We Know You’re Wondering: Is It Possible To Be Pregnant And Still Have A Period
Nope, experts say. Some people may experience bleeding or spotting, but those are different bleeding patterns from the cyclical menses your body experiences in absence of a pregnancy.
Dr. Michele Hakakha, an OB-GYN and author of Expecting 411: Clear Answers and Smart Advice for Your Pregnancy, told Parents that people definitely can experience vaginal bleeding during pregnancy, but that “when they bleed, they are not having a ‘period.'” That’s because your body needs to reserve the uterine lining as nourishment for the growing pregnancy.
Although bleeding during pregnancy doesn’t always mean cause for concern, it can indicate something more serious like a miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy, according to the Mayo Clinic.
In the earliest stage of pregnancy, however, some very light bleeding is totally normal and leads us to our first pregnancy clue: implantation bleeding.
Implantation bleeding usually doesn’t last more than a couple of days, and it’s much lighter than most people’s periods .
You Have Exaggerated Symptoms
The symptoms of pregnancy are wide-ranging: Morning sickness, food cravings, fatigue, frequent urination all are commonly experienced by pregnant women. It might not come as a surprise that the presence of two babies exacerbates these symptoms.
Some pregnant moms of multiples report intensified symptoms of nausea, fatigue, breast tenderness, food cravings, or the like. It’s more common in women who have experienced a previous pregnancy and thus have a basis for comparison.
Can Pregnancy Symptoms Start Before Implantation
To ensure successful implantation progesterone rises when the ovum fertilizes, so sensitive women may notice very mild pregnancy symptoms before implantation that feels much like pre-menstrual symptoms.
But it has to be said that this is uncommon.
It usually takes a few weeks for progesterone and hCG levels to get high enough to start experiencing symptoms.
We hope weve answered all your questions about finding out how soon you can tell if youre pregnant. If you have any more let us know and well do our utmost to answer them.
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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:
Are There Signs That Youre Carrying Twins
As soon as pregnancy begins, your body begins to produce hormones and undergo physical changes. These changes may be the first sign of pregnancy. Whats more, some of these signs may be slightly different when youre expecting more than one baby.
Many people who experience twin pregnancy report that they had a sense or feeling that they were expecting multiples, even before they knew for sure. On the other hand, for many people, the news comes as a complete surprise.
The following symptoms are commonly reported as signs that you may be pregnant with twins, from the earliest weeks of pregnancy.
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Varicose Veins And Leg Oedema
Varicose veins of the legs are very common in pregnancy due to a combination of factors, including increased volume of circulating blood during pregnancy, and pressure of the pregnant uterus on the larger veins. This increased pressure on the veins can also result in swelling of the legs that can cause pain, feelings of heaviness, cramps and other unusual sensations.
If you have varicose veins, it is recommended that you:
- Wear support stockings.
- Avoid standing for long periods.
- Exercise gently and regularly .
- Lie down to rest with feet elevated, when you can.
- Try massaging your legs.
Have You Been Feeling Nauseous
- A: Ugh, just thinking about fish or looking at raw chicken makes me want to vomit.
- B: Nah, I have a stomach of steel.
If you answered A: Is your period a couple of weeks late, too? It could point to pregnancy! You may very well be experiencing the first throes of morning sickness due to changing hormone levels that make your sniffer more sensitive and relax the muscles of your digestive tract.
If you answered B: Fortunately, your meals arent bothering you, but keep in mind that morning sickness can pop up as late as the 9-week mark, so nausea later on is still possible.
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How Does Your Stomach Feel In Early Pregnancy
Feeling pain in your lower abdomen or feeling like your stomach is hard, swollen, or heavy are not early signs of pregnancy.
To the touch, a person’s stomach and abdomen will not show any noticeable signs of pregnancy until later on, depending on your specific body type. People who are in their first pregnancy usually don’t start showing until twenty weeks or later.1 Those who have already been pregnant might start showing sooner.
Some Tips On Pregnancy Testing At Home
Because early pregnancy symptoms can be confused with other illnesses or conditions, I would always recommend buying yourself a test. These are very accurate from the point that your period is due, and will take the guesswork out of knowing if you are pregnant or not.
For those who have missed a period and got a negative pregnancy test result, follow the link to learn about the most common reasons behind this.
If you keep getting negative results but are experiencing pregnancy symptoms, listen to your body and make a doctor’s appointment!
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Are You More Tired Than Usual
- A: Yes, in fact, a freight train roaring through my bedroom couldn’t wake me up lately.
- B: No, not more than usual.
If you answered A: Heres another one of those wait-for-your-period-and-see moments: Fatigue can just as often come with PMS as with early pregnancy.
If you answered B: Bank your sleep now as pregnancy and parenthood are equal parts exhausting and exhilarating!
You Don’t Smoke Cigarettes
Studies have shown that cigarette smoking has a negative impact on fertility. So if you’ve never smoked, you are already giving yourself a leg up when it comes to getting pregnant.
“Cigarette smoking has been shown to accelerate the loss of eggs over time and is associated with shortening a womenâs reproductive lifespan,” Dr. Sekhon says. So just by keeping away from cigarettes, you’ve likely already boosted your chances of getting pregnant.
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Early Pregnancy Symptoms Vs Pms: Whats The Difference
Most early pregnancy symptoms before your period are strikingly similar to the side effects of PMS. However, youll only notice changes in your areolas if youre pregnant. A consistently elevated BBT and creamy vaginal discharge post-ovulation are also both relatively reliable signs of conception, but theyre certainly not foolproof.
Otherwise, the only way to know if other early pregnancy symptoms are due to a baby or PMS is to hold out until you can take a pregnancy test.
Other Early Signs Of Pregnancy
These early pregnancy symptoms tend to appear around or after the time that you miss your period, usually sometime between weeks 4 and 9. But again, every woman and every pregnancy is different, so you may not experience these symptoms at all, while other moms-to-be may notice them a little earlier.
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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 Are Early Signs Of Pregnancy
Your symptoms likely wont begin until your fourth week. This is when you may experience mild blood spotting and cramping and when you can expect to miss your period. But, if you are asking yourself, How do I know if Im pregnant, see if you can relate to any of these early indications:
1. Missed Period
According to an American Pregnancy Association survey, approximately 29 percent of women claimed their first sign of pregnancy was a missed period. Missing your period is a common symptom of pregnancy and it often leads women to do a pregnancy test. You may notice some bleeding even if youre pregnant, but it will usually be lighter and shorter than your normal menstrual period.
2. Urinating Frequently
A couple weeks after you conceive, you may have to urinate more. This is because of your pregnancy hormone hCG. This hormone causes an increase in blood flow to your kidneys, which helps them eliminate waste from your body more efficiently. As your uterus is growing more quickly the pressure on your bladder is greater. The amount of urine storage space you have decreases which causes you to urinate more often.
3. Swollen, Tender Breasts
4. Nausea and Sometimes Vomiting
Nausea was the first pregnancy indication 25 percent of women experienced. Although morning sickness doesnt usually hit women until around a month of becoming pregnant, nausea is often felt earlier. Its thought that your pregnancy hormones are what cause nausea, but it isnt quite clear.
5. Spotting
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You’ve Never Had A Pelvic Infection
While there are some chronic conditions that can cause infertility, having a history of infection may make getting pregnant harder as well. Because of this, if you haven’t dealt with any pelvic infections, you may be more likely to conceive.
Of course, a history of pelvic infections is part of a larger equation. âIf you have regular periods, never had a pelvic infection, and know when your fertile days are, your age is the only limiting factor towards normal fertility,”Juergen Eisermann, M.D., a South Miami, Fla.-based fertility specialist at Floridaâs IVFMD, tells Bustle. If you’re concerned about any of these factors, it’s worthwhile to bring any questions up to your OB/GYN.
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.
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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
Swollen And Tender Breasts
Soreness or tingling in breasts is one of the most common signs of being pregnant. Early in pregnancy breasts will fill out and change shape as they prepare to produce milk. Breasts may become very tender and sensitive for a few months as a result. But, Teresa Pitman, doula and lactation expert, notes: that not all women experience these changes, especially if they have been on birth control pills.
It is possible to know youre pregnant in those first few weekssome women even know from the moment of conception. Here are the very earliest signs of being pregnant, that you might not notice.
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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.
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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When Might I Experience Pregnancy Symptoms
Whilst perhaps the most noticeable sign of pregnancy is missing a period, there are many other symptoms that may be evident during the early weeks. “Most women will experience some form of pregnancy symptoms and for many these will show up at about 6 weeks of pregnancy . However, some women report recognising symptoms as early as week 3 of pregnancy ,” according to midwife Liz Halliday from Private Midwives.
Clues You Might Be Pregnant When It’s Too Early To Test
You know how sometimes you have a little inkling you may be pregnant, but its way too soon to tell. Well, you just might be right. Obviously, the doctor and a pregnancy test is the most accurate way
You know how sometimes you have a little inkling you may be pregnant, but its way too soon to tell. Well, you just might be right. Obviously, the doctor and a pregnancy test is the most accurate way to know for sure, but if youre too curious or anxious, there are some clues that your body is hinting you may have a bun in the oven, before it even shows up on the pregnancy test!
The hormones released as soon as you conceive may start causing subtle changes, even before theyre detectable, says Melissa Goist, MD, clinical assistant professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the Ohio State University Medical Centre.
Unfortunately, a lot of these symptoms are very similar to getting your period , so its always safe to make an appointment with your doctor, or wait to take a pregnancy test. Here are some common hints that let you know you might have a little one on the way!
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You Have A Very Regular Cycle
Having regular cycles, even when you’re off of hormonal birth control, is a good sign of being fertile.
“Women with wonderfully regular 28 cycles are likely to conceive,”Felice Gersh, M.D., author, founder, and director of the Integrative Medical Group of Irvine, tells Bustle. “Regular cycles are powerful evidence of regular ovulation â a definite prerequisite to being fertile.” if you are curious to learn more, talk to your doctor, but having regular cycles is definitely a good sign.
How To Tell If Someone Is Pregnant
This article was co-authored by Carrie Noriega, MD. Dr. Noriega is a Board Certified Obstetrician & Gynecologist and medical writer in Colorado. She specializes in womens health, rheumatology, pulmonology, infectious disease, and gastroenterology. She received her MD from the Creighton School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska and completed her residency at the University of Missouri – Kansas City in 2005.There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article received 36 testimonials and 81% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 1,265,963 times.
It can be the most awkward thing in the world to ask someone if they are pregnant, especially if it turns out they are not. Maybe you are just curious and want to know, or maybe youre trying to decide if you should give up your seat on the bus. Whatever the reason, there are some common indications of pregnancy that can help you determine if they are pregnant before asking so that you can prevent this awkward moment from happening. In general, however, it’s best not to assume someone is pregnant. Avoid directly asking someone if they are pregnant and instead wait until they bring it up.
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