Some things are just a little off… You feel exhausted. Your beloved coffee makes you nauseous. The smell of breakfast sends you over the edge, not to mention the room is spinning…. It may be time to rule out pregnancy.
Pregnancy symptoms vary from woman to woman. There are symptoms, however, that the vast majority of women experience early in their pregnancies. Some early symptoms include the following:
Missed period – This one seems obvious, but many women do not have regular menstrual cycles or they are too busy to notice that they are a few days late….
Fatigue – Increased hormone levels lead to more blood production, as your body works overtime to feed and build a new human! No wonder you’re tired.
Nausea – This is another byproduct of hormone fluctuations. Well, that and a new razor sharp sense of smell.
Tender breasts & nipples – This symptom can actually occur just a few days after conception.
Darkening, bumpy areolas – You may notice that the pigment around your nipples has darkened and looks goose bumpy. This is also caused by hormone fluctuations.
Urinary frequency – You guessed it. Hormone fluctuations are also the reason that you may have to pee more often. This may be noticeable two to three weeks after conception as hormones trigger increased blood and urine flow, which actually improves kidney efficiency.
Diagnosing Pregnancy
Thankfully, it is not difficult to diagnose a pregnancy these days. Home pregnancy tests have become more sophisticated and most of the time, accurate. These tests are able to detect HCG, human chorionic gonadotropin, which is a hormone produced by the placenta during pregnancy. These tests tend to be more accurate after a missed period. If you test too early, the test may show a false negative or a false positive, which is explained further below.
A lab or doctor’s office may opt to do blood work, which will detect HCG. This test is 100% accurate a week after conception.
False Positive?
It may be best to wait until you experience a missed period to take a pregnancy test. Taking it too early can lead to a “false positive.” This is due to a phenomenon called chemical pregnancy.
Sometimes pregnancy tests show a positive reading, simply because an egg has been fertilized. If a woman were to take a pregnancy test early in the pregnancy, she may get a positive reading because of this. She may, however, take another test two weeks later and get a negative result or even have her period.
Why would this happen? Well, the fertilized egg may have failed to implant into the uterus. That’s why it may be best to wait until you have missed a period to take a pregnancy test.
Pregnant?
Cross Roads Pregnancy Care Center can help! Call us today to learn more about our free pregnancy testing, early OB ultrasounds, and our Earn While You Learn parenting classes! We are here to support you through your pregnancy and beyond. Call us at 304-344-4511.
Source
Murkoff, Heidi and Sharon Mazel. What to Expect When You’re Expecting. Workman Publising, 2008.