A pregnancy is an amazing time in many women’s lives. It is full of anticipation and wonder, but did you know that there are some early pregnancy signs that can tip you off long before the stick turns blue? You body is always preparing itself for a successful pregnancy and even the smallest change can be a clue that something truly beautiful is happening to your body. If you suspect that you may be pregnant but know that it is too early to get a positive test result, even with the early detection pregnancy tests, keep your eyes peeled for some of this early pregnancy signs. Sometimes knowing that you are pregnant is as easy as listening carefully to your body.
A Sore Body and Mind
One of the most common early signs of pregnancy that many women miss is an overall sense of fatigue in their body and mind. This symptom is often overlooked because this is a common sign that your period is starting soon. While you will get more tired than usual when your menstrual cycle is set to begin, there can be a much deeper meaning to this lack luster feeling. The number one complaint that women in their first trimester have is how tired and sore they are. If you find that you are unable to pull yourself out of exhaustion in the morning, even after a full night’s sleep, you may want to test for pregnancy. Another symptom that you might see that goes hand in hand with fatigue, is a “lame brain”. Women claim to have experienced a brain delay when it comes to being able to tackle simple tasks which also can affect memory. You may be experienced this when you are pregnant because of the extreme tiredness you feel but also because of an increase in hormones in your system.
Another symptom that can also be found with your regular period cycle is a sore body, specifically sore breasts. Tender breasts can be a sign of pregnancy very early on in your pregnancy, up to one week after conception. This means that depending on when you conceived, you can get tender and sore breasts as early as three weeks before your missed period. So if you are starting to feel a lot of soreness in your breasts or even under your armpits, you might want to exercise certain precautions incase you are indeed pregnant. Some things that you may want to try to avoid if you have this sign is alcohol or other harmful substances until you get a definitive yes or no from an at home pregnancy test.
Blood Spotting
One of the more physical early pregnancy signs that most women experience is spotting. While spotting can be a sign of danger later on in a pregnancy, spotting in the very early days is actually a good thing. What is blood spotting? Spotting is most recognized as tiny little blood spots that most commonly appear in a woman’s underwear or when they wipe after urinating. While most the time, the spotting is light pink in color, it can appear to be dark red or even brownish. Many women confuse this with their normal period beginning. The best way to differentiate between a normal period cycle and early pregnancy spotting is that your period will continue to last for 3-6 days and while implantation spotting will only happen a handful of times.
If you are actively trying to get pregnant and are experiencing spotting, don’t freak out! This is a good thing. Spotting happens when an egg gets implanted into the wall of your uterus. When an egg is fertilized with sperm it still has another step to go before a fetus will form, and that is where the implantation comes into play. Implantation spotting can happen as early as six days after conception which means that this will be one of the first clues that you may be pregnant. While spotting is a painless symptom, some women do experience light cramping as well as light back cramps which only mean that your body is working properly to prepare for a baby to grow. While spotting is completely normal, if the spotting gets heavy or doesn’t seem to end after a day or two, you may be experiencing a normal period cycle or an early term miscarriage. If you are worried about this being a possibility, you should always consult your doctor.
Morning Sickness
Morning sickness is one of the more well known early pregnancy signs, but not every woman will experience it. Only around 20% of women will get morning sickness in the first trimester of their pregnancy, and that percentage only lessens in the very early days of pregnancy. Morning sickness is caused by nausea which will lead women to throw up or have to deal with “sour stomach” throughout the day. While the term morning sickness is a popular way to refer to this early pregnancy sign, it isn’t only found in the early mornings. Most women experience this nausea all day long even though it does seem to be heightened in the early morning hours.
So why do pregnant women experience morning sickness? This is because when I woman is expecting a child, their body is changing. That means that every part of their body will be experiencing change. This is because of the raised amount of pregnancy hormones in their systems which affect everything from their muscles to their stomachs. Because morning sickness can rear its ugly head as early as one week after conception, many women confuse this early pregnancy sign which other stomach troubles like the flu or food poisoning. If you know that you have been trying to get pregnant and are also feeling extremely nauseous in the morning, you should remember that it is important to take care of your body in case you are indeed pregnant. One way to combat morning sickness is to stay hydrated and trying keeping your diet restricted to easily digested foods.
Missed Period
While most of the early signs of pregnancy will happen one to two weeks after conception, a missed period is the last missing puzzle piece. Most woman get their regular periods every 26-30 days which means that you have conceived early on in your ovulation cycle, you will need to wait nearly a month to experience this early pregnancy sign. This also means that you won’t be able to accurately take a pregnancy test until the first day of your missed period. While this may seem like a lifetime to wait for women who are hoping for a positive response, you need to remember that pregnancy is a long journey and while a few weeks may seem impossible, you have 42 weeks still to go if you are pregnant. While a missed period does not automatically mean that you are actually pregnant, it is one of the most common reasons for missing your menstrual cycle.
The best part about getting a missed period is if you are trying to get pregnant this is now the perfect time to take an at home pregnancy test. Most pregnancy tests will give you an accurate reading after your missed period which can help to ease you mind when it comes to whether or not your life will change forever.
Emotional and Behavioral Changes
One of the early pregnancy signs that are hard to decipher is the change in your mood and behavior. Many women have this overwhelming instinct to protect themselves and the life that is potentially growing inside of them. This can happen even before a woman knows for sure that she is pregnant. Along with this motherly instinct comes a new wave of feelings and emotions. The change in behavior is due to an increase of hormones in your system. The signs can be as little as crying at seemingly mundane things like commercials or even a feeling of being slightly out of control of how you process everyday tasks. This early pregnancy sign can be hard to spot because this is also a common sign that your period may be starting soon. The best way to know that if this sudden rise in hormones is due to a pregnancy is to pay attention to when it begins. An increase in hormonal activity can start as early as six days after conceptions which may even mean that you will feel this change as early as three weeks before your missed period.
Final Thoughts
Like most things in life, early pregnancy signs can be easily missed if you are not careful enough. While simply having some sickness in the morning may not be enough to sway your mind into thinking you are actually pregnant, a combination is a great way of knowing what to expect. For example, if you are finding it hard to get a grasp on your emotions, while having tender breasts and spotting, chances are you might be expecting a positive pregnancy test in your near future. While the early pregnancy signs are there to act as a warning to your system, the only way to know for sure it to wait until you are ready to take a test. Good luck.
