Am I Pregnant? Here Are Pregnancy Signs to Look Out for!

Are you asking yourself, “Am I pregnant?” In this article, we will take a closer look at the symptoms that might just let you know if you’re expecting.

Pregnancy Symptoms Week 1

Pregnancy symptoms in week 1 are different for every woman and every pregnancy. At one week pregnant—remember, at this early stage, the symptoms you’re experiencing are those typical to your period because you’re not actually pregnant. These symptoms may last from three to seven days and can include the following.

Early Pregnancy Symptoms

1. Late or missed period

This is usually the first sign of pregnancy. Once conception has occurred, your body begins to generate hormones that prevent ovulation and uterine lining shed. This indicates that your menstrual cycle has ended and that your next period won’t come until after the birth of your child.

Having a late period could just be a start to being pregnant. Many women still have light bleeding in their first month of pregnancy. If you’re having irregular periods or no period at all, dust off those pregnancy kits and check!

But not every missed menstruation indicates pregnancy. Stress, heavy exercise, diets, hormone imbalance, and other conditions that might lead to irregular periods can also cause you to miss your period.

2. Exhaustion & nausea

You’ve slept your fair share of 8 hours and even packed in a few more hours but still feel like you ran to save your life from a pack of wolves? Exhaustion mixed with fatigue will begin to plague your life.

During early pregnancy, levels of the hormone progesterone soar. In high enough doses, progesterone can put you to sleep. At the same time, lower blood sugar levels, lower blood pressure and increased blood production may team up to sap your energy.

The week 13 of pregnancy). But for many women, it does return in the third trimester.

3. Mood swings

Snapping at everything? Feeling blue? Feel like you want to hug every single person in the world and then later, spit them out? Hello, mood swings! The rush of hormones, during your early pregnancy, in your body, can make you emotional and teary.

4. Tender breasts

Know that feeling your breasts have just before your period? Tender to touch and temperature? Well if you’re having that again then you might just be pregnant. The pain will subside when your body adjusts to the hormonal changes.

You can also notice a darkening and enlargement of your areolas (the region around your nipple). Once your body adjusts to the increased hormones, this soreness will eventually go away. You might also notice that your bra is tighter than usual and that your breasts have gotten bigger.

A rough estimate of around 2 weeks after conception, your breasts could either feel tender and sore or fuller and heavier. However, parenting author, Teresa Pitman has noted, “that not all women experience these changes, especially if they have been on birth control pills.”

5. Food cravings

Thinking of how lovely a bowl of Teochew porridge would taste in your mouth? Or do you wish you could just get your hands on a nice plump green mango?

Ah, food cravings aren’t just for those in their second and third trimesters. Hormonal changes in the first trimester can chalk up cravings but don’t use them solely as a confirmation that you are pregnant.

6. Slight bleeding or spotting

Certain women may experience a small amount of spotting or even bleeding at the beginning of their pregnancy, around 2 weeks after conceiving. This is known as implantation bleeding and it occurs when the fertilised egg first attaches to the lining of the uterus.

The bleeding is usually lighter in colour than the usual period of bleeding and does not last long. Many women also experience cramping very early in pregnancy as the uterus begins to enlarge. These cramps are similar to menstrual cramps.

7. Increased heart rate during early pregnancy

Your heart may start pounding quicker and harder during 10. Arrhythmias and palpitations are frequent during pregnancy. Hormones are typically to blame for this.

8. Higher basal body temperature

You probably already know that your basal body temperature (BBT) increases slightly shortly after ovulation if you’ve been monitoring it to improve your chances of becoming pregnant. If you’re expecting, your temperature might not go back down but instead stay high.

Of course, there are other possibilities for why you might be hot, but if it persists for more than a few weeks, pregnancy might be to blame.

9. Heartburn during early pregnancy

The valve between your stomach and oesophagus may loosen as a result of hormones. This causes heartburn by allowing stomach acid to flow out.

10. Changes in cervical mucus

Here’s a reason to keep testing your cervical discharge if you’ve already been doing so to determine when you’re most fertile: During the first few weeks of pregnancy, the volume of cervical discharge may rise and change to become stickier and whiter.

11. Sensitivity to smell

Sensitivity to scent is frequently cited as one of the earliest pregnant symptoms by women. In fact, up to two-thirds of pregnant women actually become more receptive or sensitive to the odours around them.

Additionally, this enhanced sense of smell frequently lasts through the first trimester or longer, and it can also be a factor in other symptoms like nausea and food cravings or aversions.

12. Frequent urination

You can discover that you have to urinate more frequently even before you miss a period. You have more blood now than you did before, which causes this.

Your body gets more blood during pregnancy. The additional waste is filtered out of your blood by your kidneys. Your body excretes this waste as uric acid. You will urinate more frequently the more blood you have in your body.

13. Metallic taste in your mouth

Many claim that during the first trimester of pregnancy, they get a metallic taste in their lips. It can taste like you’re eating a bunch of coins. This may take place after eating specific foods or at random throughout the day.

14. Headaches and dizziness

Early in a pregnancy, headaches, lightheadedness, and dizziness are frequent. This occurs as a result of both your body’s changing hormonal composition and growing blood volume.

15. Cramping

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Additionally, you may suffer brief, period-like cramps that come and go over the course of a few days. It’s crucial to call your doctor right away if these cramps are severe or felt mostly on one side of your body. This can indicate an ectopic pregnancy or another type of problem.

What do implantation cramps feel like?

Implantation cramps might feel different from period cramps and can happen with or without spotting or bleeding. For instance, over a few days, you might experience mild to moderate prickling, pulling, or tingling that comes and goes.

However, menstrual cramps often begin a day or two before your period and frequently feel like a throbbing or dull ache.

16. Congestion

Early in pregnancy, some people get a stuffy nose because of the increased hormone and blood levels. Your nose’s mucous membranes dry out and are more liable to bleed.

17. Bloating

The hormone surge can make your stomach feel bloated and make you pass gas more frequently than usual, though it might take weeks or months before you observe a baby bump.

18. Acne or skin change

Any skin changes you have are due to your increased hormone and blood volume. While some women have a pregnant glow and smoother skin, others could experience an increase in acne and other skin problems during pregnancy.

Early Pregnancy Discharge

Vaginal discharge is a common occurrence in women but is not always related to pregnancy. However, the majority of pregnant women will produce sticky, white, or pale yellow mucus throughout their whole pregnancy.

The discharge is caused by elevated hormone levels and vaginal blood flow. It increases during pregnancy as your cervix and vaginal walls soften to help avoid infections. Consult a physician if the discharge begins to:

• smell
• burn
• itch
• become yellowish-green
• turns extremely thick or watery

All these could indicate an infection.

How Soon Can You Detect Pregnancy?

To confirm your hopes or suspicions, you must once again wait until the perfect moment to take a pregnancy test. But everyone differs when it comes to the early signs of pregnancy. Some individuals begin to experience alterations a week after conception. Some people might not realise anything until their period is missed.

When Is The Right Time To Take A Pregnancy Test?

After you have missed your period, a pregnancy test is typically advised. This is so that the amount of the hormone human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG), which begins to accumulate when you conceive, can be measured by pregnancy tests in your body. After the first day of your last period, it can take three to four weeks for your body to produce enough hCG to register on a test.

Pregnancy Test Kit

If you’re only having one or two of the above-mentioned signs then it might be too easy to say you’re pregnant. But you can never go wrong with a pregnancy kit!

Remember that tossed pregnancy kit that lay in the trash in the final episode of Season 6 of Friends that had everyone guessing who was pregnant? Well, pregnancy kits have changed lives not only on TV but in real life too. These tests are 99% accurate and are used internationally.

Image Source: iStock

Here’s the bottom line: if you are feeling unusual with your own health and followed by a missed period – take a pregnancy test without delay, or consult a gynaecologist. It will save you a lot of sleepless nights and twisting and turning when you know the answer to the question, “Am I pregnant?” and know where to go from there.

Updates from Matt Doctor

Here at theAsianparent Singapore, it’s important for us to give information that is correct, significant, and timely. But this doesn’t serve as an alternative for medical advice or medical treatment. theAsianparent Singapore is not responsible for those that would choose to drink medicines based on information from our website. If you have any doubts, we recommend consulting your doctor for clearer information.