How To Feel If Your Pregnant Or Not

Signs Of Pregnancy Before You Miss Your Period

Information from “Early signs of pregnancy: When will I feel symptoms?” from Babycenter.com

Am I pregnant?

One of the special things about pregnancy is that no two women experience it in the same way. One woman doesn’t stop vomiting for weeks in the first trimester, and another might never even feel nauseous .

There are several early signs of pregnancy. Some of them are subtle, and you may not notice them right away, or you may mistake them for PMS since they are similar. In fact, in one study, 29% of women reported that missing their period was their first clue that they were pregnant.2

You’ll probably want to know if you’re pregnant sooner rather than later since it’s important to receive appropriate prenatal care and discontinue any unhealthy habits you may have.

If you are experiencing any of the symptoms below, and if you’ve missed a period, you should definitely take a pregnancy test. It’s the only way to know for sure if you’re pregnant or not.

Things That Come Out Of Your Body During Labor

So you’ve survived the mood swings and the hemorrhoids, and you think your surprises are over. But the day you give birth will probably hold the biggest surprises of all.

During pregnancy, fluid surrounds your baby in the amniotic sac. This sac breaks at the start of or during labor a moment usually referred to as your water breaking. For most women in labor, contractions start before their water breaks. Sometimes the doctor has to rupture the amniotic sac .

How much water can you expect? For a full-term baby, there are about 2 to 3 cups of amniotic fluid. Some women may feel an intense urge to pee that leads to a gush of fluid when their water breaks. Others may only feel a trickling down their leg because the baby’s head acts like a stopper to prevent most of the fluid from leaking out.

Amniotic fluid is generally sweet-smelling and pale or colorless. It’s replaced by your body every 3 hours, so don’t be surprised if you continue to leak fluid, about a cup an hour, until delivery.

Other, unexpected things may come out of your body during labor. Some women have nausea and vomiting. Others have diarrhea before or during labor, and passing gas is also common. During the pushing phase of labor, you may lose control of your bladder or bowels.

A birth plan can help communicate your wishes to your health care providers about how to handle these and other aspects of labor and delivery.

Youve Missed Your Period

If youâre in your childbearing years, sexually active, and more than a week has passed since the day your period was expected to start, itâs very possible youâre pregnant. If you have an irregular menstrual cycle, have recently experienced significant weight loss or weight gain, or stopped taking your birth control pills, a missed period may not be a reason to worry. However, missed periods are perhaps the most tell-tale sign of a potential pregnancy, so be sure to take a pregnancy test if youâre in this situation. Many pregnant women experience some bleeding around two weeks after fertilization and mistake it for a light period, but a missed period on their next cycle will indicate a pregnancy. â

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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.

Can You Confirm Pregnancy From Changes In The Sleep Pattern

A pregnant womans sleep pattern changes owing to the increased levels of progesterone in her body. However, a woman might lose sleep due to a host of other reasons, so it is wrong to conclude that someone is pregnant just because she is not sleeping well.

A combination of the above-mentioned signs can indicate that you are pregnant if only one or two affect you, you are most likely not pregnant. However, do pay the doctor a visit to confirm that you are going to have a baby if you experience some of these symptoms.

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Super Early Signs Of Pregnancy How Soon Can I Tell If Im Pregnant

1. Missed Period

Sometimes the very first indicator for many women, a missed period is normally a good sign that a pregnancy has occurred.

However, its also not always the case. Periods can be delayed in general by stress or changes to your diet, and bleeding can even still occur throughout pregnancy.

If you havent yet missed your period, but would like to test early, home pregnancy tests such as First Response can detect pregnancy hormones up to six days prior to a missed period. But this is certainly not guaranteed.

Its better to wait until your period is actually missed so that your body is making enough hormones to detect and you can get an accurate result. You will also need to make sure you take the test properly.

Read the full instructions on how to do this towards the end of this page.

2. Nausea or Vomiting

Nausea is an extremely common side effect of pregnancy, especially early on. If you find yourself feeling nauseous for no reason you can pinpoint, dry retching or unexpectedly over the toilet, you may want to take a test.

3. Spotting

Some women notice very light pink or brown spots of blood around a week two weeks after conception. This is the fertilized embryo implanting into the lining of the womb and is called implantation bleeding.

4. Dizziness

Finding yourself needing to sit down often, getting light-headed or wobbly on your feet, and unable to focus on things you normally can could indicate pregnancy.

5. Headaches

6. Increased Sensitivity to Smells

Early Signs You’re Pregnant Before A Missed Period

Early pregnancy symptoms can overlap with common body changes, such as PMS. Here’s how to tell the difference.

Your menstrual cycle is your body’s monthly preparation for pregnancy — if you get pregnant, the lining in your uterus has a job to do and you won’t experience any typical menstrual bleeding. But while a missed period is many people’s first signal that they’re pregnant, it often isn’t the first clue your body gives you.

In the first weeks of pregnancy , the body starts producing a lot of hormones that can affect you physically and mentally. In addition to amping up its regular production of progesterone and estrogen, your body starts producing new ones, including human placental lactogen and human chorionic gonadotropin .

While your body is in hormonal overdrive during early pregnancy, you may feel some side effects. But if hormones are to blame, how do you tell if it’s PMS, ovulation symptoms or something else completely? Below, we outline some signals you might notice from your body during early pregnancy, before you even take a pregnancy test.

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Reasons It Might Be Hard To Feel Your Uterus

You might have difficulty feeling your uterus because:

• You are twelve weeks or fewer pregnant as explained above, and your uterus is still hard to identify.
• You are really less pregnant than you think you are at your presumed 13 to 14 weeks because of incorrect pregnancy dating.
• You are overweight, especially if you are obese. If so, at 13 to 14 weeks, try supporting your belly fat up towards your upper abdomen as described above to lift it out of the way to try to feel for your uterus. As your pregnancy advances it will be easier to feel.

How Do I Know If Im At Risk Of An Ectopic Pregnancy

There are several risk factors that could increase your chance of developing an ectopic pregnancy. A risk factor is a trait or behavior that increases your chance for developing a disease or condition. You may be at a higher risk of developing an ectopic pregnancy if youve had:

• A previous ectopic pregnancy.
• A history of pelvic inflammatory disease , an infection that can cause scar tissue to form in your fallopian tubes, uterus, ovaries and cervix.
• Surgery on your fallopian tubes or on the other organs of your pelvic area.
• A history of infertility.
• An intrauterine device , a form of birth control, in place at the time of conception.
• A history of smoking.

Your risk can also increase as you get older. Women over age 35 are more at risk than younger women.

Many women who experience an ectopic pregnancy dont have any of the above risk factors.

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Early Signs Of Pregnancy Before A Missed Period

Although every woman is different, these early symptoms can first appear before you even miss your period.

Raised basal body temperature

If you’ve been using a special basal body thermometer to track your first morning temperature, you might notice that it rises around 1 degree when you conceive and stays elevated throughout your pregnancy.

Though not a foolproof early pregnancy symptom , it could give you advance notice of the big news.

Smell sensitivity

A heightened sense of smell is an early pregnancy symptom that makes previously mild odors strong and unappealing. Since it’s one of the first symptoms of pregnancy many women report, babies might be in the air if your sniffer’s suddenly more sensitive and easily offended.

Breast changes

Tender, swollen breasts and darkening, bumpy areolas are among the breast changes you might experience early in pregnancy. The hormones estrogen and progesterone deserve most of the credit for this early pregnancy symptom. The breast tenderness is pain with a gain, though, since it’s part of your body’s preparation for the milk-making to come.

Your areolas may get darker and increase in diameter. You’ll also likely start to notice tiny bumps growing in size and number on your areolas. These bumps, called Montgomery’s tubercles, were always there, but now they’re gearing up to produce more oils that lubricate your nipples once baby starts nursing.

Fatigue

Implantation bleeding

Changes in cervical mucus

Frequent urination

Mood swings

You Get Inexplicably Tired

Any of us would expect to be exhausted after a long and difficult day. This is totally normal, and, when considered by itself, is probably not a sign youâre pregnant. However, pregnancy causes women to experience fatigue, even when theyâre taking things easy and slow. The hormone responsible for making you tired goes off the charts when youâre expecting a baby, so your significantly lower energy levels may be something to look into. This intense fatigue can begin as early as one week after conception.

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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.

Tummy Twinges Pinching And Pulling

Some women experience feelings inside their stomachs in the early stages of pregnancy that replicate the sensation of their muscles being pulled and stretched. Sometimes referred to as abdominal twinges, these tingles are nothing to worry about.

Layla Rumble, midwife at The Portland Hospital, which is part of HCA Healthcare UK, said, Abdominal twinges and mild pains are very common during pregnancy and usually nothing to worry about. Twinges and abdominal pain is usually caused by constipation, ligament pain, or trapped wind all of which are a normal part of pregnancy.

Twinges, and pains can be alleviated by regular light exercise, eating smaller, frequent meals, having plenty of fibre-rich foods such as fruit and vegetables, and drinking plenty of water to help empty your bladder regularly.

If you find that you experience intense and ongoing pains, or pain accompanied by bleeding, it is important to seek medical advice from your midwife or GP to rule out anything serious.

What else could it be?If youve been heavily exercising or straining your muscles, you could be experiencing some tension from that, especially if youve focused on ab workouts. A tight stomach can also be due to other factors such as digestive issues, stress or hormonal changes, and doesnt necessarily mean youre pregnant.

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Pros Of Blood Testing

• Blood tests can detect pregnancy earlier than a home pregnancy test, about 6 to 8 days after ovulation, or about 7 – 12 days after possible conception .
• This could mean that you get a result as early as 9 days after possible conception, or 5 days earlier than a home pregnancy test would be able to detect .

For most women, it makes more sense to wait and do a pregnancy test at home because of its convenience and low cost, as well as the fact that you’d only find out a day or two earlier with a blood test .

For others, especially those with a high risk for miscarriage or other pregnancy complications, their doctor may recommend getting a blood test.

What’s The Soonest You Can Find Out If You’re Pregnant

The only way to know for sure that you’re pregnant is through a positive pregnancy test. The earliest home pregnancy test is accurate up to six days before the day of your missed period for 76% of women who take the test .1

So, the soonest you might be able to find out for sure that you’re pregnant is by testing with a First Response home pregnancy test no earlier than six days before the day of your missed period.

So if you’re expecting your period on a Saturday, you would be able to test the Monday before .

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Can I Prevent An Ectopic Pregnancy

An ectopic pregnancy cannot be prevented. But you can try to reduce your risk factors by following good lifestyle habits. These can include not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight and diet, and preventing any sexually transmitted infections . Talk to your healthcare provider about any risk factors you may have before trying to become pregnant.

Tingling And Numbness In Your Hands

Carpal tunnel syndrome tingling and numbness in your hands affects up to 60 per cent of women during pregnancy. It is caused by compression of the median nerve due to an increase in the tissue fluids during pregnancy.

Carpal tunnel syndrome may be mild, intermittently painful, or severe, which may cause partial paralysis of the thumb or loss of sensation. Symptoms usually resolve on their own soon after birth.

If you are experiencing tingling and numbness in your hands, inform your doctor or midwife. In very severe cases, your doctor may recommend corticosteroid injections or surgical treatment.

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How Quickly Can I Know If Im Pregnant

Pregnancy is a different experience for each woman. Some women may suspect theyre pregnant within the first few days of pregnancy, while others dont notice anything until they miss a period. There are also some women who dont know theyre pregnant until months after conception.

The most clear-cut way to know if youre pregnant is to take a pregnancy test. When you take a pregnancy test, its measuring a hormone called human chorionic gonadotrophin . This hormone starts building in your body from the moment of conception and will multiply rapidly in the beginning of your pregnancy. Despite its early appearance in the process, it takes some time for your body to build up enough hCG to register on a pregnancy test. Typically, it takes about three to four weeks from the first day of your last period before theres enough hCG in your body for a positive pregnancy test.