Pregnancy is a wondrous journey of nine months, which can be equally exhilarating and confusing. If you’ve taken a home pregnancy test that returned positive results, now might be a good time to consult with your doctor. See if you truly are pregnant, since early pregnancy symptoms might be difficult to tell apart from simply experiencing some of the usual signs of the pre-menstrual syndromes. In case you’ve been wondering what those symptoms are, here is a brief and selective checklist, for your edification, listed below. As you read, however, bear in mind that their intensity, frequency and even occurrence widely vary from one woman to the next. As advised above, never simply assume you are pregnant based on a series of symptoms. Don’t fully rely on home pregnancy test results either. The only way to be sure is to ask an expert OB/GYN.
A Missed Period
One of the most frequently discussed early pregnancy symptoms is a missed period. Most women will worry when this occur. It’s always a good idea to keep track of your menstrual cycle. In case you don’t, or if yours is irregular, the situation can become further complicated. Also remember that it is not uncommon for women to actually be pregnant and still have one period overlap with the pregnancy. The period alone is never a reliable sign of pregnancy.
Sore Breasts
Many women are accustomed to experiencing this sensation when they are PMS-ing. All your bras suddenly appear to have shrunk, you can barely sleep on either side, and your chest is swollen, tender and in a sort of dull, constant pain. The reason why this is cited as one of the early pregnancy symptoms is that, at the onset of pregnancy, the body prepares to produce milk, in order for the yet unborn baby to be breastfed. Hormones are released into the body and most often the nipples become particularly painful and sore. They sometimes even change color and turn into a darker shade or become slightly brownish. Female breasts are an evolutionary trait that developed for the precise purpose of feeding the infant. They play an essential role in child-bearing and the new sensation of tenderness and soreness is just the breasts adapting to your new status.
Morning Sickness
This is one of those pregnancy symptoms you might be tempted to believe is a Hollywood movie cliché, especially if no one close to you has been pregnant, or if you are at your first pregnancy. However, it is entirely true that many women will develop an aversion to certain foods and smells during the time they are pregnant. This sensation will be accompanied by an inexplicable sensation of nausea, not caused by the ingestion of any particular type of food. Most often, morning sickness is caused by the hormones racing through your body, with which it is not accustomed and will need time to adapt to. During the morning sickness stage you might find that your typical breakfast is becoming harder to palate than usual… and that it’s even more difficult to keep the food down in your stomach.
