How Serious Is An Ectopic Pregnancy
An ectopic pregnancy is a medical emergency. The uterus is uniquely suited to hold a growing fetus. Its an organ that can stretch and expand as the fetus grows. Your fallopian tubes arent as flexible. They can burst as the fertilized egg develops. When this happens, you can experience large amounts of internal bleeding. This is life threatening. An ectopic pregnancy needs to be treated right away to avoid injury to the fallopian tube, other organs in the abdominal cavity, internal bleeding and death.
Youre Visiting The Bathroom Significantly More Often
Do you find yourself urinating more often during the day or waking up in the middle of the night to take care of a full bladder? This could be a sign youâre pregnant. Because your body makes significantly more blood during pregnancy, your kidneys are filtering more liquids â resulting in a greater number of potty breaks. Though youâll be doing plenty of urinating, pregnancy actually increases your chances of constipation, meaning that going #2 may be a little more difficult.
What Happens During Week 1
These are the first 2 weeks of your menstrual cycle. You have your period. About 2 weeks later, the egg thats most mature is released from your ovary this is called ovulation. Ovulation may happen earlier or later, depending on the length of your menstrual cycle. The average menstrual cycle is 28 days.
After its released, your egg travels down your fallopian tube toward your uterus. If the egg meets up with a sperm, they combine. This is called fertilization. Fertilization is most likely to occur when you have unprotected vaginal sex during the 6 days leading up to and including the day of ovulation.
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Pregnancy Testing For An Early And Accurate Result
A pregnancy test measures levels of human chorionic gonadotropin in your blood or urine. hCG starts to be produced after implantation in the walls of the uterus.
Implantation can occur as early as 7 days after conception.
The placenta begins to develop and produces increasing amounts of hCG.
There are no dierences between ethnicities with regard to urinary hCG increase. However, levels of serum hCG in early pregnancy following assisted reproductive technology have been seen to be slightly lower in women with a higher pre-pregnancy body mass index.
If you need early detection of pregnancy, a blood pregnancy test done at the doctors oice can detect low levels of hCG and measure the actual quantity of hCG in the body.
A blood pregnancy test can be accurate six to eight days after ovulation. A urine test is usually accurate about 14-21 days after ovulation.
How Do People Get Pregnant With Twins
There are 2 ways that twins can happen. Identical twins are made when 1 already-fertilized egg splits into 2 separate embryos. Because identical twins come from the same sperm and egg, they have the same genetic material and look exactly alike.
Non-identical twins , are made when two separate eggs are fertilized by two separate sperm, and both fertilized eggs implant in the uterus. This can happen if your ovaries release more than one egg, or during certain kinds of fertility treatments. Non-identical twins have completely different genetic material , and usually dont look alike. Theyre the most common type of twin.
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How Soon Can You Tell If Youre Pregnant 24 Really Early Signs
So you think you may be pregnant? But how early can you tell if you really are?
Honestly, its hard to pinpoint exactly how soon you can tell if youre pregnant because each one of us is unique.
Some women get a 6th sense about it straight away , while others dont know until months down the line.
Most of us will fall somewhere in the middle of these two extremes and well start to get an inkling we may be pregnant within 2-4 weeks of conception.
Pregnancy symptoms are usually very mild in the first couple of weeks making them hard to detect without a blood or urine test. Usually, the first sign is a late period. But what other early signs and symptoms will give you a clue to whether youre pregnant or not?
And how early can you take a pregnancy test to find out for sure?
How reliable are urine pregnancy tests, what can you do to make sure you get an accurate result and what might cause a false positive?
What about super early symptoms, like before implantation? Is that even possible?
We answer all your questions below.
Can My Due Date Change
During your prenatal checkups, your healthcare provider will monitor how far along you are. Don’t be surprised, though, if your provider gives you a slightly different due date than the one you calculated.
Also, most babies don’t arrive exactly on their due date. Every pregnancy is unique, and only a small percentage of babies are born right on time. Babies are typically born between weeks 38 and 42, and it’s totally normal for your baby to arrive any time during this window.
If your baby is born pre-term, your doctor will be able to advise you on any extra care your baby might need. On the other hand, if your baby isn’t born by the end of week 42, your doctor may suggest inducing the labor to bring on a vaginal birth, or he may discuss the option of a cesarean section with you.
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Can I Be Pregnant And Still Have A Period
Pregnant women can have some light irregular bleeding during pregnancy, but it should not be like a normal period. Some women can confuse this for their period because often it can come right around the time she was expecting her normal period.
The irregular bleeding or spotting that can occur during pregnancy is often a dark brown or a light pinkish color. It should not be enough bleeding to fill pads or tampons over a few days. If you are bleeding enough to fill pads and tampons, then this would be a good indication that you are probably not pregnant. Learn more about getting pregnant while on your period.
When Do You Find Out You Are Pregnant After A Miscarriage
Many women who experience a miscarriage may not have even realized they were pregnant. Pregnancy tests may not show a positive result until several weeks into the pregnancy. For women who havent confirmed that theyre pregnant, a miscarriage may seem like a late and slightly heavier-than-normal period.
If you are having a miscarriage, here are the possible symptoms Most women that will end up having a miscarriage at the 3rd, 4th, 5th, or 6th week of pregnancy will experience vaginal bleeding. At three weeks, after a failed implantation, your baby is washed out as blood from your vagina.
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Homemade Pregnancy Test Using Baking Soda
Check your kitchen cabinet and bring out the baking soda if you really want to confirm your pregnancy status before visiting the doctor. Baking Soda is a popular kitchen ingredient that will give you about 70% closure on your pregnancy status.
Items you need
How to do the Homemade Pregnancy Test with Baking Soda
- Pour the baking soda into a clean bowl.
- Add the urine to the baking soda and wait for a few minutes.
- If the reaction results in fizzles, then you are pregnant.
- But if the mixture does not react, then the result is negative.
Why You Feel Pregnant
It can be fairly common to experience some physical symptoms as you enter into what many people call the two-week wait, the period of time between when you ovulate and when you expect your period. These symptoms can include:
- Breast soreness
- Mood swings
- Nausea and/or changes in appetite
While all of the symptoms could be pregnancy symptoms, they are more likely explained by either fluctuation in your hormones due to your menstrual cycle, or by other events in your life. These events can include illness, stress, or even something as simple as not enough sleep or too much exercise.
Some women will experience premenstrual syndrome symptoms as pregnancy symptoms, where other women do not typically have these symptoms every cycle.
When you experience a symptom that is not common to your cycle, it may be easily confused with a potential pregnancy.
To help relieve focusing on these symptoms, you can take positive steps for your physical and emotional health. Eating nutritious foods, not smoking, and limiting or avoiding alcohol will promote your health and wellness whether or not it turns out you are pregnant.
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How Soon Do Early Pregnancy Symptoms Start
Some women may experience early signs and symptoms within the first weeks of pregnancy in the first trimester, while others may develop symptoms later on in the pregnancy. The first signs and symptoms of early pregnancy can also be similar to symptoms experienced prior to the menstrual period, so a woman may not recognize the symptoms as related to pregnancy.
How Do People Get Pregnant
Pregnancy is actually a pretty complicated process that has several steps. It all starts with sperm cells and an egg.
Sperm are microscopic cells that are made in testicles. Sperm mixes with other fluids to make semen , which comes out of the penis during ejaculation. Millions and millions of sperm come out every time you ejaculate but it only takes 1 sperm cell to meet with an egg for pregnancy to happen.
Eggs live in ovaries, and the hormones that control your menstrual cycle cause a few eggs to mature every month. When your egg is mature, it means its ready to be fertilized by a sperm cell. These hormones also make the lining of your uterus thick and spongy, which gets your body ready for pregnancy.
About halfway through your menstrual cycle, one mature egg leaves the ovary called ovulation and travels through the fallopian tube towards your uterus.
The egg hangs out for about 12-24 hours, slowly moving through the fallopian tube, to see if any sperm are around.
If semen gets in your vagina, sperm cells can swim up through the cervix. The sperm and uterus work together to move the sperm towards the fallopian tubes. If an egg is moving through your fallopian tubes at the same time, the sperm and egg can join together. The sperm has up to six days to join with an egg before it dies.
The ball of cells floats in the uterus for another 23 days. If the ball of cells attaches to the lining of your uterus, its called implantation when pregnancy officially begins.
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Your Pregnancy Tests Are Negative But You Still Think You Might Be Pregnant
While false positives are very rare, false negatives with pregnancy tests are more common. Here are some reasons you could be getting a negative pregnancy test.
If you’ve gotten negative results multiple times but are experiencing the signs of pregnancy, and especially if you’ve missed your period, then you should see a doctor who will be able to conduct additional tests and see what might be going on.
What Are The Earliest Signs Of Pregnancy
Some symptoms to watch for before you miss your period are sore breasts, fatigue, sensitivity to smell, food aversions, nausea, and more frequent urination. Keep in mind, however, that it’s very likely you will have no symptoms.
One study found that 50% of women showed no symptoms at five weeks after conception, 30% had none six weeks after conception, and 10% still didn’t have any at two months after conception!3
Below there are three tables.
- One is the signs of pregnancy you might experience before you miss your period.
- The next is the most commonly reported first signs of pregnancy, so you can get a sense of how common these symptoms are.
- The third shows 14 signs of pregnancy you might experience within the first three weeks after conception to get a better look at some other symptom possibilities.
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Unusual Feelings And Emotions
If your emotions feel a little out of balance in early pregnancy, the reason is once again hormones. Its most common in the first trimester, so the feeling of being on an emotional roller coaster will likely settle down after a little while.
As with other early pregnancy symptoms, you may find that staying active, eating a healthy diet, and maintaining a social life can help you deal with these symptoms.
What Are The Symptoms Of An Ectopic Pregnancy
The early symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy can be very similar to typical pregnancy symptoms. However, you may experience additional symptoms during an ectopic pregnancy, including:
- Vaginal bleeding.
- Pain in your lower abdomen, pelvis and lower back.
- Dizziness or weakness.
If the fallopian tube ruptures, the pain and bleeding could be severe enough to cause additional symptoms. These can include:
- Fainting.
- Shoulder pain.
- Rectal pressure.
When a tube bursts, you may feel sharp lower abdominal pain. This is a medical emergency and you will need to contact your healthcare provider or go to the emergency room immediately.
If you realize that you are pregnant and have an IUD in place, or have a history of a tubal ligation , contact your healthcare provider right away. Ectopic pregnancy is more common in these situations.
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What Resources Are Available To Help Me Estimate My Due Date
There are many due date calculators available to help you estimate your due date. These tools allow you to enter the date of the first day of your last period and then hit the calculate button. The tool will then tell you an estimated due date for your baby. Several of these tools include:
- March of Dimes. Due Date Calculator.
Again, these are only estimates. For the most accurate information about your due date, talk to your healthcare provider.
Last reviewed by a Cleveland Clinic medical professional on 07/15/2019.
References
How Soon After Sex Can I Know If Im Pregnant
If youve had unprotected sex or a contraception fail, you might be wondering whether you could be pregnant. Its important to understand the facts about ovulation and fertilization, as well as be informed about emergency contraception, or the Plan B pill.
Once you start menstruating, about every month, a mature egg within one of your ovaries is released into the fallopian tube. This process is called ovulation. The egg can survive in the fallopian tube for about 24 hours. Fertilization happens when, about 20 minutes after sexual intercourse, a single sperm successfully fertilizes the egg cell and creates a zygote. About a week later, the fertilized egg has made its way down the fallopian tube and into the uterus. Implantation happens if the fertilized egg attaches itself to the lining of the uterus.
Did you know that you can get pregnant on a day you didnt have sex? The ovulation window is tricky to pin down. Womens monthly cycles are typically between 28-32 days, measuring from the first day of their period to the first day of their next period. Most women ovulate anywhere from Day 11 to Day 21 of their cycle. Its important to note that under the right conditions, sperm can survive inside a womans reproductive tract for as long as five days after sexual intercourse. So even if you had sex outside your ovulation window, there is still a chance you can be pregnant.
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Can My Pregnancy Continue After An Ectopic Pregnancy
Unfortunately, an ectopic pregnancy is fatal for the fetus. It cannot survive outside of the uterus. Quick treatment for an ectopic pregnancy is important to protect the mothers life. If the egg has implanted in the fallopian tube and the tube bursts, there can be severe internal bleeding. This can lead to maternal death.
Pregnancy Glow And Acne During Early Pregnancy
Many people may begin saying you have the pregnancy glow. The combination of increased blood volume and higher hormone levels pushes more blood through your vessels. This causes the bodys oil glands to work overtime.
This increased activity of your bodys oil glands gives your skin a flushed, glossy appearance. On the other hand, you may also develop acne.
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Can The Exact Date Of Conception Be Determined Accurately
Many women have questions about the date of possible conception, and unfortunately figuring this out is not always so easy. The assumption is that if a woman has pretty regular menstrual cycles, then she will be ovulating during a certain time of the month.
Ovulation is the time when conception can take place because that is when an egg is made available. The problem is that most women do not ovulate on an exact date each month, and many women have a different ovulation day from month to month.
If you also take into account that sperm can live in the body 3-5 days after intercourse has taken place, this can make determining conception very difficult.
Most doctors use the first day of the last period and ultrasound measurements to gauge the gestational age of a baby and determine when the baby was conceived. But these are just tools used to estimate the datesit is very hard for anything to tell what the exact date of conception really is.
Most people do not realize that ultrasounds can be off up to 5-7 days in early pregnancy and up to a couple of weeks off if the first ultrasounds are done farther into the second trimester or beyond.
