What are the early signs of pregnancy? What sort of symptoms might you experience that might indicate that you are pregnant? Does everyone have the same symptoms? When can you expect to see these symptoms if you really are pregnant?
As a Mum of four who has spent lots of time trying to conceive and looking out for pregnancy symptoms over the years, plus a total of 3 years actually pregnant, this is something that I know a great deal about. Keep reading and I’ll let you know which early pregnancy signs that you should be looking out for.
Table Of Contents
Missed Period
One of the rather obvious, yet still worth mentioning signs of pregnancy, is your period (or “Aunt Flo” or even “AF” as it is referred to in fertility forums) not making an appearance. You need to keep in mind that a missed period does not guarantee that you are pregnant, only a pregnancy test can tell you that for sure. Make sure you check out my post which reveals How Early You Can Really Take A Pregnancy Test to learn more about pregnancy tests, how they really work and when you really should take one.
Light Bleeding Or Spotting
This is where many women get confused and often convinced that they may not be pregnant. They experience spotting or light bleeding and assume that their period is starting, when in fact they may be experiencing a common early pregnancy symptom called implantation bleeding.
What Is Implantation Bleeding?
Implantation bleeding is where you get light bleeding or spotting when the fertilised embryo plants itself into the wall of your uterus. As this happens around 6-12 days after the egg is fertilised, this date often coincides with when the woman would normally expect her period.
This symptom is relatively common and apparently experienced by around 25% of women. I know that this is something that I have personally experienced during my pregnancies.
Although I do not wish to alarm you, spotting and bleeding in early pregnancy can also be a sign that something is not quite right. I’m not a doctor, but if you are experiencing bleeding in pregnancy, please check with your own health care provider.
Cramping
Along with spotting and implantation bleeding, cramping can also be a sign of pregnancy. This one is tricky, as the cramping can be confused with menstrual cramps that come along with a normal period.
While this cramping is often a sign that the pregnancy is just “bedding in” and is caused by all of the changes in your uterus, cramping can also be a sign on an ectopic pregnancy where the embryo has embedded into your fallopian tube, rather than in your uterus where it is supposed to be. This is a potentially dangerous situation and would require urgent medical care.
I had cramping in all four of my perfectly healthy pregnancies. Each time I worried that it meant that something was “wrong” and each time I got it checked out. Every time the early scan confirmed that everything was fine and growing in exactly the right place, but I’m still glad that I got it checked. If you are concerned about cramping in early pregnancy, especially if it is getting worse, please see your health care provider.
Unexplained Tiredness
This was always one of the very first signs of pregnancy for me. The overwhelming tiredness would kick in even before I had a positive pregnancy test.
I remember that the day before I had a positive pregnancy test with my second son, I fell asleep on the sofa in the middle of the day for no apparent reason (something pretty unheard of for me).
Enormous Boobs
Another early and guaranteed symptom of early pregnancy was suddenly massive boobs. I mean, they were huge. While I’m sure that not every single woman experiences this symptom, each and every time for me my boobs were suddenly as if I’d had an overnight boob job. They were also super sensitive too. Many women report sore boobs at this stage, and while my enormous knockers weren’t sore, don’t count it out as a symptom.
Nausea
Nausea is a first-trimester pregnancy symptom that impacts every single pregnancy in a different way. It can range from feeling a little queasy at odd points during the day to having your head stuck down the loo from morning until night. There are even those lucky few among us that will never experience this awful side effect.
For me, I wasn’t physically sick a great deal during any of my pregnancies, instead I just constantly felt as though I might be at any given moment. Fun, it was not. It was almost as if vomiting would “get rid” of the feeling rather than having it constantly lingering, but for me, that was just not how it went.
When it comes to when nausea and/or vomiting kicks in, this can vary wildly again. For me, it was around the 6-7 week mark each time, yet I have heard reports of women up-chucking from day one, and others of women who never so much as feel a little sick.
A New Super Power
This “superpower” tends to kick in pretty early in pregnancy and is experienced by most women. Sadly, it is not a useful superpower, it’s the gift of super smell. So if you can suddenly smell everything, this could be a sign that you are pregnant.
Food Cravings
We’re all familiar with Hollywood’s depiction of the pregnant woman who just cannot get enough of bizarre foods and even weirder food combinations. Although I didn’t experience any massive cravings myself, these cravings are widely reported as an early sign of pregnancy.
Food Aversions
While I did not have many strong food cravings during pregnancy, I was in fact “blessed” with strong food aversions. I think this one goes hand in hand with the power to smell anything and everything wafting within a 100-yard radius. For me, being able to smell it all meant that I was far more likely to smell the yucky stuff too, which I think contributed to both nausea and food aversions.
My biggest food aversion, inconveniently, was the smell of cooking. I could manage to sit and eat a meal, but the smells and fumes of the actual cooking made me feel sick on a regular basis.
A Metallic Taste In Your Mouth
Many women, myself included, report a metallic taste in their mouths as an early pregnancy symptom. I’m sure that this is another contributing factor to both food aversions and nausea.
Headaches
Headaches in early pregnancy are common and pose no real harm to you or your baby, so yes, if you’re experiencing headaches, it could be a sign that you are pregnant.
Please remember that headaches later in pregnancy can indicate serious problems such as preeclampsia, so please consult your doctor if you experience these.
Feeling Emotional
The increase in hormones when you become pregnant can make you very emotional and result in mood swings. While this can be a sign of early pregnancy, it can also be a sign of PMT meaning that your period is coming. For this reason, being emotional can be confused with normal premenstrual heightened emotions.
Dizziness
Fluctuations in blood pressure in early pregnancy can cause dizziness, which can be another sign of early pregnancy. For me, my blood pressure plummeted during the first trimester, causing frequent dizziness and fainting spells.
Needing To Wee More
This joyous symptom of running to the loo constantly can be a sign that you are pregnant. While your unborn baby is microscopic at this stage (and therefore not kicking you in the bladder the way it will during the third trimester which also causes you to constantly need a wee), the increase in blood production and blood flow to the kidneys can have the same impact.
Bloating
During early pregnancy, the increase in the hormone progesterone can trap gas in the intestine and make you feel bloated. So yes, if you feel unexpectedly bloated, this could be one of the signs of pregnancy.
Being Gassy
Fun fact: this trapped gas caused by the increased progesterone can also make you more likely to fart more during early pregnancy.
Constipation
Another lovely symptom that could be a sign of early pregnancy is constipation (my, these are just getting better and better aren’t they?). Remember that progesterone that was already making you bloated and gassy? Well, it also makes food move slower through your digestive system which can cause constipation. How fabulous.
Elevated Temperature
If you have been tracking your Basel Body Temperature (BBT) to track ovulation while trying to conceive (which I explain more about in my Fertility Journey post), you may be able to detect whether your BBT is elevated. In a normal, non-pregnancy cycle, a woman’s temperature rises after ovulation, then remains high until her period comes, when it drops. If your BBT remains high, this can be a sign of early pregnancy.
Even if you’re not tracking these temperature fluctuations, many pregnant women (me included) report feeling “hotter” and unable to cool down or regulate their temperature in the usual way.
Increased Heart Rate
Around week 8-10 of pregnancy, the increased demands on your body will mean that your heart rate will elevate slightly. While this is not a super early pregnancy symptom like most of the others, it falls within the first trimester, so I felt that it was worth including.
Heartburn
Heartburn is one of those early pregnancy symptoms that many women experience. Unfortunately, many women (myself included) experience this one all of the way through and it’s not much fun.
Repeated Positive Ovulation Predictor Kits
Now I am not sure about the exact science behind this one, but it is something that I have experienced personally.
When I was trying to conceive my second son, I had a number of positive Ovulation Predictor Kits (OPKs) in a row. I knew that this was odd and thought that maybe it was something to do with the fact that I had Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) .
I remembered reading, however, that a string of positive OPKs can indicate pregnancy. I was convinced at this point that I had not even ovulated, but thought “what the heck” and took a test. You can imagine my surprise when it was positive!
Like I said, I’m not a doctor and I don’t understand the science behind this potential clue. All I am saying is that if you are experiencing a lot of positive OPKs, it may be worth taking a real pregnancy test.
Pregnancy Glow
Sadly, although I experienced almost all of the grim symptoms listed above, my pregnancy glow was a symptom that never came. I will admit that my hair was shiny and my nails were stronger much later in pregnancy, but the only glow that I had during the first trimester was from the sheen of sweat from heaving over the loo.
Still, if you are lucky enough to suddenly be blessed with a “glow” this could be one of the more pleasant signs that you are in fact pregnant.
So Do These Signs Mean That You Are Pregnant?
Any combination of these signs could mean that you are in fact in the early stages of pregnancy. In honesty, there is only one way to find out – take the test.
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