Early signs of pregnancy
So you think you might be pregnant? It’s a bit of a guessing game until you know for sure.
I’m Clare and I’m a midwife and I’m going to be talking through some of the early signs of pregnancy, from the ones you may know already to the ones perhaps you didn’t know.
Obviously if you think you are pregnant it’s really important to go to your GP or midwife, it’s best to know as soon as possible.
Fair warning, this is going to get a little bit graphic as we discuss bodily functions.
So let’s start with the obvious one, missing a period. Women who have a regular menstrual cycle will miss a period around 4 weeks after their last one.
That means that you will be about four weeks pregnant.
Another really obvious sign is nausea. It’s a bit of a misnomer to call it morning sickness, as it’s really all-day sickness! Professionals tend to call it pregnancy sickness’.
But Hollywood love to use the image of a woman rushing out of bed in the morning and going straight to the loo. If only it was that simple.
Really it’s the hormone hCG is growing in your system and this makes you feel sick.
This starts around the 6th week and usually ends around 13 weeks. But for some unlucky people, it can go all the way through.
One of the ones you may not know is implantation. It’s a short sharp pain in your lower abdomen
Basically, the pain that you are feeling the fertilised egg implanting in the wall of your womb. It feels a bit like a pinch, but not everyone gets it.
The next one is linked to the last one – implantation bleeding happens for some women.
This bleeding isn’t heavy, fresh, red bleeding. But some women have a brown or pink loss when they wipe after going to the toilet.
This is the egg implanting in the wall of your uterus. The bit of the wall of the uterus that it is implanted into then comes away and what you have is bleeding.
Usually, it’s really light, but some women do mistake it for the start of their period.
The next one is one of the most common – extreme tiredness.
This starts around when you miss your period and lasts until around 13 weeks.
This isn’t going to bed a bit earlier, this all-encompassing, conk out on the sofa tiredness.
This is your hormones at play. When you’re pregnant everything is all over the place – it makes you feel exhausted!
The next symptom is sore breasts. This is also very common. They may feel heavy, sore or tender.
Some women describe it as a tingling sensation, others say it’s a pinching sensation behind the nipples.
Your body is getting ready to feed the baby.
A sore back is another common sign, that is often mistaken for starting your period.
This is the hormone relaxin going through your system and relaxing every muscle. But it can throw your back out!
Here’s a graphic one: cervical mucus. Yep, we’re gonna talk about it.
When you’re pregnant at the start you get lots of thin, sticky, cervical mucus.
However, as it advances the progesterone in your body builds and makes it much thicker and stickier. Delightful.
This can start at any time, your hormones are always producing discharge, but you might notice this soon after you miss your period.
The discharge will continue all the way through. But it will change in the way it looks as you go on.
The next one is a heightened sense of smell. It means you have the snout of a dog and can smell things at 20 paces.
Usually, the biggest culprits are coffee and tobacco.
A lot of women say they have a funny taste in their mouths, which is called dysgeusia.
It’s down to your progesterone again, coming back to give you a kick in the backside!
A lot of women say their skin changes when they are pregnant. It may go really bad and have lots of spots. Or it may be better than usual.
It tends to go one way or the other. Double-edged sword that one. It’s all down to your hormones again and it usually passes around week 13.
Dizziness is also really common. The progesterone is coming in, and giving you a kick.
It dilates your blood vessels, which means that your blood pressure drops. That can make you feel lightheaded and dizzy.
Some women describe having hot flushes, it’s usually linked to menopause, but it can happen in pregnancy too, at around 4 – 6 weeks. It’s not that common, but not unusual.
The final one is a very occasional one – an excessive thirst. It’s nothing to worry about – but keep some water nearby!
As you’ve probably guessed a lot of these are like the start of your period. If you are unsure buy a pregnancy test or go and see your GP.
Mumsnet has its own pregnancy calendar, you can log on and cross-reference your symptoms according to how far gone you are.
If you are pregnant, you can check in with Mumsnet. There is loads of content for every part of your pregnancy, as well as a great support network.