During pregnancy, a woman experiences many hormonal changes in her body.
The intensity and the number of symptoms varies from woman to woman as they all have different body structure and type.
Some early pregnancy symptoms include missed periods, breast changes, morning sickness, and Nausea.
Though one must remember that these symptoms do not necessarily mean that a woman is pregnant, these symptoms can also be related to other health issues.
To be sure, taking a home pregnancy test and visiting a doctor is advisable.
Common Pregnancy Symptoms
Listed below are some of the most common early pregnancy symptoms, though remember that these symptoms can also pop up due to some other health-related issue, that is why consulting a doctor is advisable:
Missed Periods
Missing periods are usually considered the first sign of pregnancy, but it is by no means absolute.
A lot of women have irregular menstrual cycles, and they experience late periods and this delay is often confused with missing periods or pregnancy.
If you are pregnant, your body will start producing HCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin). Most home testing kits can easily detect HCG in your urine and show whether you are pregnant.
Cramping and Spotting
For the first four weeks, everything happens at the cellular level, and the fertilized egg creates a blastocyst (a fluid-filled group of cells), and at the later stage, this gets converted into the fetus’s organs and body parts.
The blastocyst will get implanted in the endometrium, the lining of the uterus, around 10 to 14 days after conception.
This whole process can cause bleeding from implantation, usually mistaken for a light period.
Do not take cigarettes, drink alcohol, or use illegal drugs associated with severe bleeding.
Nausea
Morning sickness is a familiar pregnancy symptom. But not every woman who is pregnant experiences it.
The precise cause of morning sickness is not clear, but it is likely that hormones released by the body during pregnancy cause it.
Nausea can occur during pregnancy at any time of day but most commonly in the morning.
Craving a particular delicacy or not being able to tolerate certain dishes during pregnancy is also linked to changes in hormones.
The effect can be so intense that a pregnant woman’s stomach can start hating the food it used to love.
All this can be due to Nausea; these cravings due to pregnancy can last throughout the entirety of 9 months.
Luckily, for many women, the symptoms drop at around the 13th or 14th week of their pregnancy.
Fatigue
Fatigue in the early stages of pregnancy is usually due to the massive increase in the sex hormones known as progesterone.
Though progesterone is necessary to maintain the pregnancy and for the baby’s growth and development, it slows down the body’s metabolism and causes fatigue.
The best way to battle this fatigue is to get as much sleep as possible, but by the fourth month, your energy levels will return to normal as the placenta gets established.
Anemia is also one of the significant causes of fatigue during pregnancy. It happens due to the deficiency of iron in the body.
Consuming iron-rich food is essential; and in some cases, doctors also prescribe iron tablets.
Increased Heart Rate
Between the 8th to 10th week of pregnancy, you might experience an increased heart rate, due to the release of certain hormones.
Palpitations and Arrhythmias become very common in pregnancy. A study in 2016 showed that blood flow increases by 30 to 50 percent during pregnancy, adding to your heart’s workload.
Mood Swings
Mood swings are common during pregnancy. Since the levels of estrogen and progesterone remain high during pregnancy, this can affect one’s mood a lot and make them more anxious, irritated, depressed, or reactive.
High Blood Pressure
In most cases, the normal blood pressure of the body will decrease during the early stages of pregnancy. It can also induce dizziness due to the dilation of the blood vessels.
High blood pressure or Hypertension is very difficult to track during pregnancy. During your first visit to the doctor, they will check your blood pressure and establish a baseline for the standard blood pressure reading.
Changes in breasts
Changes in the breast may occur between weeks 4 to 6. Due to the hormone shift, you are likely to grow tender and swollen breasts.
Your breasts will probably return to normal after a couple of weeks when your body has adjusted to the hormonal changes.
Changes in the nipples and breasts can also occur during the 11th week. Hormones keep making your breasts grow.
The Isola — the area around the nipple — can grow into a darker color.
Frequent Urination
As per popular belief the rise in bathroom breaks comes later when the baby sits on your but that’s not true.
The expanding uterus will not only place pressure on the bladder, but the additional blood flow to the kidneys (which begins immediately) also creates pressure causing frequent urination.
There is not much to do about it unless burning, urgency, or other signs of infection accompany frequent urination. (Tell your doctor if so.) Don’t cut down on your fluid intake.
Headache
The increased blood volume in the first few weeks of pregnancy can trigger frequent but mild headaches. These headaches can also occur if you don’t drink enough fluids or if you are anemic.
The good news: As the pregnancy progresses, migraines become less frequent.
Conclusion
The best way of making sure whether you are pregnant or not is with the help of a home pregnancy test kit.You can also consult a doctor to be 100% sure.
Though symptoms like missed periods, Nausea, Fatigue, High Blood Pressure etc., are also indicative.
But these can also occur due to other health issues so you can never be sure with them.
There are several home remedies and self-care strategies that can help relieve some of the unpleasant pregnancy symptoms.
Many medications are also safe to take during pregnancy, including antibiotics. Consult your doctor before taking any prescription or any other supplements or vitamins like Prenatal vitamins, Folate, Fish oil etc.