A pregnancy test might be the only sure way to tell if you are pregnant, but there are those early pregnancy symptoms that moms to be experience in the early stages. These early pregnancy symptoms vary from woman to woman. No need to be alarmed if you don’t experience some of them.
Apart from the missed period, there are other symptoms moms to be might go through. It’s important to note that they also differ from pregnancy to pregnancy. Some of these signs might surprise you, others signs might be familiar and others completely new to you.
Some of these signs occur as early as the day of ovulation while some will appear after 2 weeks of conception .
These early pregnancy signs will help you decide if you want to do further testing. For many women, a store-bought pregnancy test might not be able to give concrete results until just a day or so before your period is due. These signs come as a big advantage.
1. Tender Breasts
Are your boobs feeling sore, heavy, tingly or a bit tender? Tender breasts are one of the first early pregnancy symptoms that most women go through. This can be mistaken for period symptom so it’s advisable to look out for other symptoms.
Changes in the boobs can start as early as 1 or 2 weeks after conception due to the change in the hormones. The body starts to get ready to produce milk even though you are months away from breastfeeding hence the tenderness.
The breasts might feel fuller, heavy, painful or even itchy and the veins on your breasts may become more pronounced.
2. Early Pregnancy Symptoms: Nausea
This is one of the early pregnancy symptoms that many mamas go through. Most common and easy symptoms to notice. It starts between 2-8 weeks after constipation. Nausea is also what most people refer to as morning sickness. It’s not only in the morning, but it can also be experienced any time during the day.
This is different for every mama to be. Some feel the urge to throw up but nothing happens, some actually throw up while others just feel out of place in the morning. For most pregnant women it occurs during the first trimester and subsides after that which for others it lasts throughout the pregnancy.
The sense of smell is also heightened which leads to sensitivity making you react to certain smells which can lead to nausea.
Some of the few ways you can relieve morning sickness are having plenty of rest, staying hydrated, avoiding spicy food and chewing ginger.
3. Headaches
Frequent mild headaches are common in early pregnancy. This can result from a few causes such as the rise of hormones, stress, muscle tension, dehydration, lack of sleep and blood flow in your body. Due to hormones levels change, some women might experience low blood pressure which may cause migraines.
To reduce the headaches, drink plenty of water, get enough sleep and try to reduce the stress as much as possible.
4. Fatigue or Tiredness
Fatigue is something you have to learn to cope with during pregnancy, well even in motherhood. The key is to always create time to rest. This symptom can appear as early as the first week of conception.
All thanks to the hormones that make you sleepy and the increased production of blood energy that can completely drain your energy. Also not forgetting that your body is now concentrating on making the baby which means that your body is working overtime. Some women might feel so exhausted to a point they can’t get up and function at all.
5. Backaches
Experiencing lower backaches are common early pregnancy symptoms. This shouldn’t come as a surprise because your body is gearing to grow. Since your body starts to loosen your joints and ligament as a way to get ready for childbirth you may experience some back pain. This might appear at the beginning of your pregnancy and for some moms to be it may continue until childbirth.
Below are pregnancy tests that show early results. You can be able to tell if you are pregnant even before your missed period.
First Response Early Result Pregnancy Test
Clearblue Smart Countdown & Rapid Detection
6. Darkening of Areolas
It’s normal for the area around your nipples to darken and to widen. If you experience this change on the areola then you might be pregnant. This can happen as early as a week after conception due to the change in the hormones since your body has started to prepare for the baby, precisely the boobs for breastfeeding later on. Your nipple might also harden and the number of bumps around them increases.
7. Frequent Urination
This is another common early symptom that so many moms go through. The need to pee all the time especially at night is not fun. This kicks in about 2-3 weeks after conception due to the hormones and to the increased blood flow which causes your kidneys to produce more urine. This is not only at the beginning but also through our pregnancy because as the baby gets big and starts pressing the bladder, frequent trips to the loo they become a thing.
8. Constipation
As your body changes the hormone progesterone gets released to the body at high levels. The progesterone causes the digestive system to slow down which results in constipation which can be so uncomfortable. Some of the natural ways to deal with constipation during pregnancy are to drink lots of water, incorporating some exercises and eating high fiber food like whole grain and brown pasta.
9. Early Pregnancy Symptoms: Heartburn
This is another one of the early pregnancy symptoms that can easily be missed out. Be on the lookout for that burning sensation in your chest that feels like its getting worse when you lean over or lie down. This is caused by digestive changes since there are so many hormones being released to your body.
If you get heartburn try eating smaller portions of food regularly and resist from lying down immediately after eating, you could also avoid certain food like citrus fruits and try to sleep on the left side.
10. Vaginal discharge
You should expect cervical mucus during pregnancy. Brown or pinkish discharge may occur which could be a sign of implantation bleeding. This is one of the few early pregnancy symptoms that you might want to get used to as the vaginal discharge become even more and sticks throughout the entire pregnancy. It’s time to stock up on those panty liners.
You might also notice an increase in the white vaginal discharge which is a way for your body to clean out the vagina and to provide a barrier to keep bacteria out.
11. Mood swings
Mood swings is a common pregnancy sign that most women go through. They can be so cruel. Things that wouldn’t irritate you start to bother you. We all know of women who are so moody when they are on periods, now picture having that for 9 months. Don’t be surprised if get irritated by your husband’s mere presence or just a drop of a pin.
Have become a little emotional lately? Don’t be alarmed. It’s common. All thanks to all the hormones your body is producing during the early stages of your pregnancy. To try and curb the mood swings, try getting out of your environment for some fresh air.
12. Spitting
Spitting is one of the weird early pregnancy symptoms. It’s one of those disgusting things that come with pregnancy. Not to worry as it doesn’t last, it will pass after a few weeks. For most moms to be, the saliva overproduction disappears when the morning sickness goes away. Usually after the 14 weeks.
13. Cramping & Spotting
This is so common to many women as it’s a sign of implantation. This is when the fertilized egg implants itself into the lining of the uterus. The cramping might not be very bad as it might feel like the start of your period. The muscles and tendons around your uterus are going to stretch to accommodate your growing pregnancy hence the cramping. This may continue into the early first trimester of pregnancy as the embryo burrows deeper into the uterine wall.
While these 13 early pregnancy symptoms might indicate that you are pregnant, taking a pregnancy test is the only way you can be sure because most of them mirror period symptoms, can easily be missed.