Symptoms of Pregnancy
Pregnancy is the period between conception and child birth, a period in which a woman carries a growing and developing ‘baby’ in her womb. The following are some of the common pregnancy symptoms in women, symptoms that would tell you whether or not you are expectant.
Vomiting and nausea (morning sickness) — from the 5th – 6th week after conception, women will start to experience what is known as morning sickness. While this is not a sickness per se that affects women in the morning only, it tends to get worse at that time, and is normally characterized by vomiting and feeling nauseated all the time. Note that morning sickness could start as early as the first two weeks after conception, and would last for a period of 3-4 months. Other signs of morning sickness include feeling tired and fatigued all the time.
Change in breast size – one indicator of pregnancy is the change in feel and size of the breasts a few days after conception. After successful conception, your breasts will start to enlarge as they prepare for breast feeding. Most women have also reported feeling a sharp and blinking sensation on their breasts as they tend to become very sensitive.
Missed period – a missed monthly period is one of the major signs of pregnancy, although it could also be an indicator of other underlying conditions. Normally, missed periods are associated with polycystic ovary syndrome, a health condition where a woman receives her monthly periods months apart. Other things that could lead to missed periods include illnesses, stress, change of climate, poor dietary habits etc. Thus, in order to confirm that indeed you are pregnant; you should look out for other common pregnancy symptoms.
Change in smell and taste – when you are pregnant, you will have a sudden change in smell and taste, a factor that will make you crave for some foods and at the same time hate other foods.
Frequent urination – after conception has taken place, the bladder reduces in size to give room to the growing fetus, meaning you will have to urinate frequently so you can be relieved. So, if you suspect you could be pregnant within 2-3 weeks and are urinating frequently, most probably you are.
While all the above symptoms are great tell-tale signs that you could be pregnant, only a clinical pregnancy test can prove to you whether you are expectant or not. You can buy a home pregnancy test kit that is designed to detect the HCG levels in your urine. This pregnancy test kit would be effective at least 7 days of the day you last had intercourse and which you suspect could have led to you being pregnant. There are also blood tests that ascertain whether you are pregnant or not. If you are experiencing the above mentioned symptoms and a pregnancy test confirms positive, then you should contact an obstetrician who will schedule you into antenatal clinic and classes.
