Early Pregnancy Symptoms
(excerpted from WHEN SEX ISN'T ENOUGH)
by
Lori Ramsey

Conception occurs within twenty-four hours of ovulation. Normally you will not know you are pregnant until your menstrual cycle is late. The average time to take a home pregnancy test is approximately 2 weeks after ovulation or conception occurs. So realistically you are pregnant for 2 weeks before you confirm it. Is there any way of knowing if pregnancy has occurred during the 2 weeks – before the menstrual cycle is missed? Yes and no.

Some women will experience symptoms right from the very beginning while others will not experience any – even after the confirmation from a pregnancy test. Every woman is different in how her body will react to pregnancy.

In fact, every pregnancy is different. In 2 of my 3 pregnancies I had early pregnancy symptoms. In one pregnancy I had no symptoms – almost the entire time – except of course for weight gain and quickening.

Here is a list of the possible early pregnancy symptoms you may have:

1. Implantation spotting. This can occur anywhere from 3 to 12 days post ovulation. This sometimes happens when the fertilized egg burrows into the uterine lining.

2. Fatigue. Hormones run rampant during pregnancy and the side effect is extreme fatigue, especially for a first time mom.

3. Frequent urination. This is very likely during the first trimester and the last trimester. Early on it is due to the swelling of the uterus over the bladder. As the baby and uterus grows it will lift off the bladder giving some relief during the 2nd trimester.

4. Morning sickness. The effects of the pregnancy hormones can cause morning sickness even before you know you are pregnant.

5. Breast changes. Blue veins running across the breast – breast tenderness – darkening of the areolas – a result from those hormones.

6. Cramps. Yes, sometimes cramps can be felt as a result of the expanding uterus at around the time the menstrual period is due.

7. Food cravings. Sometimes those funny little food cravings will appear right away.

8. High basal body temperature. If you chart your temperature – it will continue staying in the high range because of the progesterone running through your body.

You can possibly have one or two or all or none of these symptoms when in early pregnancy. I’ve been pregnant three times and all three times were extremely different. With my first pregnancy – before I took the home pregnancy test I experienced the fatigue, morning sickness and food cravings. With number 2 I had no symptoms. I was totally shocked when I took the pregnancy test and it came out positive. In fact, the sole reason I took the pregnancy test was for the lack of premenstrual symptoms. With my third pregnancy at 10 days post ovulation I had a bout of fatigue hit me in the middle of the day – very unusual for me. The following morning the smell of biscuits cooking brought on morning sickness so I tested. It was a whopping 4 days before my menstrual period was due and the home pregnancy test was positive!

Of course the number one early pregnancy symptom is the missed menstrual period.

Lori Ramsey's website:  Stages in Pregnancy.

© 2006 by Lori Ramsey.  Reproduction without permission is prohibited.