Typical First Signs a Woman is Pregnant

Mar 5, 2010Aimee Larsen Stoddard

What are the signs and symptoms of pregnancy? Early on, it can be difficult to figure out if the signs a woman is experiencing are symptoms of pregnancy or something else. Common pregnancy signs vary from subtle to not so subtle. Women experience common pregnancy symptoms differently, and some women do not experience pregnancy signs at all.

Common Signs and Symptoms of Pregnancy

One of the first and most reliable pregnancy signs is a missed menstrual period. however, this does not always indicate that a woman is pregnant. A woman’s period is sometimes delayed because of stress or other causes. To determine whether a missed period is due to pregnancy, take a pregnancy test. according to WomensHealth.gov, pregnancy tests are over 99% accurate if a woman waits until one week after her missed period to use a test.

When conception occurs, the fertilized egg implants into a woman’s uterine lining. A small amount of vaginal bleeding sometimes happens. this bleeding is lighter and spottier than normal menstruation. nevertheless, it can be difficult to tell the difference between implantation bleeding and impending menstruation.

As a woman’s body prepares for pregnancy, hormonal fluctuation frequently cause changes in how the woman feels. she might feel more fatigued and moodier than usual. she might experience headaches, dizziness, cramps, and lower back pain. she might notice her breasts are swollen and the area around the nipples, the areolas, are darker. she may need to urinate more often, or she might feel constipated. Food cravings, food aversions, a heightened sense of smell, and nausea are also common pregnancy signs.

According to Ovulation-Calculator.com, an elevated basal body temperature can be a sign of pregnancy. A woman’s basal body temperature goes up slightly when she ovulates and remains elevated until she has her period. A raised basal body temperature for more than two weeks might indicate a woman has conceived.

Pregnant Women’s Sixth Sense

Interestingly, many women intuitively know when they are pregnant. they just “feel pregnant.” Many women report experiencing subtle changes in their bodies that indicate to them that they are unmistakably pregnant. Pattie Hughes, in her article titled “Learning you Are Pregnant through Intuition” on Families.com, remarked, “It is not uncommon for women to know they are pregnant well before it is early enough to take a pregnancy test. I've known women who have never taken a test beyond their first pregnancies because their intuition was so strong that they just knew they were pregnant.”

Conditions That have the same Signs, Symptoms as Pregnancy

Figuring out if one is pregnant can be challenging because the signs and symptoms of conception are not specific to pregnancy. Many of the symptoms could indicate illness, such as a cold or the flu, and some of the signs are the same symptoms women experience when their bodies are preparing for monthly menstruation. To add further complication, some women experience no pregnancy signs or symptoms whatsoever.

Pregnancy Test Is most Reliable way to Verify Pregnancy

The symptoms and signs of pregnancy vary from mild to more noticeable. nevertheless, determining whether one has conceived on the basis of physical symptoms alone is unreliable because these signs can also be indicative of other conditions. A pregnancy test is the most reliable and effective way to determine if one is pregnant. however, if the test is used too soon, the result could be a false negative.

Readers might also be interested in learning about pregnancy stretch marks, brown pregnancy face spots (chloasma), or the importance of folic acid during pregnancy.

What Are Most Common Early Pregnancy Symptoms?: Typical Earliest ...