Pregnancy is a wonderful journey. Getting to know about it is an immemorable moment. After you have missed a period, you will have to wait for at least a week for the pregnancy urine test to show those double lines. How easier it would be if you could come to know that you are pregnant soon after conception?
Well, there are a few signs which appear in the first month of pregnancy, which if observed carefully, could let you know that you are pregnant even before the test. Read below to know.
Lesser Known Earliest Signs Of Pregnancy
1. Tender Breasts
Change in the breasts is one of the earliest signs of pregnancy. Your breasts become tender, sensitive, and painful. The bra that fit you comfortably till now might suddenly hurt you for being tight or harsh on your skin. This is due to the increased levels of hormones in the body. In some women, the area around the nipples might appear darker in as early as the first month of pregnancy.
2. Vivid Dreams Or Nightmares
If you are able to recall all the minute details of your dreams the next morning, or if you find yourself in an inescapable situation in your dream, you are probably pregnant. However, if this is something you commonly experience, it might not be a sign of pregnancy.
3. Increased Body Temperature
You will see a significant increase in the body temperature during the early pregnancy days. This is due to the increased levels of progesterone, which further elevates the basal body temperature (BBT). This is more noticeable if you are charting your BBT regularly. In case you are not pregnant, your BBT drops few days after your ovulation.
4. Bloating And Gas
You may feel bloated whole day due to either gas or constipation. The change in the level of hormones during pregnancy slows your digestive system, such that there is a continuous supply of nutrients to the baby. Bloating is also caused due to the expanding uterus. You may feel full with smaller portions of meals or even without eating anything.
5. Heartburn
Again, the hormones are causing a cascade of changes in your body. Acid reflux is one of them. This results in heartburn, where the foods that were a part of your daily diet could sometimes cause discomfort. The valve between your stomach and esophagus gets relaxed during pregnancy, which causes the acids from the stomach to leak into the esophagus.
6. Increased Sense Of Smell
Pregnancy elevates your sense of smell. Thus, the slightest foul smell could make you nauseous. In some women, certain peculiar smells which are not foul or were completely not noticeable before could also induce nausea. Most common smells that induce discomfort are food and cooking related.
7. Extreme Mood Swings
The hormones cause a havoc to your emotions during pregnancy. You will be very happy and cheerful at the moment, but would get all grumpy and irritated the next moment. This moodiness might be confused with PMS. However, the intensity is much higher.
8. Continuous Fatigue
If you feel tired very often throughout the day, to an extent that you would want to sleep, it means that your body is busy supporting the growth of the baby. The first trimester of the pregnancy has a marked increase in the level of fatigue, which reduces with passing time. However, it prevails throughout pregnancy in some women.
9. Spotting
At around 8–10 days after ovulation, you might experience light spotting. This could occur few days before your periods and is characterized by pink discharge and not the normal bloody discharge. This indicates the implantation of the embryo to the uterine wall.
10. Nasal Stuffiness
The immune levels of the body go down during the early stages of pregnancy. This is the body’s clever way of saving the fetus from being treated as a foreign object. This might make you more prone to infections and the one that tops the list is nasal congestion and stuffiness.
If you experience any of the above or the combination of above symptoms, the probabilities are high that you are pregnant. Confirming it with a test opens the gate to motherhood!
