Am I pregnant- How to Know?
Yes… no… maybe..?
You’ll want to know as soon as possible. So how can you tell the early symptoms of pregnancy?
Even before you go for an early pregnancy test, you’ll have noticed some clues. Three common symptoms of pregnancy are:
Missed period
This is often the first clue, though it’s not a guarantee. A light amount of bleeding sometimes happens in pregnancy (often when progesterone levels are low). And some women have irregular periods. But a missed menstruation is often the first symptom of pregnancy.
Feeling sick
Not all pregnant women face nausea, but for some it starts early and may last through the first three months – and for a few, until the birth. Though unpleasant it’s nothing to worry about, and may be caused by high levels of progesterone.
Heavy breasts
A common give-away: tender or fuller breasts often follow soon after you fall pregnant. Nipples may be more sensitive.
More pregnancy symptoms:
* Sorry – but you may get constipated as progesterone relaxes the intestine
* Food may taste different – kind of metallic
* A need to wee frequently comes from pressure of the uterus on the bladder during the first three months. Look forward to it returning when baby is bigger
* Skin condition may get drier, while for other women skin, hair and nails have never looked better
* You will almost certainly feel tired: your body is busy, your heart pumping faster
So is a baby on the way? The next step is an early pregnancy test
Whether a positive result is on your current wish list or not, the moment you see a positive result on that little test stick is a pivotal experience for any woman.
But you don’t want to waste money and emotional energy taking tests too early or too often. If however you have experienced some of the normal pregnancy symptoms, you’ll probably want to test.
When to test?
All the inner activity of making a baby takes time. Home pregnancy tests work by detecting the presence of the hormone hCG (Beta Human Chorionic Gonadotropin) in urine.
This hormone is produced by the body when a fertilised egg implants in the uterus. Assuming intercourse happens at the right time in the menstrual cycle and you successfully conceive, hCG can usually be detected in the urine from about six to 14 days later. Hormone levels do have to rise high enough for the test to detect them.
The earliest you should test is seven DPO (days past ovulation). For more reliable results, take the test 9 to 11 DPO. This is why most pregnancy test packets state they can show a positive from five days before your missed period. However some pregnancies will still not yet show positive. To be sure, the ideal early pregnancy test time is 12 to 14 DPO – just before your next period is expected.
Many women prefer to wait until after the first missed period to take an early pregnancy test.
Author Bio: Debra Aspinall is an experienced journalist and the editor and leading writer for the Emma’s Diary website, one of the UKs foremost pregnancy and baby websites. She writes on pregnancy, pregnancy week by week, raspberry leaf tea and etc. If you are searching for free baby stuff, please visit us at Emmasdiary.co.uk.
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