Signs of Pregnancy

There are many signs of pregnancy. Some of them are noticeable in the first few days after conception. Some are only detected with special tests and equipment, but eventually, most women will recognize the many signs of pregnancy. Probably the first sign of pregnancy is a missed menstrual cycle. This does not always necessarily mean a woman is pregnant, but it is a sign that, when it happens, raises the suspicion of pregnancy to almost every woman of childbearing age who might possibly have conceived in the previous weeks.

Another sign of pregnancy is tender or swollen breasts. This sign of pregnancy usually manifests in the first two to four weeks of pregnancy. If this symptom coincides with the missed period, a woman is likely to want to either do a home pregnancy test or go to her doctor for confirmation of pregnancy or for tests for other possibilities unrelated to pregnancy. As a pregnancy progresses, this sign becomes more pronounced with the breasts enlarging and the area around the nipple darkening and eventually, possible slight leaking of colostrum close to the due date of the baby.

During early pregnancy, another common sign is nausea or " morning sickness" . This sign of pregnancy is not universal, but does occur in up to 80% of pregnant women. Again though, nausea alone, may be a symptom of something else and does not always indicate pregnancy. A woman also may have signs of pregnancy like loss of appetite and then increased appetite, headaches or backaches, and mood swings due to hormonal changes in her body.

Some physical signs of pregnancy that are visible, besides the darkening around the nipple, are thickening of the waist and weight gain, in most cases. Some women can actually go through a complete pregnancy and lose weight if she was grossly overweight when she became pregnant. Around the third month on, another sign of pregnancy will occur. And that is feeling the sensation of " quickening" or " fluttering" when the embryo moves around in the amniotic fluid. Sometimes this feeling is hard to discern although most women are anxiously waiting that first feeling of movement. Later on in the pregnancy this early sign turns into a very noticeable feeling of baby movement of arms and legs and full summersaults in her uterus.

Although most women are well aware of the fact that they are pregnant by the last few months before the birth, on rare occasions, they are not. And perhaps the first sign of pregnancy that the woman notices is contractions of the uterus either with Braxton Hicks contractions which are the practice contractions that the uterus has in order to prepare for labor and birth, or actual labor itself. There have been cases of women going to the hospital with pains in their stomach, only to find out they are in labor and about to give birth without ever knowing they were pregnant. So although there are many signs of pregnancy, not every woman pays attention to them....

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