{"id":27898,"date":"2018-10-24T18:31:00","date_gmt":"2018-10-25T01:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.avawomen.com\/?p=27898"},"modified":"2020-01-03T15:44:37","modified_gmt":"2020-01-03T23:44:37","slug":"first-signs-of-pregnancy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.avawomen.com\/avaworld\/first-signs-of-pregnancy\/","title":{"rendered":"First Signs Of Pregnancy: Before You Miss Your Period"},"content":{"rendered":"

You’ve heard about the morning sickness, frequent urination, and other early signs of pregnancy<\/a>. But what are the\u00a0very first<\/em> signs of pregnancy that might show up when<\/span> you haven’t even missed your period yet?<\/span><\/p>\n

Early pregnancy symptoms vary widely from woman to woman, and even in the same women across different pregnancies. In this article, we’ll explore some of the very first symptoms that may show up in the first few weeks of pregnancy.<\/p>\n

It can be tempting to analyze your body for signs of pregnancy, but it’s important to keep in mind that the only certain sign of pregnancy is a positive pregnancy test<\/a>. You may associate nausea, bloating, or fatigue with pregnancy, but the truth is, these symptoms can just as easily occur in women who are not pregnant.<\/p>\n

How do you know for certain whether a given symptom is a sign of pregnancy? This is impossible, because most early pregnancy symptoms are caused by the hormone progesterone, which is elevated in the days before your period is due whether or not you are pregnant.<\/p>\n

However, you can<\/em> rule out the possibility of a symptom being caused by pregnancy. If you experience a symptom earlier than 9 days after ovulation (or 4 \u2013 5 days before your period is due), it’s highly unlikely to be related to pregnancy\u2014even if you do end up pregnant that cycle. The reason for this is that implantation does not occur until 9 days after ovulation. And until implantation occurs<\/a>, you are not pregnant.<\/p>\n

1. Late period<\/h2>\n

For most women, the first sign of pregnancy is a late period. But even a late period does not guarantee that you are pregnant. If your period is late, you should take a pregnancy test to confirm it. If your period is late but you have a negative pregnancy test<\/a>, this means that you probably ovulated late<\/a> this month.<\/p>\n

2. Spotting<\/h2>\n

A 1999 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine<\/a> found that around nine percent of women experienced light bleeding or<\/span> spotting during early pregnancy<\/span><\/a>. Much of the time, there is no explanation for this bleeding.<\/p>\n

You may have heard about something called implantation bleeding<\/a>. This is the idea that when the fertilized egg burrows into the uterine lining, it may cause light spotting or bleeding around the time that your period is due. But the authors of the 1999 study found that when bleeding occurred, it was rarely on the day of implantation. They “found no support for the hypothesis that implantation can produce vaginal bleeding.”<\/span><\/p>\n

While spotting can occur during early pregnancy, it’s not really a sign<\/em> of pregnancy. That’s because spotting is more likely to occur in cycles that don’t<\/em> end in pregnancy compared to cycles that do.<\/p>\n

Related: can you be pregnant and still get a period?<\/a><\/p>\n

3. Cramping<\/h2>\n

Despite what you may have heard about implantation cramps<\/a>, while cramping may occur during early pregnancy, it’s also not considered a sign<\/em> of pregnancy. This is because cramping also frequently occurs when someone is\u00a0not<\/em> pregnant.<\/p>\n

There’s a physiological reason for this: the hormone progesterone, which can cause bloating and cramping. In the week before your period is due, progesterone levels are high. During pregnancy, progesterone levels increase even further.<\/p>\n

Since premenstrual cramping and early pregnancy cramping are often caused by the very same hormone\u2014progesterone\u2014this means that cramping is not a reliable indicator of pregnancy.<\/p>\n

4. Sensitive breasts<\/h2>\n

Hormone changes during your menstrual cycle can cause changes in breast tissue that makes your breasts feel tender. Some women swear that breast changes were their first pregnancy symptom. Common terms that women use to describe their symptoms include:<\/span><\/p>\n