Key Indicators Of A Possible Pregnancy
Many women experience one or more pregnancy symptoms during a normal menstrual cycle, so you shouldnât panic if youâre a little nauseous, tired, or experiencing cramping. If youâve noticed several of the indicators below over the last few weeks, however, itâs worth a closer look. These signs often signal a pregnancy, but only an official pregnancy test or doctorâs visit will be able to tell you for sure.
What Are Five Common Signs Of Pregnancy
There are several signs of early pregnancy that you could experience. Not everyone will have all of these symptoms, and some women may not feel any of these things. Pregnancy symptoms throughout the entire pregnancy can vary dramatically between women. Its important not to compare your pregnancy to someone elses.
Common early pregnancy symptoms can include:
How Can You Tell If You’re Pregnant
Answering the burning question of whether you are pregnant or not can be easy or difficult depending on how far along you are and how well you know your own body.
Many women can tell if they are pregnant within two or three weeks of conceiving, and some women know a lot sooner, even within a few days. It really depends on your ability to pick up on the changes occurring within your body and how sensitive you are to them.
Of course, you’ll definitely be able to find out for sure once you have missed your first period by doing a pregnancy test . Don’t be tempted to take a pregnancy test too early, though. Doing so can increase your chances of getting an inaccurate result or maybe a faint pregnancy test line.
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Frequent Urination And Incontinence During Early Pregnancy
During pregnancy, your body increase the amount of blood it pumps. This causes the kidney to process more fluid than usual, which leads to more fluid in your bladder.
Hormones also play a large role in bladder health. You may find yourself running to the bathroom more frequently or accidentally leaking.
What Types Of Pregnancy Tests Are Available
Two main types of pregnancy tests are blood tests and urine tests.
Blood tests
You get these at your doctor’s office, but theyre not used as often as urine tests. These tests can detect pregnancy earlier than a home pregnancy test, about 6 to 8 days after ovulation. It takes longer to get the results than with a home pregnancy test.
The two types of blood pregnancy tests are:
A qualitative hCG test simply checks for hCG. It gives a “yes” or “no” answer to the question, “Are you pregnant?” Doctors often order these tests to confirm pregnancy as early as 10 days after conception. Some can detect hCG much earlier.
A quantitative hCG test measures the exact amount of hCG in your blood. It can find even very low levels of hCG. These tests may help track problems during pregnancy. Your doctor may use them along with other tests to rule out an ectopic pregnancy, when the fertilized egg implants outside your uterus, or after a miscarriage, when hCG levels fall quickly.
Urine tests
You can take these at home or in a doctor’s office.
Along with being private and convenient, home pregnancy tests are quick and easy to use. Theyre also very accurate if you follow the directions. These pregnancy tests all work in a similar way. You test your pee in one of these ways:
- Hold the test stick in your urine stream
- Collect pee in a cup and dip the test stick into it
- Collect pee in a cup and use a dropper to put it into another container
Continued
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How Soon Can You Find Out If Youre Pregnant
The symptoms of pregnancy explained above are the most common ones but often the signs and symptoms experienced are very mild and easily attributed to other reasons.
If you frequently experience headaches and can confidently chalk your mood swings up to, say, a social media article that just set you off, looking for stronger indicators like morning sickness and changes in discharge would be a good start.
If you do notice a cluster of symptoms, following up with a home pregnancy test is your best next move.
What Are The Earliest Signs Of Conception
Signs and Symptoms of Early Conception: The first sign of what is happening during conception may be a short-term stabbing pain in the abdomen, where the uterus is located. This is due to the implantation of the embryo on the mucosa. This implantation may also cause minor bleeding/spotting, usually brown blood.
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How To Use Pregnancy Tests
A person might have a pregnancy test in a clinic or doctors office. Depending on the test, this involves giving either a urine or blood sample. Healthcare professionals may test this immediately or send it to a laboratory for testing. The lab usually takes a day or two to return the results.
Home pregnancy tests are simple to use, but it is crucial to follow the instructions carefully. In general, they involve:
- urinating directly onto the testing stick
- urinating into a clean cup, then dipping the testing stick into this for a specified amount of time
- urinating into a clean cup, then using a dropper to apply urine to an area of the testing stick
A persons hCG levels change rapidly throughout pregnancy. It is often best to take a pregnancy test
Many home pregnancy tests claim to be accurate up to 99% of the time. A positive result is typically correct. A negative result is more likely to be incorrect.
However, these accuracy claims assume that the person has used the test correctly.
Most tests can produce accurate results on the first day after a missed period, but to ensure accuracy, it is advisable to start testing 1 week after a missed period.
For around of pregnant people, a home pregnancy test does not accurately detect the pregnancy on the first day of their missed period. This might result from a person having irregular periods or miscalculating when their period was due.
But various other factors can influence the accuracy of pregnancy tests, including:
When To Seek Medical Help
Seek immediate medical help if your nausea is accompanied by heart attack symptoms. Heart attack symptoms include crushing chest pain, an intense headache, jaw pain, sweating, or pain in your left arm.
You should also seek emergency attention if you experience nausea combined with a severe headache, stiff neck, difficulty breathing, or confusion. Seek medical help if you suspect that youve ingested a poisonous substance or if youre dehydrated.
See your physician if nausea has left you unable to eat or drink for more than 12 hours. You should also see your physician if your nausea doesnt subside within 24 hours of trying over-the-counter interventions.
Always seek medical attention if youre concerned you may be experiencing a medical emergency.
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How Long Does It Take Hcg Levels To Be Detected By Home Pregnancy Tests
Pregnancy doesn’t necessarily start the day that two people have sex. An egg can be fertilized by sperm up to six days after intercourse.5 And then, it can take between six and ten days for the egg to implant itself in the uterus.
The hormone that home pregnancy tests look for starts being released from when the fertilized egg implants itself, which is why you have to wait for them to be effective.
According to the American Pregnancy Association, HCG is made by cells formed in the placenta, which nourishes the egg after it is has implanted itself in the wall of the uterus.4
Levels of HCG can be detected by two kinds of tests:5
- Blood testâaccurate as early as 11 days after conception
- Urine testâaccurate as early as 12 to 14 days after conception
So, if you don’t know when your period is supposed to start and you think you might be pregnant, you should test about two weeks after you had sex and possibly conceived.5
If it’s negative and your period still hasn’t come and you still think you might be pregnant, test again in another week.
In A Typical Pregnancy
For a woman with a regular period, conception typically occurs about 11-21 days after the first day of the last period. Most women do not know the exact date of conception because it can be challenging to know exactly when ovulation occurs. Thus, their conception date is merely an estimate based on the first day of their last period.
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What Are The Different Types Of Pregnancy Tests
There are two main types of pregnancy tests: urine and blood tests. Urine tests are typically done at home though you can have a urine test done at your healthcare providers office while blood tests are done by your provider.
At-home pregnancy test
An at-home test usually uses your urine to look for hCG in your body. According to most manufacturers, at-home pregnancy tests are about 99% effective when used as instructed. Thats about the same accuracy rate as urine pregnancy tests done in your healthcare providers office. These tests are available in most pharmacies or grocery stores and they dont need a prescription. They can take different amounts of time depending on the brand. Its important to read the instructions on these tests before taking them.
When you go to take an at-home pregnancy test, youll typically place one to several drops of urine on a prepared chemical strip or place the strip in the urine stream. The strip is specially-designed to detect hCG. For many of these tests, hCG can be detected in your urine about 10 days after conception. However, taking it after your missed period reduces the chance of getting a false-negative.
There are a few things to keep in mind when you take a home pregnancy tests, including:
Blood test
A blood test for pregnancy might be done in special circumstances, such as for women who are having infertility treatments or when the healthcare provider thinks there might be a problem.
What If Your Lmp Is Not Known Or Periods Are Irregular
The due date calculation works ideally if your periods are regular, i.e., if they follow a 28-day cycle.
If your periods are irregular or you do not remember your last period, you should wait for your first ultrasound pregnancy scan. Also known as a dating scan, it will provide the number of weeks remaining for your due date .
If the scan does not give the correct results, your doctor may ask you to wait for some more time. Ideally, the dating scan will be done between six and 13 weeks plus six days .
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How Far Along Am I Four Ways To Figure Out How Pregnant You Are
Youre itching to know when your little one will arrive. Heres how to calculate how far you are in your pregnancy.
Its a question youll hear over and over until youre holding a baby in your arms: When are you due? Everyone wants to know that magic date, and youre probably more than a little curious about how far along you are, too. Your due date may become a beacon or a deadline , but its important to remember that your due date will only ever be an estimate of the week youll give birth .
That said, theres one big reason why an accurate estimate is important: in case of complications. If a woman goes into labour early, then we really want to know how far along she is, as best as we can tell, says Carol Scurfield, medical director of the Womens Health Clinic in Winnipeg. A week can make a big difference as far as the health of the baby is concerned.
Do your best to calculate your due date as soon as you discover youre pregnant. Heres how to do it.
Can A Doctor Tell If You Are Pregnant At 2 Weeks
Your doctor will not be able to determine whether you are pregnant after two years. The weeks of your last period. With internal echo, magnification. The maternity sac only becomes visible after 4 1/2 to 5 weeks, the baby after 5 to 5 1/2 weeks and a confirmed heartbeat. they were often not seen for more than 6 weeks.
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Calculate Using A Dating Ultrasound
A dating ultrasound, which measures the length of the fetus from crown to rump, is an accurate way to estimate your due date or how far along you are if completed within the first trimester . Most women have a pretty good idea of when their last period was, within a day or two, says Scurfield. If a woman has no idea, youll want to try to get her as early as you can. Once you get past 13 weeks, the variability of the growth is such that an ultrasound can be off by a week or so.
How Early Can You Start Noticing Signs Of Pregnancy
How the first symptoms can start. Some of the first symptoms of pregnancy may appear about six days after conception. Your body starts preparing for pregnancy almost immediately after conception, and some of these changes cause physical symptoms. An increase in hormone levels in the body is usually the cause of the symptoms you are experiencing.
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Morning Sickness Nausea And Vomiting During Early Pregnancy
Nausea and morning sickness usually develops around weeks 4 to 6. Although its called morning sickness, it can occur any time during the day or night. Its unclear exactly what causes nausea and morning sickness, but hormones may play a role.
During the first trimester of pregnancy, many women experience mild to severe morning sickness. It may become more intense toward the end of the first trimester, but often becomes less severe as you enter the second trimester.
Let Him Reveal His Fortune
If you’re big on Chinese food, get him a special fortune cookie with your next delivery. You can get fortune cookies on Amazon that allow you to create your own special message. You can write the due date to let your partner know there’s a new baby on the way, or you could just write that his fortune says he’s going to be a new dad.
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How Is The Calculation Of Pregnancy Weeks Done After Ivf
The calculation of due date for a pregnancy achieved through in vitro fertilization is slightly different from that of a pregnancy that occurs by natural fertilisation. In this case, the information available for due date calculation is precise. The date of ovulation or the date at which the embryo was implanted is exactly known in an IVF pregnancy. Apart from these two dates, the due date is also calculated from the LMP, day 3 or day 5 of IVF treatment.
Can I Plan My Due Date
Whether you’re trying to avoid being very pregnant in the middle of summer or are a teacher who wants to maximize time off with your little one, you can try to time when you conceive in order to “plan” your due date. But even if you’re one of the lucky ones who’s able to get pregnant when she really wants to, just remember that you probably won’t be able to map out exactly when you’ll give birth to the day .
Still, you can try our Ovulation Calculator, which uses the date of your last menstrual period and your typical cycle length to discover the days you’re most likely to be fertile and increase your chances of conceiving.
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Average Length Of Pregnancy
While 40 weeks is the average, its not unusual to deliver your baby earlier or later. In the past, 37 weeks was considered to be a full-term pregnancy. This definition carried implications on as two when it would be safe to induce labor or schedule a cesarean section.
However, we now know that being born at 37 weeks can increase health risks. Its not nearly as risky as being born before 37 weeks, but its not ideal either.
In response, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has created new definitions to describe the timing of labor:
Calculate Using Your Last Menstrual Period
The formula for calculating how far along you are is simply the number of days since the first day of your last menstrual period divided by seven:
Days since start of LMP ÷ 7 = # of weeks pregnant
Wondering how to calculate your number of months pregnant?
Days since start of LMP ÷ 30 = # of months pregnant
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Whats Next If The Results Are Positive
Your next steps depend on two things: whether youre pregnant and whether or not you planned to get pregnant.
If your test results are positive and youve been planning to have a baby, take another test to make sure youre pregnant. Then, see your doctor before you reach the 8-week mark. You can ask them about prenatal care options or specialists who can help guide you through your pregnancy. Ask your doctor about any changes you need to make to your lifestyle, medications, or diet to keep yourself and your baby healthy for the next nine months.
If your test results are positive but you didnt plan to get pregnant, ask your doctor about available options, including:
- carrying the pregnancy to term for adoption
- what to do if you want to continue your pregnancy
You can also receive help from a clinic or health center that specializes in reproductive health and child care, like Planned Parenthood.
