When To Expect Pregnancy Symptoms

August 18, 2022

What To Avoid During The First Trimester

3 Weeks Pregnant: What to Expect

You have a lengthy list of to-do’s now that youre pregnant but there are also a few things not to do. Here’s what to steer clear of during the first trimester.

From the What to Expect editorial team and Heidi Murkoff, author of What to Expect When You’re Expecting. What to Expect follows strict reporting guidelines and uses only credible sources, such as peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions and highly respected health organizations. Learn how we keep our content accurate and up-to-date by reading our medical review and editorial policy.

Tiredness In Early Pregnancy

Tiredness can be one of the early signs of pregnancy. Even though your baby is smaller than a peanut, the first few weeks of pregnancy can be physically and emotionally draining.

Early pregnancy tiredness is not like ordinary tiredness. You may feel completely exhausted after a normal day’s activities.

Find out more about managing tiredness in pregnancy.

What Are Common Symptoms Of Pregnancy

Everyone experiences different symptoms of pregnancy and at different times. Its important not to compare your pregnancy to someone elses because pregnancy symptoms can vary so dramatically.

There are several signs of early pregnancy that you may or may not have. The most common symptoms include:

Remember, the only way to know for sure that youre pregnant is to take a pregnancy test or have your healthcare provider perform an ultrasound.

Labor And Delivery: How To Prepare For The Big Day

The big day has finally arrived, and, we hope, youve finalized your list of baby names! For most women, delivery day brings a lot of apprehension. But it is also a time of great excitement that this journey through the round and weird is nearing completion and that youll soon get to meet your baby.

Once you start experiencing labor contractions, packing a bag and remembering your toothbrush will not likely be top of mind. Thats why its good practice to prepare ahead of time and ready your overnight supplies. Our guide on what to bring to your labor and delivery offers a nice list of suggestions on where to start.

Common items youll want to include in your overnight bag are comfortable sleeping clothing, slippers, bras and breast pads, socks and underwear, toiletries and clothing for the ride back home.

Delivery via cesarean section requires a longer hospital stay and typically lasts two to three days compared with one to two days with a vaginal delivery. Sometimes cesarean deliveries are planned, which provides ample opportunity to ready a supply kit for your stay. Other times, long or complex labor ends up resulting in a cesarean delivery. So, its probably a good idea to plan for a longer hospital stay and pack accordingly, even if youre not expecting to undergo surgery.

Dont forget to pack for your baby! Youll need a warm onesie, a blanket, socks and a knit cap. And before you hit the road to the hospital, make sure your babys car seat is installed properly.

Early Changes To Breasts: Tingling Aching Growing

Breast changes can occur between weeks 4 and 6. Youre likely to develop tender and swollen breasts due to hormone changes. This will likely go away after a few weeks when your body has adjusted to the hormones.

Nipple and breast changes can also occur around week 11. Hormones continue to cause your breasts to grow. The areola the area around the nipple may change to a darker color and grow larger.

If youve had bouts with acne before your pregnancy, you may experience breakouts again.

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What Does Watery Discharge During Pregnancy Mean

Watery discharge is a completely normal part of pregnancy, and it typically gets heavier as your pregnancy progresses. In fact, very heavy discharge towards the end of your third trimester could indicate that your body is preparing to go into labor.

When youre expecting, higher levels of the pregnancy hormone estrogen cause more blood to flow to your pelvic area. That increased blood flow stimulates the bodys mucous membranes, which in turn causes the extra discharge.

What To Expect In The Second Trimester

Its time to break out those maternity clothes .
Your doctor may suggest a blood test for genetic disorders, called a maternal serum screen or quad screen.
If you have a family history of genetic defects, like Down syndrome, cystic fibrosis, or spina bifida, your doctor may recommend additional testing.

You may start to feel like your allergies are acting up a bit midway through the trimester.
About halfway through, an ultrasound can tell you the babys sex.
For many people, these weeks are enjoyable, with only small discomforts. You may notice some acne.

You may want to look into birthing classes.
Some trouble sleeping at night may happen due to normal pregnancy discomforts like urinating often, heartburn, and leg cramps.
Your doctor will likely schedule a blood sugar test between weeks 24 and 28 to see if you have gestational diabetes.

In the final weeks of your second trimester, you may have gained about 16 to 22 pounds.

What Other Symptoms Can Be Early Signs Of Pregnancy

Every person and every pregnancy is different. So, if you are pregnant, youll likely experience a unique combination of common, not-so-common and sometimes overlapping symptoms. And, they may show up earlier or later than expected. Here are more than a dozen possible symptoms of early pregnancy.

1. Spotting or light bleeding

Many women are surprised to learn that spotting or light bleeding can be an early sign of pregnancy, but about one-third of women experience it. This is often called implantation bleeding because doctors believe it occurs as the fertilized egg attaches itself into the uterine lining. This is different from bleeding that could occur from something like a miscarriage which is usually heavier.

When does implantation bleeding occur?

Implantation bleeding typically occurs 10 to 14 days after conception, which is just before or right around the time your period is due. So, you may think youve gotten your period.

But implantation bleeding is a light flow, which may start and stop over a couple days. And while it can take on a range of colors, its more likely to be pink, brown or light red.

Your period, on the other hand, may start off light in flow and in color but after a couple days becomes heavier, changes to a crimson red color and lasts up to a week or so.

2. Lower abdominal pain or cramping

While cramps and lower-abdominal pain can signal a coming period, they can also be a sign of egg implantation.

What do implantation cramps feel like?

When Do Pregnancy Symptoms Start

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Pregnancy symptoms are different for every woman . Some women feel the first twinges of pregnancy a week or two after conceiving, while others don’t feel any different for a few months.

In the best study on this question to date, 136 women who were trying to get pregnant kept daily records of their symptoms from the time they stopped using birth control until they were 8 weeks pregnant. The results:

50 percent had some pregnancy symptoms by 5 weeks pregnant
90 percent had pregnancy symptoms by 8 weeks pregnant

The first sign of pregnancy was usually a missed period. The most common symptoms to follow were nausea and vomiting, fatigue, frequent urination, and breast tenderness and swelling.

Increased vaginal discharge

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Can You Feel Pregnant Before You Miss Your Period

Yes, you can feel pregnant before you miss your period. Some people say theyve felt pregnancy symptoms within a week of conception .

Could I have the symptoms of early pregnancy and not be pregnant?

Many of the symptoms of early pregnancy overlap with other medical conditions, as well as your typical menstrual cycle. Premenstrual symptoms can be very similar to pregnancy symptoms. This can make it difficult to tell the difference. You can also miss a period and not be pregnant. This can happen when you lose or gain a lot of weight or are stressed. Breastfeeding can also cause your period to stop.

The best way to know youre pregnant is to take a pregnancy test. Pregnancy tests are available at your local pharmacy or grocery store without a prescription.

What Is Happening In The Womb At 5 Dpo

At 5 DPO, if the sperm has reached and fertilized the egg, the cells within the newly formed zygote begin multiplying to create a lump of cells called a blastocyst.

These cells continue to multiply as the blastocyst makes its way down the fallopian tubes and into the uterus.

When the blastocyst reaches the uterine wall, it attaches itself to get access to nutrients through the blood. At 5 DPO, the blastocyst may either be traveling to the uterine wall or already connected to it.

If it is attached, the blastocyst has started its journey toward becoming a fetus, and pregnancy is underway.

The specific symptoms of pregnancy vary hugely from woman to woman. There is no normal, as each pregnancy is unique.

However, some of the earliest symptoms that women may notice tend to include the following:

Implantation Bleeding Or Spotting

If you’re pregnant, the lastthing you’d expect to see is any spotting or vaginal bleeding. But if you notice light spotting around the time your period is due, it could be implantation bleeding. This might be caused by the fertilized egg settling into the lining of your uterus.

Note: About 1 in 4 women experience spotting or light bleeding during the first trimester. It’s often nothing, but sometimes it’s a sign of miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy. If your bleeding is severe or accompanied by pain or lightheadedness, or if you’re at all concerned, call your doctor or midwife.

When Can You Confirm Your Pregnancy

If you think you might be pregnant because you missed your period or are experiencing some of the early symptoms of pregnancy listed above, you can take a home pregnancy test.These tests can confirm a pregnancy by checking your urine for the presence of a hormone called hCG.

If you think you may be pregnant, but the test says otherwise, test again after a few more days or speak to your healthcare provider. You can also ask your provider to confirm your pregnancy with a blood test. Think you might be pregnant? Take our Am I Pregnant quiz. It wonât tell you for sure, but itâs all good fun!

Rd Pregnancy Symptoms So Early

Whatever they say about the uniqueness and struggles in pregnancy of every mother are almost always true. A third pregnancy is no exception. First off, the hype of having your first and second may have wavered off. Your body may also get accustomed to your previous childbirth and will show a bigger bump this time. Implantation bleeding may or may not occur. Morning sickness and pregnancy cravings are at their peak. And because you are older now, expect that pregnancy will change along with your age.

What Happens During Week 9

The embryo develops into a fetus after 10 weeks. Its 11.5 inches long. The tail disappears. Fingers and toes grow longer. The umbilical cord connects the abdomen of the fetus to the placenta. The placenta is attached to the wall of the uterus and it absorbs nutrients from the bloodstream. The cord carries nutrients and oxygen to the fetus and takes waste away from the fetus.

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What To Expect In The First Weeks Of Pregnancy

Your pregnancy test is positive. With that result comes many questions: What early pregnancy symptoms should I expect? When will pregnancy symptoms start? Whats happening inside of me right now? What has happened so far? Is what Im experiencing normal?

Whether youre overjoyed with the knowledge that youre pregnant or youre filled with anxiety or a mix of both not knowing what is happening or what to expect can feel overwhelming. Here, we share whats occurred since your last menstrual cycle and what you can expect through the first few weeks of your pregnancy.

Morning Sickness Nausea And Vomiting During Early Pregnancy

2 Weeks Pregnant: What to Expect

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 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.

How To Determine Your Due Date

When you find out youâre pregnant, youâre probably wondering when youâll meet your new baby! For an estimate, try our Due Date Calculator, where you can simply enter the first day of your last menstrual period or the date of conception.

Healthcare providers use the LMP method to determine your estimated due date. Due dates are typically calculated as 280 days starting from the first day of your last menstrual period. Remember, when generating a due date this way, you arenât technically pregnant during the first couple of weeks of pregnancy.And, again, this is why you probably wonât feel those highly anticipated very early signs of pregnancy in weeks 1, 2, or 3. But once you start to notice themâand take a pregnancy test or confirm youâre pregnant with your healthcare providerâyou can calculate your due date!

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What Causes Low Hcg Levels

Again, its important to keep in mind that hCG levels vary widely from one woman to the next, and having lower numbers than someone else isnt usually cause for concern.

Whats more important and relevant than the actual number itself is that your hCG level falls within the very wide normal range and continues to increase in the coming weeks until it declines after a few months. So look for a pattern of increasing levels instead of focusing too much on a single number.

That said, very low hCG levels that dont seem to be increasing can signal that a pregnancy isnt viable. Typically hCG levels that fail to keep rising are a sign of:

Ectopic pregnancy.Ectopic pregnancies happen when a fertilized egg implants somewhere outside of the uterus, like the fallopian tube or the cervix. When that happens, lower amounts of hCG are produced and the embryo cant develop normally. HCG levels alone do not diagnose an ectopic pregnancy.
Miscarriage. Low or declining hCG levels can also be a sign of a miscarriage that has either already happened or is at risk for occurring. Keep in mind, though, that a single hCG reading thats lower than usual isnt necessarily a sign that a woman will experience pregnancy loss.

Your Body At 9 Weeks Pregnant

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At 9 weeks pregnant, the pregnancy hormone hCG is at or nearing peak levels. This means your pregnancy symptoms are likely at their most severe. Dont worry, itll level out a bit in the next few weeks!

Right now, your uterus is growing to accommodate your growing baby, and pregnancy hormones are slowing down digestion so you can absorb more nutrients. This means you may experience more constipation and bloating. At the same time, pregnancy hormones are relaxing your stomach and esophagus, so you may have heartburn.

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Your Twins Development At Week 9

You may discover that youre carrying twins if you have an ultrasound this week. This can be exciting but does require some additional care and discussion with your healthcare professionals.

Some pregnant people carrying multiples have more intense pregnancy symptoms than those who are carrying only one baby. They may also have a higher likelihood of complications.

You might wish to talk with your doctor about the risks of:

vaginal bleeding

You should notify your doctor if anything seems off. Also speak with your doctor if you have severe morning sickness, which can be a sign of hyperemesis gravidarum.

Severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy can leave you feeling dehydrated and not getting the nutrients you need, but your doctor can help.

When To Call The Doctor

If nausea after eating continues for more than two weeks without a positive pregnancy test, check in with your doctor. It could be a sign of a more serious problem, especially if you have other unusual symptoms.

If you are pregnant and the nausea and vomiting is severe, call your practitioner. You may be experiencing hyperemesis gravidarum, which can result in dehydration and weight loss, and sometimes requires treatment at the hospital. Also check with your health care provider if you experience any of the following symptoms:

Peeing only a little bit, or urine thats darker in color
Not being able to keep liquids down

Feeling dizzy when you stand up