Couples who are trying to conceive can take plenty of steps to boost their health and to increase their chances of getting pregnant. But taking folic acid supplements and using ovulation tests will not make the “two-week wait” between ovulation and expected menstruation any easier!
Almost all women who are hoping to get pregnant watch out for early pregnancy symptoms during their luteal phase. So, which are the very earliest pregnancy symptoms — and which are actually a somewhat reliable indicator that you are really expecting a baby?
READ Missed Period and Negative Pregnancy Test- Could I Still be Pregnant?
Swollen And Sore Breasts
You are probably used to experiencing breast changes throughout your menstrual cycle. Many women notice heavier and tender breasts during the second half of the cycle, as they are approaching menstruation. This “premenstrual symptom” is caused by the hormone estrogen, and a woman who has just conceived may develop swollen and sore breasts as quickly as a few days following the fertilization of her egg.
Breast changes are an inevitable part of early pregnancy. They are not, however, a reliable indicator that you have conceived — because most women will have similar breast changes before they start menstruating. Women who did conceive will soon discover that their sore breasts are there to stay. Throughout pregnancy, a woman's breasts feel heavier and more sensitive. Her nipples tend to become more pronounced, while the area around her nipples (areola) may become darker.[1]
During the later part of the second trimester or the earlier stages of the third trimester, expectant mothers may also start leaking colostrum. This rich, nutritious substance is your baby's first milk. You'll have think about that later, and look out for other early pregnancy symptoms before you allow your mind to wonder to the last weeks of pregnancy!
Morning Sickness And A Heightened Sense Of Smell And Taste
Everyone still calls pregnancy nausea morning sickness, but you are probably aware that this characteristic nausea and sometimes vomiting can make an appearance at any time of the day or night. Some pregnant women only feel slightly queasy. Some will throw up a couple of times during their whole pregnancy. For others, pregnancy nausea and vomiting represents a daily nightmare, and they may even need to vomit multiple times in one day.
Since at least 75 percent of all pregnant women will experience pregnancy nausea in some form, this is a great symptom to look for. If you are suddenly nauseous and you are trying to conceive, pregnancy is a safer bet than a stomach bug. You may even like to use nausea as a trigger to take an early pregnancy test, as long as you know that home pregnancy tests may not be reliable before the date of your expected menstruation.
You may like to know when expectant mothers start experiencing morning sickness. For most, nausea will be a part of their daily reality by the time they have missed a period. Unfortunately, the exact cause of pregnancy nausea and vomiting is still not clear. It will be one of the pregnancy hormones, however — human Chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) or estrogen, most likely. Other factors that can make the nausea worse include a pregnant woman's enhanced sense of smell and gastric reflux. [2]
A heightened sense of smell and taste aka as hyoperosmia is another very common pregnancy symptom. It's under this header because it goes hand in hand with morning sickness. A newly pregnant woman may be surprised to discover that the smell of the fast food joint on the other side of the road is making her feel sick, or may be find that foods have a much stronger taste suddenly. You may go off foods you always loved, or be irritated by the smell of dust in your office.[3]
Extreme Fatigue As A Pregnancy Sign
It is not hard to understand why a woman in her ninth month of pregnancy — with a huge baby bump, pregnancy insomnia, a kicking baby and in anticipation of labor — may feel a little tired. Those women who have never been pregnant before may not realize that fatigue is a pregnancy symptom all in itself, though. Extreme fatigue is such a common phenomenon during the weeks after conception that it could well be one of the most reliable pre-test indicators that you are expecting.
Women who are suffering from early pregnancy fatigue may have trouble getting through the day, and may want to take an afternoon nap. The cause of this extreme fatigue is, as with morning sickness, still not clear.
READ 14 Tips to Prepare Your Body and Mind for Pregnancy
The pregnancy hormone progesterone could be behind this troubling pregnancy symptom, but it is also important to keep in mind that a newly pregnant woman's body is going through many changes and working extremely hard to accommodate the pregnancy in these early weeks. Iron-deficiency anemia, a condition that is relatively common in pregnant women, can also cause fatigue. This is something you will be tested for at your first prenatal appointment.[4]
Some women notice that they are really tired before their period was due, and most will find that the second trimester of pregnancy gives them a new energy. So don't despair, as you will not spend 40 weeks feeling like this.
Abdominal Swelling Or Pressure
Abdominal swelling or bloating, and cramps or soreness are indeed early pregnancy signs. As any woman who has ever had a period knows, they are also premenstrual symptoms. Abdominal changes by themselves are not, in other words, a very good reason to suspect pregnancy.
Abdominal bloating can be noticeable as early as a week after ovulation in some women. It may convince a newly pregnant woman that she “looks pregnant”, but the belly's larger appearance is obviously not caused by the rapidly developing bit tiny zygote. Instead, the pregnancy hormone progesterone is causing muscles to relax throughout the body, and many women also start retaining more fluid than usual as their blood volume increases by 50 percent to support the pregnancy.[5]
Cramps in early pregnancy are caused by nearly the same thing that makes women crampy during their menstrual periods — changes in your uterus, a very strong muscle. During the first trimester, the fertilized egg will implant into the uterine lining. As it keeps on developing, the placenta will also form and the uterus will slowly start stretching to make space for a larger fetus.
More Frequent Urination
We already discussed the fact that a pregnant woman's blood volume increases by 50 percent. This is necessary to support the additional functions the body performs while it is growing a new life, but it means that additional fluids also pass through the kidneys and into the bladder. For the new mother to-be, this translates into an uncomfortable pregnancy symptom that can show up pretty early on — the need to pee much more often than usual!
Later on in pregnancy, the growing baby and its physical pressure on the bladder can force the expectant mother to take even more trips to the bathroom. During the first few weeks of pregnancy, a woman can expect to be able to go for more than five minutes between bathroom visits, but not very much longer that that perhaps.[6]
Many women are annoyed to discover that they need to urinate during the night even more often than they do during the day. This happens because the fluid that they retained in their hands and feet throughout the day finds its way to the kidneys when they lie down and cease being active.
More frequent urination is a pregnancy symptom that deserves to be taken quite seriously. Those women who are already close to the date of their expected menstruation may like to take advantage of their need to urinate that often, and take a pregnancy test first thing in the morning when urine is most concentrated.
Facial Skin Impurities
The early pregnancy surge in progesterone can lead to break-outs on your facial skin, but also sometimes in other parts of your body like your back and shoulders. Once again, it is not at all uncommon for a woman to break out in zits every month before or during menstruation, and some women even notice facial skin impurities when they ovulate. Don't let zits get you excited before you have a positive pregnancy test.[1]
Women who did get pregnant will probably be sad to see that their facial skin changes do not stop with a few zits, and that skin changes will not stop during the first trimester of pregnancy. Some women suffer from pregnancy acne, while others have a very oily or very dry skin. The so-called pregnancy mask involves darker pigment appearing on the expectant mother's forehead, nose, and cheeks. Other parts of the body can also be struck by unwelcome skin changes, from stretch marks to a dark vertical line (the linea negra) on the abdomen and darker areolae around the nipples.
One redeeming symptom is the pregnancy glow, which makes your face look naturally healthy and beautiful. The famous pregnancy glow will not make its appearance until sometime during the second trimester, if you have it at all.
Early Pregnancy Mood Swings
The hormonal fluctuations that accompany early pregnancy can do a whole lot more than make you feel sick, tired, urinate more often and break out in zits. Those early pregnancy signs are all very charming to be sure, but the cherry on the cake could well be mood swings. Emotional changes can turn up soon after conception and can be quite invasive.
Some women feel anxious or depressed, while others cry at the slightest trigger or feel like they are on a pink, happy cloud. Make no mistake about it; mood swings and unexpectedly strong emotions can hit even the most cool-headed woman. When a commercial made me sob, I knew I was pregnant. I am not usually that silly, and I am glad to share that it went away again quite soon.[7]
Early pregnancy mood swings can also make women wonder whether they are really ready to have a baby or fit to be a mother. These feelings may alarm you, especially if you and your partner had been trying to conceive and were very excited about having a baby. The realization that your dreams are now about to turn into reality can be quite enough to make you worry about the future, but the hormonal changes you are going through make it even harder. Most women will feel normal again within a few weeks. Talking to your partner about your pregnancy, engaging in regular exercise, and eating healthily will help you cope with your mood swings.
A Missed Period And A Positive Pregnancy Test
A woman's menstrual period can be late for various reasons, including stress. A missed period is still the single most obvious signal that you may be pregnant, especially if you also have other pregnancy symptoms. The date of an expected period is not always obvious, though. Couples who had been working on having a baby will know a little bit about the female partner's menstrual cycle in most cases, and may take a missed period as their sign to take a pregnancy test. Women who do not track their cycle may remember they should have had their period by around that time, and start wondering if they could be pregnant.[8]
It is important to keep in mind that some women experience an implantation bleeding when their fertilized egg implants into the uterine lining. An implantation bleeding is actually a pregnancy symptom all itself, but this event that manifests as light spotting is not universal by any means and can also be so light that you miss it. For some women, the implantation bleeding is heavy enough to confuse it for a period. This confusion can be avoided relatively easily, fortunately — an implantation bleeding occurs seven to ten days after ovulation and usually stops within a day, while menstrual flow happens later in the cycle, is heavier, and lasts longer.[9]
Once you have missed your period, it is time for the final step to determine whether or not you conceived this month. You can now stop watching out for those little signs and symptoms. You can now stop reading articles about early pregnancy symptoms, and living in anticipation. It is time for that home pregnancy test!
Early pregnancy test may be accurate as early as ten days after ovulation, but I recommend you stick it out and wait for that missed period. Modern pregnancy tests will show reliable results at any time of the day, but your urine is still most concentrated first thing in the morning and it is best to test at that time. Good luck!
- Photo courtesy of dkjd on Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/dkjd/2863780464