Do you suspect that you are pregnant? While a DIY pregnancy test you can buy at any pharmacy will be able to give you a straight answer (2 lines means yes, and 1 line means no!), you usually need to be a few weeks into the pregnancy for the results to be accurate. If you take the test too early, this could mean a “false negative result”–one that tells you that you are not pregnant, even if you are!
But there are other ways to tell if you are a few weeks pregnant. Our bodies let us know when something big is happening in our bodies through signals that come in the form of the subtle or drastic changes we experience.
Here are momcenter’s top 8 signs of pregnancy. If you have most, or all of these symptoms then we do recommend you visit an obstetrician-gynecologist as soon as you can! 🙂
1. Constant tiredness. Do you suddenly feel as though you no longer have the energy to perform simple tasks, or at least ones you used to have no trouble doing? Is getting out of bed in the morning more of a chore than usual? Do you find yourself aching for more naps, and more sleep? This constant tiredness may be your body trying to tell you that it is doing a lot of work (aka, making a baby!) which is why you need to start resting up. Whether pregnant or not, listen to your body and take the breaks you need to recharge and recover.
2. Nausea. Do you find yourself dizzy and lightheaded? Does standing up from a lying position make your head spin? Is putting your head down at your desk to rest your eyes happening more than usual? Have you run to the toilet to throw up your breakfast lately? Nausea and vomiting are usually signs of early pregnancy, and are most common in the first trimester. Don’t worry! If you are pregnant, this will go away by the time you hit your 4th month of pregnancy.
3. Frequent urination. Do you find your self making frequent visits to the toilet during the day and waking up in the middle of the night to urinate? Do you feel as though your bladder is constantly full and bloated? This could mean you are pregnant. Hormonal changes during pregnancy raise the blood flow through your kidneys causing your bladder to become full quite quickly. If you are pregnant, you will experience more of this once your baby grows in size and puts weight on your bladder.
4. Enlarged and tender breasts. Do your breasts look larger and feel more tender than usual? Are they extra heavy and sensitive? This soreness and bloatedness may be caused by the rising level of hormones in your body in the early stages of pregnancy.
5. Food Aversion. Do familiar foods make you feel like vomiting? Whoever thought that the smell of your favorite adobo would suddenly send you running to the toilet? Studies have shown that an increased level of estrogen in one’s body may be linked to the gag reflex triggered by certain aromas while pregnant.
6. Spotting. Red spots in your underwear? Yikes! Doesn’t that mean something bad, like a miscarriage or vaginal bleeding? Yes, but it could also be a sign of implantation wherein the fertilized egg sets into the lining of your uterus. This could be the confirmation of pregnancy that you’ve been waiting for.
7. Mood Swings. Do you find yourself experiencing extreme emotions, feeling very happy one moment and very upset the next? Yup, you guessed it right, these may mean you are pregnant and that the hormonal changes are affecting your brain in an interesting way.
8. A missed period. If your cycle is regular, then this may be the most telling sign that you could be pregnant, next to a positive test and a confirmation from your doctor. Congratulations! However, if you have an irregular cycle, you may refer to the other symptoms above to confirm your suspicions.
, you usually need to be a few weeks into the pregnancy for the results to be accurate.){kind=link}