Am I Pregnant? Early Signs of Pregnancy

Am I pregnant? This is what we usually ask when we suspect that we might be pregnant. When we have unprotected sex the chances of getting pregnant are so high, most especially when we make love with our partner during our ovulation period. A woman's ovulation period happens approximately 14 days before her next menstrual flow. As a woman's ovulation approaches and when she engages in sex, her chances of getting pregnant increases. If you want to get pregnant or don't want to get pregnant yet, it is necessary to know when you will ovulate within the month. In this way, you can make love on those days that you are not fertile if you don't want to conceive first or you can make love during your ovulation period most especially on your most fertile day in order to get pregnant.

Pregnancy is one of the happiest stages of a woman’s life. It is a celebration of life. It is a gift from God that every woman should treasure. The father should value it so much. There are so many couples who want to have a child but they are not given yet. They still need to wait for many years before they are finally granted their wish. If yours have arrived already, the most important thing to do is to accept it heartily and with open arms.

There are cases of pregnancy where it can either be twins or a triplet. It is necessary to have regular check-ups in order to make sure the safety of your unborn child and in case of any birth defects. An ultrasound will help the couple identify whether they are going to have a male or a female as well as twins, triplets, etc. or if there is a possibility of miscarriage when the woman experiences its symptoms. An early ultrasound can give your doctor very important information on your little angel.

The World Health Organization considers a normal delivery as between 37 weeks and 42 weeks. According to Wikipedia, for a woman who has a regular four weeks menstrual cycle, the birth of the baby will be about 38 weeks after its conception. This is approximately 40 weeks from a woman’s last normal menstrual period (LNMP).

Are You Pregnant?

Now the questions is, are you pregnant? Some pregnancy signs maybe signs also of other
health problems so if you experience some, it does not guarantee you are really pregnant unless you have a combination of almost all of them.

A missed period may just be a sign of a hormonal problem or can be a sign of a more serious health problem. If you are at least 40 years old, it can also be a sign of menopause. However, a missed period is one of the most obvious signs of pregnancy for healthy women and those with normal menstrual cycle. Some missed periods can also be signs of either one of the following:

1.) Stress and Illness

Stress greatly affects the condition of our body. It may cause late periods or the absence of menstruation most especially if we undergo a lot of emotional stress. Once our emotional condition and stress is eliminated in our body then usually menstruation resumes. In some cases, stress also can make menstruation stop if she is so much worried if she is pregnant. An illness can also cause your menstruation to be delayed whether it is short or longer.

2.) Being Overweight or Underweight

Weight has a great influence on the hormonal balance of the body and menstruation. When a woman is overweight, this may cause the hormones to be out of balance thus making it difficult to conceive. On the other hand, if a woman is also underweight, her hormones would have difficulty or even stop working properly. In some cases, menstruation stops.

3.) Medications

Are you currently taking a medication? If yes, that might be the cause. Try to discuss with your doctor if the current medication you are taking may cause missed periods.

4.) Miscalculated Computation

Have you rechecked again when was the last time you had your period and when you are supposed to have your next period? Some people may commit this mistake and may have miscalculation in computing or counting the number of days of their next menstrual flow.

The average menstrual cycle is 28 days long. However, it may vary from woman to woman. Some women may have longer or shorter than 28 days. Menstruation comes approximately 2 weeks after ovulation. Maybe you try counting back again and try to remember when was your last ovulation period. It usually helps if you take note of you menstruation every month and the time you ovulate if you are trying to get pregnant or even for those who don’t want to get pregnant yet.

5.) Menopause

As I've mentioned above, menopause can also be a cause of missed period. Those who are in their menopausal stage already have irregular periods. There might be some months where there is no menstruation anymore, then in some month they come again. It becomes irregular until they actually stop.

Early Signs of Pregnancy

In order to confirm if you are really pregnant, here are some of the signs that will help you:

1.) Missed Period. The very first indication of pregnancy is missed period. However, you better check the other causes of missed periods above if its not because of them. When this happens, you can either wait for the following month if you will have a missed period again or use a pregnancy test to confirm your suspicion.

2.) Food cravings. Pregnant women love to eat different kinds of foods. Food cravings is one of the most common causes of pregnancy. However, this can also be a pre-menstrual syndrome. If the craving is due to pregnancy, it is usually accompanied by the other symptoms listed here.

3.) Fatigue. Pregnant women experiences extreme fatigue or exhaustion. When a woman is pregnant, high levels of hormone progesterone are being produced and this would make you feel like you have just joined and run a marathon even if you have not done something that would cause your exhaustion.

4.) Frequent Urination. This can be a sign of early pregnancy. Women experiences an increased need to pee. This condition usually lasts from early pregnancy until the third trimester. At this stage, the embryo has already implanted and starts producing the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG).

5.) Tender, swollen breasts and darkening of the areloa. A pregnant woman’s breasts usually becomes increasingly sore and tender to the touch. Some women experiences severe pain when wearing a bra. It would be slightly painful like when you are having a PMS before your period. When you have successfully conceived, the skin around your nipples (areola) becomes darker. You will also notice that towards the end of the first trimester or in the beginning of the second trimester, your breasts would begin to grow wherein the body is preparing it for nursing.

6.) Morning Sickness. Many women experiences morning sickness from as early as a few days after conception. You would feel nauseated and queasy in the mornings. For some women, it happens not only in the morning but also at noon and night.

Some women also experienced an altered sense of taste. Others say the feel a metallic taste in their mouth and to most women, they usually hate eating the foods they usually loved eating before they were pregnant. Cramping can also be experienced by some women as well as implantation bleeding. You will notice implantation spotting which is a slight staining of the brown color or pink. This is usually accompanied by cramping.

Another way to know if you are pregnant can be through a home pregnancy test. Some tests though may come negative, however, there are a few cases where you are actually pregnant even if it came out negative.

Last but the most important step to know if you are really pregnant is by consulting a doctor. At the doctor's office, the doctor will conduct some tests in order to confirm the matter.