pass through. Take lots of fluids and a good amount of fiber to avoid getting constipated.
3. Sore breasts
Your breasts suddenly seem to grow heavy and become sore. You would not appreciate your bra anymore due to this sign. A few women can also feel slight discomfort, while many would feel soreness to great extent. Thankfully, the soreness grows slighter or vanishes after the first trimester for many pregnant women.
Pro Tip: For a few women, pain and soreness in breasts can occur during periods too. The soreness due to pregnancy is a blown-up version of what you experience during your periods.
4. Spotting
Also known as implantation bleeding, is caused because the fertilized egg is getting settled in the uterine lining. You can experience this around the date of your period. It is light bleeding mostly in brownish-red color. If you see that it is more than light bleeding, or is accompanied by pain, then visit your gynec to rule out missed abortion or ectopic pregnancy.
5. Cramping
When the fertilized egg gets settled in the uterus, which is called implantation, you can experience cramping. This will go off in a couple of days and is lighter than your period.
6. Bloating
Another sign of pregnancy that can remind you of your periods is bloating. Even during the first week of pregnancy, your clothes might feel a bit tight around your waistline.
7. Nausea
The most obvious and the most known sign of pregnancy is nausea. This is the first symptom of pregnancy many women notice, as early as two weeks of conception. A few also suffer from nausea even before missing their period. While morning sickness is the term associated, you can suffer from it during the day, at noon, or night, or throughout the day. Heightened sense of smell and food aversion, are often associated with this symptom.
8. Mood swings
Heightened emotions, depression, anxiety, or being overjoyed are common during pregnancy, thanks to the hormonal changes that affect the chemical messengers in the brain.
9. Exhaustion or fatigue
There is no reason why it happens. Maybe because you run to the loo often, or nausea does not let you eat properly. You will feel fatigued mostly during the first trimester.
10. High Basal Temperature
Your body temperature stays up, and you will feel warm when you are pregnant. This can stay throughout the pregnancy.
Remember: You might have heartburn, nasal congestion, rashes, nosebleeds, swelling, vaginal discharge, and lot more symptoms during pregnancy. You might get all of them, a part of them, or a couple of them, or even never have any serious and bothering symptoms except for your growing belly. These are unique and can vary among pregnant women.
