Am I really pregnant? You may be pregnant if you have been experiencing some of the 18 pregnancy symptoms below.
1. Nausea or morning sickness: Morning sickness is term to describe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. Most pregnant women experience morning sickness from the first month of pregnancy onwards. Morning sickness probably got it's name due to the fact that most of the nauseating symptoms start in the morning right after you get out of bed when your blood sugar levels are low. However, it may happen at any time of the day.
2. Headaches: If you have never experienced regular headaches before pregnancy, be prepared for some throbbing pain in your head and neck during pregnancy. The changes in your body's hormone levels during pregnancy is the main cause of headaches. Other causes like stress, poor posture, lack of sleep, dehydration and low blood sugar levels may lead to headaches too.
3. Dizziness and fainting spells: Due to the lowered blood pressure in your body during pregnancy, blood flow to the brain may cause dizziness and fainting spells in serious cases.
4. Mood swings: With your hormones raging, it is common for women to feel quick-tempered during their pregnancy. All women have to go through a period of adjustment to settle into their new roles as a pregnant women and that takes time.
5. Fatigue: Feeling sleppy is a very common symptom in pregnant women. Hormonal changes are usually the main cause of fatigue followed by the additional weight you have to carry around.
6. Food cravings: A strong desire for food that you don't usually eat could be an indication that you are pregnant. Many women crave for salty and sweet food while some develop a strange craving for fatty or spicy food.
7. Weight gain and bloating: Your growing baby and increased food intake will result in an unavoidable gain in weight and inability to fit into some of your clothes. An unexplainable increase in size of your tummy is also a clear sign that you may be pregnant.
8. Heartburn: The hormones in your body may relax the valve between your stomach and esophagus, causing a wave of gastric acid to flow upwards, which in turn causes an uncomfortable burning sensation.
9. Lower back pain: As your baby grows in size, the extra weight pulls your spine to the front of your body and causes you to experience some back pain every now and then.
10. Constipation: Hormones released during pregnancy tend to relax the intestines and cause constipation. This could be a sign of pregnancy if you do not experience constipation frequently.
11. Constant urination: Your growing baby in the uterus puts a lot of pressure on your bladder and you may find yourself visiting the loo more frequently than usual.
12. High Basal Body Temperature (BBT): If your BTT stays in the high temperature range for 18 days or more, you have a good chance of being pregnant.
13. Cramping: The growing uterus stretches to accommodate your new baby and this causes menstrual-like cramps to occur.
14. Spotting: Slight bleeding occurs during implantation of the fertilized egg to the lining of the uterus. This usually happens outside of a normal menstruation cycle so it should not be confused with a normal period.
15. Darkening of the areolas: Your areolas could darken and increase in diameter during pregnancy. This is caused by your body's preparation for your breasts to produce milk.
16. Tender or swollen breasts: It is common for women to have sore, tingly, tender or swollen breasts during pregnancy. This feels like a greater version of how your breast feels before your period.
17. Missed periods: If you have been sexually active and you missed a period, it is a good indication that are you are pregnant. A pregnancy test should be taken to confirm if the missed period is really caused by your pregnancy.
18. Positive pregnancy tests: Only a positive urine test or blood test can give you solid indication that you are pregnant. These tests may not be fool proof. Remember to visit a doctor to conduct further tests to confirm the results.
It is possible that you may have some of the symptoms above and not be pregnant. When you have a positive pregnancy test, visit a doctor to get more tests done to confirm your pregnancy. That's the only way to find out if you are truly pregnant.
