For some women the question might be ‘am I pregnant?’ and for others the question might be a little more developed and at the ‘how many weeks pregnant am I?’ stage. Whilst the only way to know for sure if you are pregnant is to take a test, there are several early signs to look out for if either of these questions are on your mind.
Signs of pregnancy
For those in the ‘am I pregnant?’ category, one of the most common early signs is a missed period. It’s important to remember that pregnancy isn’t the only cause of a missed period. Illness, stress of fatigue can all delay the onset of your period too. Your period is also not necessarily absent in the early stages of pregnancy. Some women bleed lightly in the first month, which may actually be the signs of implantation bleeding, when the egg attaches itself to the lining of your uterus, so don’t necessarily see this as a disappointing thing!
Another change in the body during pregnancy can be swollen breasts. As early as two weeks after conception, tender, sore or tingly breasts may leave you wondering. It’s such a common symptom that many assume this is a sure sign. Hormonal changes, such as higher levels of oestrogen and progesterone, can leave breasts feeling fuller and heavier, so if your bras are feeling too tight, it could be test time!
How many women have felt a wave of nausea and thought ‘am I pregnant?’. Morning sickness is one of the most famous, and common early signs of pregnancy. For some women, nausea starts just two weeks after conception, and continues on throughout their whole pregnancy. It is often attributed to rapidly rising levels of oestrogen, which can seriously slow down their digestion.
If you are experiencing light, but nagging headaches, this can be an early sign of pregnancy. Dramatic hormone changes can trigger an increase in blood flow, which in turn causes moderate pain, especially around the temples. There is approximately a 50% increase in the amount of blood flow when you’re expecting, so aches and pains are normal!
It is very common for women to feel unbelievably tired during the first few weeks of pregnancy. Some report having 12 hours sleep only to wake up and immediately want to take a nap! This is down to the metabolic changes occurring within your body. A good answer to the question ‘how far pregnant am i?’ in relation to this symptom, is if it appears to be subsiding and your energy is returning, it could mean you are coming to the end of your first trimester.
A slightly later sign for those wondering ‘how many weeks pregnant am I?’ is an increased need to pass urine. This is mainly due to the blood flow to your kidneys increasing by 40-60%, stimulating them to produce around 25% more urine than normal. This symptom can start at around 4 weeks, and usually peaks around the 9 to 16 week mark.
Take a pregnancy test
If you’re wondering whether or not you’re pregnant, one thing some women report is that when you are, you don’t wonder at all, you just know. Whilst not based on any medical evidence, many women report feeling an intuitive sense that they had conceived, without doing a test at all. This could be down to being in tune with their bodies, or sometimes it’s due to suddenly hating, or craving very specific types of food. Some are pretty normal such as ice cream and cookies, whilst some are utterly bizarre, such as charcoal! If you are experiencing similar sounding feelings, you may have fallen pregnant.
Whilst these symptoms are great for initially preempting a pregnancy, the only way to be totally sure is to take a test. Don’t just sit and wonder, put your mind at ease and find out for certain.