Top 20 Pregnancy Symptoms

Wondering if you have got a bun in the oven? Pay close attention to everything that is going on inside your body, and you may notice some pregnancy symptoms.

If your period has not arrived as expected, then you should consider taking a pregnancy test. Women use missed period and other telltale signs to gauge their reproductive state.

A pregnancy test best confirms it. If you are experiencing any pregnancy symptoms, then take a home pregnancy test.

Pregnancy Symptoms

Some signs of pregnancy mentioned below may coincide with the ones that you feel before periods.

So all this is a guessing game that you are playing is because of your hormones. If you are seeking some definite answer, take a pregnancy test!

Top 20 Pregnancy Symptoms
Top 20 Pregnancy Symptoms
  1. Sore breasts: This is one of the most common and earliest signs of pregnancy. Your breasts feel tender and sore. It is because of the Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) and Progesterone hormone flooding inside your body. Your breast being extremely sensitive to hormones enlarges in size. It undergoes breast maturation during pregnancy which is why they feel heavy and sore.
  2. Abdominal Cramps: Abdominal cramps are the worst. Such cramps occur during periods as well but post ovulation (implantation cramps), they might be indicative of implantation. Implantation is when the baby attaches to the lining of the uterus. So your uterus stretches and grows in size to accommodate the baby resulting in cramps.
  3. Spotting: Spotting is pink to brownish discharge expelled out from the vagina post ovulation. It is light discharge and not heavy like periods. It is one of the earliest signs of pregnancy. The reason for spotting is the blood vessels rupturing due to implantation and following steps.
  4. Fatigue: If you are too exhausted all the time and cannot keep up with daily activities then this might be a sign of pregnancy. There may be a little life inside of you consuming your calories. It is a symptom of pregnancy experienced one to two weeks after conception.
  5. Dark nipples: Changing color of nipples from light brown to a darker shade of brown is a sign of pregnancy. It is probably because of stimulation of melanocytes by the pregnancy hormones.
  6. Nausea: Human chorionic gonadotropin is responsible for vomiting. hCG also causes morning sickness that pregnant women experience. It takes a few weeks to develop after conception. But when it does, all you do is feel queasy all the time.
  7. Bloating: This sign is also elicited before periods because of high levels of progesterone. If your tummy feels puffier but have not received your periods till now, consider taking a pregnancy test. The stick might turn pink this time. Read more about Bloating during pregnancy.
  8. Frequent urination: If you have to take lots of bathroom breaks then it is probably your kidney prepping up and flushing out fluid from your body. It can also be due to your large uterus putting pressure on your urinary bladder.
  9. Food cravings: Food cravings occur to most women all the time! We keep moving in monthly cycles of hormones. But during pregnancy, you will be demanding unusual food items as your body is now an orchestra of hormones. Carbohydrates are being digested easily now so to keep the energy levels ramped up. So your body demands extra carbs. You might develop aversions for your most favorite foods and will want to eat something you never liked. 
  10. Constipation, flatulence, belching and gas: Hormones are responsible for pregnancy symptom of bloating. They are also the cause of gastrointestinal symptoms. Pregnancy gastrointestinal symptoms include constipation, flatulence, belching and gas. Brace yourselves as in the next few weeks of pregnancy; it is only going to increase.
  11. Mood swings: Finally, we can attach our mood swings to our pregnancy. Mood swings occur because of high levels of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) in our body. They land up making us feel fatigued and tired all the time. It is also making us vulnerable to moodiness. All that belching, bloating, constipation, food cravings do not help either.
  12. Increased basal body temperature: If you record your basal body temperature every day, you might have noticed that it increases by a degree and a half (or more) when you are ovulating. If it has been a week or two and it has not plummeted, then there are chances of conception has occurred. Record your basal body temperature in the mornings by a digital basal thermometer. This way it measures basal body temperature accurately.
  13. Missed periods: Missed period is the most definitive sign of pregnancy for most women. However, it is a little misleading as it can also be due to irregular periods, PCOS or other underlying causes. Missed period along with other symptoms of early pregnancy is a confirmation that you are pregnant.
  14. Shortness of breath: The growing fetus needs oxygen, and he/she is the one leaving you short of it. Your baby is causing you to experience shortness of breaths while climbing up the stairs or performing day to day tasks. It is only going to increase in the coming weeks.
  15. Backaches and headaches: If you feel your head is paining all the time and your back feels a little sore, a baby might be on board! Headaches are because of the hormone progesterone. While back aches are because of your ligaments loosening up. It is due to the hormone relaxin circulating in your body.
  16. Dizziness and fainting: Finally, the symptom that movies talk about! Dizziness and fainting are all about low blood sugar and low blood pressure. Drink plenty of fluid and eat right!
  17. Positive home pregnancy test: If the pregnancy stick has turned pink, a baby is inside your womb (rarely, does the test go wrong). The test detects the presence of the hormone Human Chorionic Gonadotropin hCG. This hormone comes in a pregnant woman’s urine solely. If it is present in your pee, then the stick turns pink telling you that a baby is in the oven! Read about positive pregnancy test.
  18. Blue blood vessels showing on breasts and stomach: Blue blood vessels all over your breasts and stomach are symptoms of pregnancy. It may be due to comprised blood circulation. Hormonal changes can also lead to the development of blue blood vessels.
  19. Leg and joint pain: Leg cramps during pregnancy are because of the hormones released and fatigue. Both add to make you feel heavy legs. Legs may even swell up a bit, and sore feet are common symptoms of pregnancy. 
  20. Swelling and edema: Your face will appear puffed up during pregnancy. It is because of fat deposition. Edema is also a symptom of pregnancy. Edema is swelling due to fluid accumulation. During pregnancy, a lot of fluids accumulate in you at different places. They cause edema during pregnancy.

Early Pregnancy symptoms

Early pregnancy symptoms help to find out if you are pregnant even before you miss your periods. Earliest pregnancy symptoms match pre-menstrual symptoms. This is why it is difficult to find out if you are pregnant in first weeks. 

First-week pregnancy symptoms vary greatly from woman to woman. Early symptoms of pregnancy include fatigue and an aversion to certain smells. 

Nausea follows after this as one of the earliest pregnancy symptoms. 

First-week pregnancy symptoms include a headache and spinning head. You will feel that you are about to faint.

Top 7 Weird Early Pregnancy Signs

Pregnancy is not as easy as it seems when you plan your baby’s name with the beau. There are many weird pregnancy symptoms.

The weird pregnancy symptoms can confuse you more than Hebrew. 

  1. Tasting metal is the weirdest early pregnancy symptom: Dysgeusia is a condition when a pregnant woman feels that she has some metal in her mouth. Tarnished metal taste is weird early pregnancy symptom.
  2. Extreme mood swings: A pregnant woman might be laughing at a moment and in the blink of an eye she will start crying. Hormone changes make her go from high to low and back.
  3. Constipation and bloating but nothing comes out: You feel the urge for going to empty your stomach but you just cannot. A pregnant woman feels a lot of bloating and gas but cannot pass it out.
  4. Different weird discharges from vagina: Vaginal discharge during pregnancy has many kinds. Brown discharge during pregnancy can confuse you to be bleeding.
  5. Another weird symptom of pregnancy is heartburn: You will feel something burning near your heart. You might feel as if your heart is choking. The burning sensation is due to hormone and changes in digestion.
  6. A pregnant woman heats up too fast: This might seem a weird early symptom of pregnancy. Your body temperature goes up that you feel that you have a fever.
  7. Falling and feeling sick all the time is weird early pregnancy symptom: During pregnancy, you will keep falling sick having different diseases. Cold and fever during pregnancy are common. Lowering of immunity is a weird pregnancy symptom.

Symptoms of Ectopic pregnancy

Ectopic pregnancy symptoms are not very different from pregnancy. Symptoms of ectopic pregnancy include painful abdominal cramps.

The pain of ectopic pregnancy cramps is excruciating. Another symptom of ectopic pregnancy is the absence of menses. Unexplained bleeding from the vagina is also a symptom of ectopic pregnancy.

If you have some of these get an appointment with your doctor in either case whether you want a baby or want to get a medical termination of pregnancy.

1 COMMENT

  1. Thanks for the heads up that someone pregnant would experience morning sickness and lightheadedness for no reason. My colleague talked about how she’s having a hard time concentrating at work, and it’s starting to affect her work routines. I will let her know about these symptoms so she could try getting a checkup for pregnancy if this is the case.

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