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| Top 10 Signs of Pregnancy If you know your own body, you may begin to suspect you're pregnant soon after conception. Most women won't experience any early pregnancy symptoms until the fertilised egg attaches itself to the uterine wall, several days after conception. Others may notice no signs of pregnancy for weeks and begin to wonder if they are pregnant, only when they miss a period. Below is a list of some of the first signs of impending motherhood. You may experience all, some, or none of these symptoms of pregnancy: 1. Fatigue Are you feeling tired? High levels of the hormone progesterone can make you feel as if you've run a marathon when all you've done is put in a day at the office. Fatigue is a hallmark of early pregnancy, though probably not a surefire symptom on its own. 2. A missed period If you're usually pretty regular and your period is late, it's worth trying a pregnancy test. A missed period is the surest sign of pregnancy in a woman of childbearing age who usually has regular periods. 3. Morning sickness If you're lucky, morning sickness won't hit you until a few weeks after conception. But as early as a couple of days following conception, you may begin feeling nauseated and queasy. Pregnancy-related nausea can be a problem morning, noon, or night. 4. Tender, swollen breasts If you're pregnant, your breasts will probably become increasingly tender to the touch, similar to the way they feel before your period, only more so. Once your body grows accustomed to the hormone surge, the pain will subside. 5. Darkening of your areolas If the skin around your nipples gets darker, you may have successfully conceived, though this may also signal a hormonal imbalance unrelated to pregnancy or be a leftover effect from a previous pregnancy. 6. Constipation The hormones of pregnancy cause your intestines to slow down and become sluggish. Exercise, drinking plenty of water and eating high fiber foods can be very helpful in this issue. If this doesn't help, be sure to talk to your midwife or doctor for additional measures you can take. 7. Odd food cravings A sudden and inexplicable craving for certain foods is another potential, though not always reliable, sign of pregnancy. So if you find your spouse midnight snacking on a chili cheeseburger for the nth time this week, you have good reason to keep your fingers crossed. 8. Cranky moods Frequent mood swings and crankiness are yet another early pregnancy symptom, as you will soon find out. While this may not be the happiest part of the pregnancy where you are concerned, at least you can blame it on those raging hormones. 9. Urge to urinate During pregnancy, your spouse's body will release the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) that induces increased urination. 10. A positive home pregnancy test If you've waited to test until at least the first day of a missed period and a blue line appears in the test window, you're most likely to be in the family way. Make an appointment with your doctor to confirm the good news. |
