Early Pregnancy Signs And Symptoms

**Spiral** · #1 (**permalink**) 10-03-2008, 09:00 AM

If you have been trying to get pregnant, or you have a suspicion that you may have conceived, there are some common signs and symptoms that occur to most women early in their pregnancy. These symptoms include emotional signs as well as physical symptoms. If you identify with these signs, and feel that you may be pregnant, it is important to confirm your pregnancy as early as possible to begin prenatal care for you and your new baby.

A missed period is one of the most obvious signs of pregnancy, but by the time you realize you have missed your period you could already be 2-3 weeks pregnant. Some early symptoms of pregnancy begin even before a missed period. These signs include flu like symptoms, fatigue, headache, implantation bleeding, mood swings, nausea, changes in your breasts, frequent urination, and odd food cravings. Many of these symptoms mimic pre-menstrual symptoms and can occur a few days after conception occurs.

Fatigue, swollen and tender breasts, headaches, flu like symptoms, and mood swings can begin as early as one to two weeks into your pregnancy. As your pregnancy progresses, your areolas will darken and swell, and some of the early symptoms will subside. Many women report feeling severe fatigue very early in their pregnancy; the fatigue quickly goes away and then they feel quite energetic until late in the pregnancy. Implantation bleeding occurs when the fertilized egg implants itself into the uterine wall; this process occurs 6-12 days after conception and may be accompanied by light spotting and cramps. Mood swings can be quite severe early in a pregnancy, and may include feelings of euphoria followed by depression or sadness; again, many of these mood swings are similar to emotional changes that women experience during PMS. Pregnancy symptoms such as frequent urination, morning sickness and nausea, and odd food cravings generally begin around 2-3 weeks into the pregnancy; sometimes these symptoms do not occur until 4-6 weeks into the pregnancy.

Some women do not experience a missed period during the first few weeks of pregnancy; a period that occurs during the first weeks of pregnancy may be either normal or abnormal. Abnormal periods that occur during the first few weeks of a pregnancy can include a lighter than normal period, spotting, or a very short period. Of course, any bleeding that occurs when you may be pregnant needs to be checked by a doctor immediately.

If you are experiencing some of these symptoms, and there is a possibility that you can be pregnant, than you should take a pregnancy test as soon as possible. Over the counter urine tests and blood tests performed by a physician detect levels of human chorionic gonadotropin, (HCG), in your blood; this hormone is released by the developing placenta and begins to appear in the blood as little as 5 days after conception. Over the counter urine tests are up to 97% accurate; these tests are usually not able to detect HCG in your urine until one week after your missed period. Blood tests are up to 99% accurate, and these tests can detect HGC in your blood as soon as 7 days after your ovulation.

It is important for you to confirm your pregnancy as early as possible so that you can begin your prenatal care. Early prenatal care is important to the health of your new baby and you during this time. Once you begin to notice any early pregnancy symptoms, and you believe that you may be pregnant, take a test as soon as you can. If you take an over the counter test and it is positive, have the test confirmed by your physician. Remember to stay relaxed during this time, and try to keep your stress levels down.