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One of the most nerve-wracking questions you can answer in your life is, “am I pregnant?” All women, who want to conceive, or not, can get frazzled by this question. So to minimize the anxiety, we have listed early pregnancy symptoms to guide you in answering the Am I Pregnant Quiz and lessen the anticipation.
1. Fatigue
You easily feel exhausted and cannot keep your eyes open like you used to. This feeling of tiredness may be caused by the increasing hormones in the body. And the growing fetus also needs oxygen which may cause you shortness of breath resulting in fatigue.
2. Nausea
Morning sickness, as it is usually called, is one of the best known early pregnancy symptoms. Although it can occur any time of the day, or even throughout the day, it is more common in the morning because the stomach acid builds up overnight. This situation may be eased by eating crackers or having small frequent meals.
3. Frequent Urination
During pregnancy, a lot of hormonal changes happen in the body. The body produces extra fluids than usual making the bladder work overtime.
4. Breast Changes
In the early stage of pregnancy,, a lot of changes can be observed on the breasts. They may start to enlarge, become tender and swollen. The nipples may also darken in color and become sensitive, again, a manifestation of an increase in hormones.
5. Backaches
If you usually do not experience backaches, and suddenly experience it now, they may be due to the ligaments in your body that are loosening in preparation for the baby.
6. Belly Cramps
Crampy feeling on the belly may be an indication of pregnancy caused by the stretching of the uterus getting it ready for the baby.
7. Irritability
Mood changes are also highly visible in the early pregnancy stage. The sudden changes in your temperament are also due to raging hormones and having to experience all the other pregnancy symptoms.
8. Food Cravings
This pregnancy symptom is also highly noticeable. Suddenly, you have cravings for a particular kind of food or develop distaste to some.
9. Late Period or Spotting
For women who have their menstrual periods on point, this is the best sign of having a bun in the oven. Sometimes, spotting or light bleeding may be observed which can be mistaken for the period. Spotting is a sign of pregnancy caused by the implantation of the fertilized egg on the endometrial lining.
10. Constipation and Bloating
You feel that suddenly you don’t fit into your clothes anymore. Change in hormones, specifically increase in progesterone, slows down the digestive system when pregnant to maximize absorption of vitamins and nutrients.
The most accurate test to take to know if you are a mom-to-be would be to take the serum pregnancy test. However, if you are not up for it yet or if you think it is still too early to tell, try the quiz and let the list of first symptoms of pregnancy guide you. Enjoy your journey!
This has been a guest post, however I remember the days of the “two week wait” well! How about you?