There are certain signs and symptoms that may indicate you’re in the early stages of pregnancy.
Although early pregnancy symptoms can vary for everyone, there are some common ones that many people experience within the first six weeks of their pregnancy and can last throughout the first trimester. Symptoms can even change throughout the pregnancy.
If you think you’re pregnant, it’s important to see a health care provider and take precautions: start taking a prenatal vitamin, get enough rest and avoid drinking alcohol.
[READ Pregnancy Checklist]
Common Early Pregnancy Signs
The most common early pregnancy signs and symptoms:
— Tender breasts and changes in breast size
— Morning sickness and nausea
— Fatigue and increased sleepiness
— A missed period
The degree to which you experience these signs can vary widely. Some women have many of these symptoms, while others barely notice them at all.
Tender breasts and changes in breast size
Due to fluctuating hormones, it’s common for your breasts to feel tender and to change in size early in pregnancy as your body prepares to breastfeed. In fact, this could be the first clue that you’re pregnant. However, for some women, breast soreness also commonly happens before or during menstruation.
Morning sickness and nausea
Often referred to as morning sickness, nausea and vomiting tends to be worse early in the day but can strike at any time.
The wrong smell may trigger nausea or vomiting. Sometimes, the symptoms seem to happen for no particular reason.
Here are some ways to cope with morning sickness:
— Try to eat a small snack, such as a few crackers, before you get out of bed.
— If it feels better for you, eat five or six small meals a day instead of three larger meals.
— Avoid odors that trigger your nausea or vomiting.
— Build extra time into your schedule to cope with any nausea or vomiting.
— Try natural treatments for nausea and vomiting. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology recommends individual use of or a combination of vitamin B6 and doxylamine, an over-the-counter sleep aid, for nausea. Some doctors also recommend trying ginger.
Fatigue and increased sleepiness
If you’re at your desk and easily doze off in a way you wouldn’t normally, that could be a potential pregnancy sign. It’s normal in early pregnancy to feel more wiped out because the body is changing to support the pregnancy.
Fatigue is especially common in the first and third trimesters. It’s more common in the first trimester because of hormone fluctuations that then improve by the second semester, says Dr. Kelli V. Burroughs, an OB-GYN with Memorial Hermann Health System in Sugar Land, Texas. That fatigue often returns in the third trimester and is tied in with trouble sleeping and physical discomfort, Burroughs explains.
Do your best to get a good night’s sleep and take naps if or when you can, advises Dr. Tochi Iroku-Malize, a family physician in Long Island, New York, and board chair at the American Academy of Family Physicians. The AAFP recommends 8 to 10 hours of sleep each night for pregnant women.
Let your health care provider know if you’re resting a lot but are still tired.
“In some cases, I might order blood work to rule out anemia,” says Dr. Anita N. Lwanga, an assistant professor of general internal medicine at the University of Saskatchewan and a general internist at the Saskatchewan Health Authority.
A missed period
There can be other causes of a missed period, such as stress or rapid weight changes. However, this is often a telltale sign associated with pregnancy. If you haven’t started your period by a week after you normally would, this could be a sign that you’re pregnant, unless your periods are irregular.
[READ: What Is Preeclampsia? Symptoms, Treatment and Prevention]
Less Obvious Pregnancy Signs
There are some pregnancy signs that are common but not as obvious as signs:
— Changes in appetite and food cravings
— Heightened sense of smell
— Mood swings and emotional changes
Changes in appetite and food cravings
Food cravings may provide a clue to being pregnant. It’s not always clear why certain food cravings occur when you’re pregnant, but experts say they may be linked to a heightened sense of smell and taste and changes to hormones.
Some women can develop cravings for non-food items, a condition called pica. This could mean cravings for baking soda, dirt or chalk, for example. Let your health care provider know if you’re experiencing pica, as it could be a sign of a nutritional deficiency.
Heightened sense of smell
If you’re pregnant, you may suddenly have a highly sensitive sense of smell due to changes in hormone levels that affect the olfactory system, Burroughs says. That sensitivity to some smells may trigger a negative response, such as nausea or reduced appetite. Other times early in pregnancy, you may find that certain smells are even more enjoyable.
Mood swings and emotional changes
If you’re feeling happy one minute and weepy the next early on in your pregnancy, you’re not alone. It can happen due to hormonal shifts, fatigue, pain or not feeling happy with changes to your appearance.
All of those changes — coupled with the mood swings — may leave you feeling more forgetful, stressed and unfocused, Iroku-Malize says. Make sure to reach out to loved ones and your health care provider for help coping with mood swings and emotional changes during pregnancy.
[Read: How to Get Pregnant Fast]
Physical and Bodily Changes
There are physical changes that occur during pregnancy, including:
— Frequent urination
— Changes in skin and hair
— Spotting and light bleeding
— Weight gain or weight loss
— Headaches
— Dizziness
— Having an autoimmune condition that improves
Frequent urination
Pregnant women often experience frequent urination due the hormonal changes that occur early on in pregnancy, as well as the physical internal changes in the body.
Staying hydrated is important during pregnancy, but it can get annoying to have to get up and pee so often, particularly at night. Cut down on liquids a couple hours before bed for a better night’s sleep.
Changes in skin and hair
Are you all of the sudden sporting glowing skin and shiny hair? You can thank your pregnancy for that.
“Skin changes like that ‘pregnant glow’ are caused by the body’s increased blood circulation, which can cause skin to be shiny and rosy,” Iroku-Malize says.
Spotting and light bleeding
Spotting can be a confusing pregnancy sign that may be mistaken for a period. Instead, the spotting may occur when the embryo attaches to the wall of the uterus, says Dr. Jessica A. Shepherd, an OB/GYN affiliated with Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. It also may be caused by hormone changes, having sex and changes to the cervix while you’re pregnant.
Still, you’ll want to let your health care provider know about spotting or light bleeding as it could also be a sign of a miscarriage or an ectopic pregnancy (a fertilized egg that implants outside of the uterus that won’t survive).
Weight gain or weight loss
During the first trimester, you may put on 1 to 5 pounds, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. However, some women gain no weight.
Surprisingly, weight loss can be a symptom of early pregnancy if you also have nausea and vomiting. That’s because those symptoms make it hard to hold down your food, leading to weight loss. Most women who lose weight in early pregnancy gain weight normally in the second trimester.
If you don’t have the typical pregnancy symptoms, it doesn’t mean your pregnancy is abnormal, Burroughs says. Also, if your symptoms improve unexpectedly, don’t be alarmed. It’s normal for symptoms to ebb and flow.
Headaches
You can often blame any new headaches on those crazy fluctuating hormones, particularly your estrogen level, when you’re in your early pregnancy. Take heart in knowing that your headaches will likely level off by the second trimester as your hormone levels plateau, Burroughs says.
Let your health care provider know if you’re having headaches that are persistent or that recur a lot. They also can be a sign of preeclampsia, a type of high blood pressure that’s unique to pregnancy.
Dizziness
Thanks to changes in your circulation, it’s not uncommon to feel more dizziness when you’re pregnant.
Here are some ways to cope with dizziness:
— Stay well-hydrated
— Try not to stand for long periods of time
— Move slowly as you transition from a seated to standing position
Having an autoimmune condition that improves
Patients with autoimmune conditions, like rheumatoid arthritis, may find their condition suddenly gets better, which could be a clue that they’re pregnant, Lwanga says. A 2022 report from Medscape found that 50% of pregnant women with rheumatoid arthritis had low disease activity while pregnant. There are theories about why these conditions get better during pregnancy, but it’s not completely clear.
When to Take a Pregnancy Test
A pregnancy test measures the level of the human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) hormone, which increases when you’re pregnant. Over-the-counter pregnancy tests are based on levels of the hCG hormone in your urine.
How to take a pregnancy test
For the most accurate results, the best time to take a pregnancy test is after you have missed your first period. If possible, take the test first thing in the morning, when your urine is more concentrated.
There are also pregnancy tests you can use up to six to eight days after ovulation.
The accuracy of pregnancy tests increases the further along you get in your pregnancy, so it’s possible to take a test early on and get a false negative result. That would mean that your body didn’t have enough of the hCG hormone to detect a pregnancy.
A blood test is another option a health care provider can order to confirm a pregnancy. This can be helpful if you’ve previously had:
— An ectopic pregnancy.
— Difficulty getting pregnant.
Understanding pregnancy test results
Make sure to review the instructions with the home pregnancy test so you can better understand the results.
Once you know you’re pregnant, set an appointment with a health care provider. Typically, they will schedule an in-office visit to see patients at 10 to 11 weeks of pregnancy, but each practice has their own recommendations. Of course, reach out to a health care provider anytime you’re pregnant and have a question. Let your provider know if you have any vaginal bleeding. Seek emergency care if you have heavy or painful bleeding.
Bottom Line
“Becoming healthy and living a healthy lifestyle can really help lead to a healthy pregnancy, baby and family,” says Dr. Lauren Demosthenes, senior medical director of Babyscripts, a virtual maternity care company in Washington, D.C.
In other words, if you can aim for healthier choices all or most of the time, that will lead to better odds if or when you do get pregnant.
While making it through the first trimester may feel like you’re running through an obstacle course, take heart in knowing that the second trimester is easier for many women and is often called the honeymoon period. In the second trimester, many pregnancy symptoms resolve.
Finding support and guidance
If you’re unsure if you’re pregnant or you’re looking for guidance during pregnancy, the best source is a health care provider, such as a primary care doctor, family doctor or an OB-GYN. They can help confirm your pregnancy and provide guidance on having the healthiest pregnancy possible.
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Early Signs of Pregnancy: Symptoms to Watch For originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 05/17/24: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
