How Would You Know If You Re Pregnant

Outbreaks Of Illness Or Disease At Your Destination

Before takeoff, check your destination to see if its home to any actively spreading diseases, like Zika and COVID-19, which can harm both you and your fetus if you become infected while pregnant.

The Zika virus can be spread by a direct mosquito bite, as well as through sex, Dr. Ekman says. Its a serious condition that has been linked to the birth defect microcephaly, which can shorten your childs life expectancy.

If you need to travel somewhere thats experiencing an outbreak, make sure you talk to your healthcare provider about how to prevent getting sick. And take extra care to avoid mosquito bites by using an insect repellent and keeping your skin covered.

Vaccinations for travel while pregnant

Some vaccines arent recommended for people who are pregnant, including live vaccines like the MMR vaccine. Others, like influenza and COVID-19 vaccines, are generally considered safe during pregnancy.

If youre traveling to an area where you would typically receive vaccinations to protect yourself from disease, talk to your healthcare provider about the risks and benefits of getting vaccinated while pregnant.

Sometimes, the risk of getting sick is greater than any side effects of the vaccine, Dr. Ekman says.

Morning Sickness Or Nausea

That telltale, queasy feeling known as morning sickness can hit you at any time of day and it typically begins when you’re about 6 weeks pregnant, though it can vary and strike even earlier. For most women, nausea starts by week 9.

Hormones, mainly increased levels of progesterone , can cause the stomach to empty more slowly, resulting in this early pregnancy symptom resembling seasickness.

Light Bleeding Or Spotting

Implantation bleeding is the light vaginal bleeding that typically occurs about 10 to 14 days after conception. It shouldnt cause anything more than mild spotting, which you may notice in your underwear. Implantation bleeding can also be accompanied by mild cramps that resemble the cramps of menstruation.

If the bleeding is heavy or if the cramping is severe, contact a health care provider for advice.

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When Should You Take A Pregnancy Test

Its usually recommended that you take a pregnancy test after youve missed your period. This is because pregnancy tests measure the level of human chorionic gonadotrophin in your body, which is a hormone that starts to build up when you conceive. It can take around three to four weeks from the first day of your last period for there to be enough hCG in your body to show up on a test.

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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What Fertility Treatments Are Available For People With Pcos

The good news is that many people with PCOS are able to get pregnant with lifestyle modifications, medications or fertility treatments.

Some people improve their odds of pregnancy by losing weight and the weight loss often doesnt need to be huge. Losing only about 5-10% of their body weight can restore normal ovulatory patterns, improving the chance of conception without any medical intervention, Mitchell said.

However, a catch with this is that its often extremely challenging for people with PCOS to lose weight. The condition can sometimes even lead to weight gain.

Metformin, a Type 2 diabetes drug that sensitizes the body to insulin, can also be effective in regulating the menstrual cycles of people with PCOS.

In addition, there are drugs that induce ovulation. The two most commonly used are Clomid and Femara . The medication is taken for five consecutive days at the beginning of your cycle, and then your doctor will do an ultrasound to see if your body is responding to treatment by preparing an egg for ovulation.

This ultrasound can also determine if the medication has worked too well. Its important to make sure you will not ovulate too many eggs if you have an overly robust response, which could increase the risk of twins, Sekhon said.

Your doctor may also prescribe an injection of HCG to trigger your ovary to release the egg. This can help you more precisely time intercourse or insemination.

Some people with PCOS use IVF medications to help get pregnant.

As Hormones Shift Pregnancy Symptoms Start

An embryo is the tiniest thingnot even half an inch long in the first two months of pregnancy. But the changes it wreaks on a womans body right from the start are enormous. This is primarily due to the shifts in key hormones that start at the beginning of a pregnancy, says Sherry Ross, MD, a gynecologist and author of the books She-ology and She-ology,the she-quel.

These hormones include estrogen, progesterone, and human chorionic gonadotrophin , which multiplies rapidly at the start of a pregnancy.

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Morning Sickness Nausea And Vomiting During Early Pregnancy

Nausea and morning sickness usually develop around weeks 4 to 6 and peak around week 9.

Although its called morning sickness, it can occur anytime 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.

What Precautions Should You Take During Early Pregnancy

Even if you havenât spotted any signs of pregnancy very early on, youâll want to do everything you can to stay healthy and safe. In fact, itâs always wise to take some precautions as soon as you start trying to conceive or learn that youâre pregnant.Even simple adjustments can help support you as you start your pregnancy! Though youâll want to consult your healthcare provider to determine whatâs best for you, some worthwhile lifestyle changes and precautions include

• taking folic acid.

When you start trying for a baby or learn that youâre pregnant, folic acid is essential, as itâs a B vitamin that helps reduce the risk of certain birth defects that affect the babyâs brain and spine. Your healthcare provider can recommend a prenatal vitamin that contains at least 400 micrograms of folic acid. Pre-pregnancy is also a great time to eliminate some less healthy habits, including

• exposure to secondhand smoke

• drinking alcohol.

In addition, your provider may recommend limiting your daily consumption of caffeine. Talk with your healthcare provider about the best ways to stay healthy and safe when youâre pregnant. For more general advice, download our pregnancy guide!

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We Brought Our Stillborn Baby Home To Spend Time With Him Before Saying Goodbye

Sometimes morning sickness can be a sign of pregnancy, but many people can dismiss this as period symptoms, hunger or even sleep issues.

Over 78,000 people liked her post with many commenting their own experiences of oral health issues during pregnancy.

One user said that her gums had “bled so much during pregnancy, during my cleaning they had to be extra careful”.

Others said they had visited the dentist chair unaware they were pregnant until the dentist asked how many weeks along they were.

Take Care Of Your Body

Its also important so you can make good choices for your body to support your pregnancy and give your baby a healthy start in life. If you discover you are pregnant, you should follow the guidelines below.

Start prenatal vitamins

Prenatal vitamins include an extra amount of folic acid, which is important for the development of your babys brain and nervous system. Ask your doctor what type of prenatal vitamins they recommend.

Avoid alcohol and certain medications

Avoid alcohol and certain medications if you are pregnant. Alcohol significantly affects fetal brain development. Some medications can also cause birth defects. Read more about medications in pregnancy.

Avoid smoking and drugs

Avoid recreational drugs, smoking, vaping, and marijuana when pregnant. These can also cause developmental issues and birth defects in babies. Smoking harms lung development and restricts blood flow to the placenta.

Eat right and exercise

When you let your provider know youre pregnant, you will get helpful information about a healthy diet and exercise during pregnancy. Youll receive a list of foods, activities, and environmental exposures to avoid. Youll receive information about avoiding work-related exposures, too . Your provider will see if you are up-to-date on vaccinations or if there are any other recommended vaccinations you should receive.

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Signs You Should Take A Pregnancy Test: Early Signs Of Pregnancy

Different people have different reactions to the idea that they might be pregnant. Whatever your feelings are, you can prepare for the future by learning about the early signs and symptoms of pregnancy.

If you want to find out if youre pregnant for sure, youll need to get a testing kit. You can buy a pregnancy test at most drugstores and pharmacies or order one online.

Many of the early signs of pregnancy are very similar to those youd experience around the time of your period. None of these early signs of pregnancy can determine that youre pregnant for sure, so consider them symptoms to look out for, rather than a reliable test. Youll need to take a pregnancy test if you want to confirm that youve conceived.

Here are 10 common signs of early pregnancy:

High Blood Pressure And Dizziness During Early Pregnancy

In most cases, high or normal blood pressure will drop in the early stages of pregnancy. This may also cause feelings of dizziness since your blood vessels are dilated.

High blood pressure, or hypertension, as a result of pregnancy is more difficult to determine. Almost all cases of hypertension within the first 20 weeks indicate underlying problems. It may develop during early pregnancy, but it may also be present beforehand.

A medical professional will take your blood pressure during your first doctors visit to help establish a baseline for a normal blood pressure reading.

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How Reliable Are The Symptoms

Pregnancy symptoms vary for everyone. They also are easy to confuse with PMS. Thats why its impossible to tell whether youre pregnant on symptoms alone.

Your best bet is to take a home pregnancy test or see a doctor if you suspect youre pregnant and have already missed your period.

Home pregnancy tests are fairly reliable. But you may occasionally get a false-positive test. This can occur for a number of reasons, including having a chemical or ectopic pregnancy, or even taking certain medications.

Follow a positive home pregnancy test with a doctors visit for a urine or blood test to confirm the pregnancy.

Other Early Symptoms Of Pregnancy

Pregnancy brings changes in your hormonal balance. And that can cause other symptoms that include:

• Frequent urination. For many women, this starts around the sixth or eighth week after conception. Although this could be caused by a urinary tract infection, diabetes, or using diuretics, if you’re pregnant, it’s most likely due to hormonal levels.
• Constipation. During pregnancy, higher levels of the hormone progesterone can make you constipated. Progesterone causes food to pass more slowly through your intestines. To ease the problem, drink plenty of water, exercise, and eat plenty of high-fiber foods.
• Mood swings. These are common, especially during the first trimester. These are also related to changes in hormones.
• Headaches and back pain. Many pregnant women report frequent mild headaches, and others experience back pain.
• Dizziness and fainting. These may be related to dilating blood vessels, lower blood pressure, and lower blood sugar.

A pregnant woman could have all of these symptoms, or maybe have only one or two. If any of these symptoms become bothersome, talk with your doctor about them so you can make a plan to offset them.

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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.

Smell Sensitivity And Food Aversions During Early Pregnancy

Smell sensitivity is a symptom of early pregnancy thats mostly self-reported. Theres little scientific evidence about smell sensitivity during the first trimester. However, it might be important, since smell sensitivity may trigger nausea and vomiting. It may also cause strong distaste for certain foods.

You may experience either a heightened or lessened sense of smell during pregnancy, according to 2017 research. This is especially common during the first and third trimesters. Heightened smell is more common than lessened smell. Some smells that never bothered you before may become less pleasing or even trigger nausea.

The good news is that your sense of smell usually returns to normal after delivery, or within 6 to 12 weeks postpartum.

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What Happens Right After Conception

Imagine this scenario. Youve been using ovulation tests faithfully for a couple of months, and after your test came back positive this cycle, you do your part. Did it work? Youre constantly on the look-out for symptoms of conception. The day after your ovulation, you notice a light spotting, a change in your cervical mucus, or you are exceptionally tired. Then, you get Googling: can it really be that you are already having an implantation bleeding ?

What does your cervical mucus look like after you conceived? Do pregnancy symptoms start right after an egg was fertilized? Trying to conceive is exciting business! Paying close attention to what is going on with your body is really the only thing you can do to help you guess if you are pregnant this time. The thing is, an implantation bleeding cannot show up until seven to 10 days after your ovulation because your fertilized egg doesnt implant before that time.

How Soon Can I Take A Pregnancy Test

Pregnancy tests work by detecting a certain level of human chorionic gonadotrophin in your pee. You can take a pregnancy test as soon as youve missed your period. However, its best to wait at least one week after youve missed your period to get the most accurate results. While some tests claim to give you accurate results before a missed period, taking a test too soon can result in a false negative .

Your healthcare provider can take a blood sample to test for pregnancy as early as one week before a missed period.

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What Are My Chances Of Success With These Treatments

I tend to think of patients with PCOS as having a good prognosis, as irregular ovulation can most often be directly addressed with medication and lifestyle changes, Sekhon said.

If weight loss, metformin, Clomid or Femara works and you ovulate, then you have the same chances of getting pregnant as any other ovulating person your age.

Typically, for the average patient, we say there is approximately a 15% chance of conceiving with each ovulated egg, Sekhon explained, adding that a person in their 20s has about a 20% chance of getting pregnant each cycle but that this drops to less than 5% for people over 40.

Injectable fertility drugs increase the number of eggs you ovulate, which in turn increases your odds of pregnancy but also of having twins or higher-order multiples, which brings significant risks both to the pregnant person and the babies.

The likelihood of success with IVF depends both on your age and how many eggs you produce in response to the medications. People with PCOS often produce a high egg count on IVF drugs, leading to more chances for conception to occur.

That said, not every IVF cycle will produce any genetically normal embryos, and the odds of this outcome increase with age. Odds of success for fertility treatments are also lower if you or your partner has other fertility issues.

Missed Period During Early Pregnancy

Once implantation is complete, your body will begin making human chorionic gonadotropin . This hormone helps the body maintain the pregnancy. It also tells the ovaries to stop releasing mature eggs each month.

You will likely miss your next period 4 weeks after conception. If you typically have an irregular period, youll want to take a pregnancy test to confirm.

Most home tests can detect hCG as soon as 8 days after a missed period. A pregnancy test will be able to detect hCG levels in your urine and show if you are pregnant.

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