How do you recognize a pregnant woman? It is easy, she has a big belly! Of course, but what about before that point? There are many women who do not develop a large belly and very rarely before the first trimester. So how to know if you are pregnant? And how can anyone else tell if someone is pregnant?
There is no doubt that the signs of pregnancy are different for each woman, as not all of them react in the same way when the baby is implanted in the uterus.
Nevertheless, some pregnancy symptoms are particularly common and it can be very useful to know them in order to identify them and know if you are pregnant or not. So how does a woman know if she is pregnant? Well, it takes a little time because the first symptoms have to appear, but there are several of them!
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These Signs Will Tell that You Are Pregnant
Can one feel that she is pregnant? Yes, because most of the changes occur at the hormonal level, and this has physical consequences that women can more or less feel. The symptoms of pregnancy can help answer the question that everyone asks: “How do I know if I am pregnant?” If you especially wonder how to know if you are pregnant without a test, then these 10 signs that show you are pregnant are just for you!
How To Know You if Are Pregnant From Your Period?
The lack of menstruation around the expected date is one of the most well-known and easily identifiable symptoms of pregnancy. Indeed, menstruation serves to evacuate the mucous membrane put in place by the uterus in order to prepare for the arrival of a possible embryo.
When they don’t occur, it may be that a new baby is occupying the uterus, which instead strengthens its cozy nest… So how do you know if you’re pregnant? The presence or absence of menstruation can already provide an answer.
However, to know that you are pregnant cannot rely on this symptom alone and you should not think “you are pregnant” just because you do not have a period, or conversely, be happy with the presence of a period to know if you are not pregnant.
Actually, some women continue to menstruate even when they are pregnant, leading some women to be pregnant without knowing it, while other women may go several months without a period due to an irregular cycle or infertility. So how do you know if you’re pregnant by your period?
If you have your period and you are pregnant, how can you tell if you are pregnant, since they are not mutually incompatible? Having a pregnancy test is the best way to be sure. However, a blocked cervix, a cycle without ovulation, or a lack of pituitary or ovarian hormones can distort the answer to the question “how can I tell if I’m pregnant?
Do you find waiting for your next cycle too long? Luckily, there are other symptoms of how to tell if you’re pregnant before your period! There are plenty of signs to tell you that you’re pregnant.
How Do I Know if I’m Pregnant From Nausea and Vomiting?
You are healthy and yet you feel nauseous, especially in the morning, and sometimes even vomit? These symptoms are among those that tend to give a positive answer when you ask yourself “am I pregnant?” Sometimes nausea is accompanied by a particular disgust for certain tastes and smells.
The nausea and vomiting usually ends after the first trimester of pregnancy. This is a pregnancy symptom about 1 week after intercourse that you can’t miss if you’re pregnant! However, nausea can last longer, but then you won’t be wondering how you can tell if a woman is pregnant!
How To Tell if You Are Pregnant: Hypersensitive Breasts
One of the first symptoms of pregnancy is breast enlargement, even though the change may not be apparent at first. These changes in the breasts can cause pain similar to that experienced by some women as they approach their period. The breasts are heavy and tense, and they can help you tell if you’re pregnant without testing.
The nipples may also become darker in some women. How can you tell if you’re pregnant? Be aware of your body, both in terms of how you feel and visually. It is always difficult to answer the question “how do you know you are pregnant?” but once you are pregnant, sometimes the symptoms become obvious.
Cravings and Urges to Urinate and How to Know if You Are Pregnant
Eating and urinating are two frequently cited symptoms of pregnancy. Yet, only the latter is scientifically proven! When the embryo is well implanted in the uterus, it produces human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), which causes this constant need to go to the bathroom.
If you are looking for a way to know if you are pregnant without a pregnancy test, you may wonder how many times you go to the bathroom every day… How to know if you are pregnant is not always nice!
However, there is nothing to report about your stomach, and hunger cravings seem to be more of a psychological phenomenon than a real indicator to help answer the question “How do you know when you’re pregnant”!
Can You Tell if You Are Pregnant by Touching Your Belly?
How do you know if you are pregnant? One answer may lie in the sensations in the belly. In fact, the beginning of pregnancy can be accompanied by digestive disorders, which are manifested by abdominal pain for example, but also a swollen and tense belly.
The way to know if you are pregnant by touching your belly is simply by putting your hands on it, showing bloating by simple pressure. Do not expect to feel the fetus yet, this pleasure will come only after a few months!
How To Know if You Are Pregnant by Taking Your Temperature
You may have many questions about pregnancy and about how to find out if you are pregnant or not? Simply take your temperature! You should then take it every morning with a thermometer that is sensitive to the nearest tenth of a degree so you can draw a graph.
Do you notice an increase that stays stable for 14 days and then… doesn’t go down? Then you can finally tell yourself: “I’m pregnant!” In fact, the temperature is a reliable indicator of pregnancy, which even indicates when you have become pregnant because it clearly shows the day of ovulation.
A Range of Small Symptoms
There are plenty of other signs that show you are pregnant. In fact, the symptoms are very different and change from one woman to another. Not every woman who has had a baby will answer the question “how do you know you’re pregnant” in the same way. For example, some women may have mood disorders, such as hyperemotionality, while others may experience sleep disturbances, fatigue or a comeback of acne.
The pregnancy and its symptoms are specific to each person. People around you often notice hyperemotivity and will try to find out if you are pregnant by talking about you! Have you thought to yourself: “If I am pregnant, I will finally have beautiful skin and hair”? Well, there’s no way to know for sure!
When To Know That You Are Pregnant?
How long should you wait and how do you know if you are pregnant after intercourse? First signs of pregnancy appear after only a few days. So if you’re wondering how to tell if you’re pregnant after having sex, you’ll need to be a little patient.
Before you take a pregnancy test to be sure, you should wait until there is a significant production of hormones that can be detected by the test, approximately one week after your period. However, when trying to find out if you are pregnant in one week, you can only rely on the symptoms of the pregnant woman, which can be insufficient.
It is better to have the result validated by a medical test (urine analysis or blood test) after the pregnancy test. Knowing whether you are pregnant depends on the method used, which can also be an ultrasound. A gynecologist will tell if you are pregnant by performing a vaginal ultrasound.
I’m Pregnant: What Should I Do?
After wondering whether you are pregnant, the result is that you are indeed pregnant. In this case, you should turn to a gynecologist, who will follow up on the pregnancy. There will be more and more signs that you are pregnant and the appearance of a bouncing belly will soon let everyone know. If you are not pregnant, you must go to a hospital to make an appointment for an abortion.
There is a legal time limit of 20 weeks for this operation in many US states, so it is important to know how to find out if you are pregnant quickly, as well as to know the symptoms that will help you determine if you are pregnant or not.
The question of how to know if you are pregnant is one that concerns all women. When you dream of having a child, it is normal to wonder how you can tell if you are pregnant.
The symptoms of pregnancy felt at the beginning must however be confirmed by a medical test in order to validate the pregnancy and confirm that you are not ill. It is difficult to know if a woman is pregnant if you are just going by your feelings, as the signs of pregnancy are so varied and personal.
Is it your first pregnancy? Soon, you too will be able to explain to other women how you know you are pregnant, according to your own experience. It will be a pleasure to share your experience and advice!
Please Note: The above listed symptoms do not necessarily have to be caused by pregnancy. They may also be signs of an infection, stress or hormonal imbalance. But it can also be the case that you are pregnant without any of these symptoms occurring.
How Reliable Are Over-the-Counter Pregnancy Tests?
When the test indicates “pregnant”, this is a very reliable result. On the other hand, if the test reports “not pregnant” at an early stage, this is not a one hundred percent reliable result. Nevertheless, the woman can be pregnant, only the concentration of the pregnancy hormone in the urine is not yet high enough for the test.
In 2011, scientists at the University of New Mexico studied six different pregnancy tests. The tests detected between 54 and 97 percent of pregnancies on the first day of a missed period. A similar range was found in a British study in 2008, so anyone who expects to become pregnant should repeat the test a few days later, because the hormone concentration in the urine should then be higher.
FAQ About Pregnancy
In this part of our article, we will share some frequently asked questions about pregnancy, stay tuned.
Can you be pregnant despite bleeding?
Approximately five to ten days after successful fertilization, the cluster of cells that will be born as a baby in nine months has completed its implantation (implantation) into the uterine lining.
It may be that this “burrowing” has resulted in the injury of maternal blood vessels in the uterus, which is sometimes so severe that it is perceived as bleeding from the vagina. Such a menstruation-like bleeding in early pregnancy is called nidation bleeding or implantation bleeding.
The bleeding often consists only of drops or streaks, and the color is light red rather than brown. It is important to note that it does not become heavier over the next few days, as would be expected with normal menstruation.
The implantation bleeding may well be mistaken for a period bleeding, although it is generally lighter and occurs a little earlier. Anyway, it can lead to a mathematically incorrect determination of the gestational age – the pregnancy is then already 3-4 weeks further along than assumed at the next absence of menstruation. But this can be determined exactly at the first ultrasound examination at the latest.
Otherwise, it is not uncommon for such “spotting” to occur shortly after sexual intercourse as so-called contact bleeding and then has nothing to do with pregnancy. Specific hormonal fluctuations can also lead to spotting outside of menstruation.
Can you guess that you are pregnant before the pregnancy test is positive?
Often, women who have been pregnant before instinctively sense that the time has come again. In some cases, the first signs of pregnancy appear even before the pregnancy test shows a positive result. However, this is by no means a sure proof.
My breasts have grown so much bigger that they will probably burst soon. Each touch hurts. Will it stay like this through the whole pregnancy?
Your breasts change tremendously during pregnancy, especially if this is your first pregnancy. Not long after your period stops, most women notice that their breasts are larger, swollen and firmer – and at the same time very sensitive.
Surface blood vessels shine through the skin in a bluish color. All of these are symptoms of altered hormone balance. Estrogen and HPL (human placenta lactogen), and later also prolactin, promote the development of the mammary glands and prepare them for their task after birth.
The growth continues through the remaining weeks of pregnancy. A B cup often becomes a D cup or even more. On average, each breast weighs almost a pound more just before birth than it did before pregnancy. Generally, however, the tenderness and tightness will subside after the first 12 weeks.
For sore breasts, a full bath or warm poultice with lavender and neroli, for example, can be very relaxing. In order to feel more comfortable and to support the connective tissue, it is worth buying a well-fitting bra with wide straps right at the beginning of pregnancy. This may also serve you well at night.
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I am already in my 8th week, but I still don’t feel sick. Is there something wrong?
Typical early pregnancy symptoms do not necessarily always occur and can be quite different even in the same woman in successive pregnancies. Be glad that you are among the quarter of all pregnant women who are spared from nausea.
Additional common symptoms: 70-80% of all pregnant women experience breast tenderness, just over half of all pregnant women notice bladder weakness, increased salivation, vaginal discharge, constipation, and unusual binge eating.
Symptoms Indicating Pregnancy Complications
Many pregnant women may wonder if everything is okay and how to tell if it’s not. In fact, real complications are rare. Nevertheless, you should definitely know what to look out for. In the following we will talk about symptoms which you should be aware of.
- Bleeding from the vagina – there are several possible causes that are not dangerous for you and your child. But since certain examinations are required to rule out actual complications, if you experience vaginal bleeding, you should always consult your doctor or a clinic.
- Premature rupture of the membranes, or leakage of amniotic fluid, may be evident by a light trickle, steady flow or gush of amniotic fluid. This is a sign of the beginning of labor, which should not occur before the 38th week of pregnancy. Premature rupture of the membranes is when it occurs before the onset of labor. Therefore, contact your midwife or doctor in case of amniotic fluid leakage, but also in case of unclear fluid leakage.
- Persistent abdominal pain or regular contractions before 38 weeks of pregnancy may be signs of early labor.
- Altered or absent fetal movements, like the baby kicking or turning in your abdomen
- Severe headaches lasting for more than two or three hours
- Visual disturbances, for example, flickering or double vision
- More severe circulation problems or dizziness. A mild feeling of dizziness may also be a normal symptom of early pregnancy, often caused by lower blood pressure.
- Gaining more than one kilogram of weight per week without an excessive increase in food intake.
- Intense pain above the stomach, below the rib cage.
- Swelling or water retention (edema) in the face, eyes, or hands. Swelling of the feet or hands is normal during pregnancy, but should be watched.
- Vomiting more than twice or three times over several days, especially after the first trimester of pregnancy.
- Signs of infection such as fever, chills, burning during urination, vaginal itching, and discharge or diarrhea.
When should I see a doctor?
If you experience any of these symptoms, you should contact your midwife or doctor directly. This way, you will save yourself unnecessary worry and, if there is indeed a problem, you will receive the appropriate treatment right away.
Bottom Line
If you’re experiencing one or more of the above symptoms, it’s possible that you’re pregnant, but to be 100% sure, it’s important to do a pregnancy test. The urine pregnancy test is the cheapest and most widely used, and is accurate from the first day of a late period. There also exist early urinary tests, which can be taken a few days before the expected date of your period.
Furthermore, a test of self-diagnosis for the early detection of the hormone of pregnancy in the blood has recently been launched on the market; this test, through the puncture of the fingertip with a needle integrated into the stick, can detect early the presence of Beta hCG in the blood allowing, at the same time, an estimate of the date of conception.
If you have any other question about how to know if you are pregnant, let us know in the comments section below.
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