Early Pregnancy Symptoms - Signs To Detect Pregnancy
Early pregnancy symptoms help you detect pregnancy a few days after conceptions. Many of these symptoms are subtle and can be confused for other problems. Ho wever, if you have more than one of the early pregnancy symptoms, then most probably you have conceived.
Symptoms Of Pregnancy
These signs help you understand your changing body and the growth of the baby inside you. Some early pregnancy symptoms also alert you to dangers like miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy. Here are some early pregnancy symptoms.
- Missed Period - Though a very prominent early pregnancy symptom, a missed period can have many causes. By the time you have confirmed the period was delayed by pregnancy, you are already a few weeks into it.
- Nausea - Morning sickness can take you by surprise any time of the day. You feel queasy all of a sudden. Many women are unable to eat spicy or greasy food because of this symptom. One of the ways to deal with this is to eat light, eat smaller meals and keep your surroundings cool.
- Sensitive breasts - Tender breasts are another problem for pregnant women. Apart from tenderness, you may also notice swelling of the breasts. Veins along the sides of the chest become more prominent. The color of the areola darkens.
- Spotting - Spotting is known as "implantation bleeding" in medical terms. Implantation bleeding happens a few days after conception, when the embryo implants itself on the uterus wall. This is where it will stay and develop in the next nine months.
- Cramps - Along with implantation bleeding, you might also experience cramps. Cramping is another of the early pregnancy symptoms that alert you to conception. It is like the cramps you feel during periods. If the cramps are severe, consult your doctor immediately.
- Tiredness - You may feel tired all the time. Fatigue is one of the more subtle early pregnancy symptoms. Be careful of ignoring the signals your body is sending you to take it easy. Cut down on the workload and take plenty of rest.
- Nausea - Nausea is popularly known as "morning sickness". Nausea can strike anytime of the day, so do not let the name mislead you. Some women have no problems with nausea; others might keep throwing up for weeks. Eat smaller portions of food and drink plenty of fluids to replenish the water lost through vomiting.
Going to the Doctor
If you have one or more of the early pregnancy symptoms, you should make an appointment with your doctor. The doctor will perform urine or blood tests and do a pelvic exam to see if the uterus is enlarged. Pelvic exam is also done in case the doctor suspects pregnancy complications to see if the baby is developing normally.
Pelvic Exam - Ectopic Pregnancy
A pelvic exam also helps the doctor rule out ectopic pregnancy. This dangerous condition can be potentially life threatening to the mother and baby. In an ectopic pregnancy, the embryo cannot move down the fallopian tubes to the uterus due to a blockage in the tubes. This causes the embryo to start growing within the fallopian tubes, the cervix or even the abdomen, causing serious threat to the life of the mother. An ectopic pregnancy in the fallopian tube cannot be sustained and the doctor must decide the next course of action as soon as possible.
Early pregnancy symptoms let you know what is going on inside your body, and whether there is a possibility of any pregnancy complication.
