Early pregnancy signs

Some early pregnancy signs are common in some women. If the period is regular and you are missing it, that's the most probable early pregnancy sign. It's not unusual that some women bleed for the first two or three months of the pregnancy, but in any case, check with the doctor because it can be serious or only a small problem with the placenta.

Also, about seven days or so after conception, the small group of cells that will form the embryo (the blastocyst), attaches itself to the uterus, and you may have slight vaginal spotting, the implantation bleeding, while new blood vessels are being formed.

Other early pregnancy signs may be to urinate more often because of increased hormonal changes, also your enlarging uterus presses against your bladder.

Another typical early pregnancy sign is that the breasts will probably swell and become tender, tingle, throb or hurt.
The nipples and the area around them (areola) feel more sensative and get darker and broader.
The milk glands start to develop, because of the increased blood supply in the breasts, veins get more prominent.

Nausea is another of the common early pregnancy signs, known as morning sickness but can happen at any time of the day. Sometimes the sickness is strong enough to vomit and sometimes not, just nausea. It's recommended to eat small meals more frequently throughout the day rather than three large meals to stop the early pregnancy signs of nausea and morning sickness.

Eating meals high in proteins and eating snacks between meals and in the morning can help. It's important to avoid any greasy, fried or spiced food, this could increase the nausea and vomitting, irritating the stomach.

Fatigue is another of the early pregnancy signs. The increase in hormones in the body makes the woman feel very tired and in need of lots of rest during the day. This early pregnancy sign normally starts in the first trimester, tending to dissapear in the second trimester of pregnancy. The womans body is getting used to the changes that are happening and normally in the second trimester the energy levels should be back to normal.

Another early pregnancy sign is the increase of vaginal secretions, either clear, nonirritating or white, yellow, foamy or itchy. The body is building up your mucus plug to block the opening of the cervix in order to protect the baby from infections. If this condition becomes significantly worse or starts to itch, visit the doctor.

Because of the high amount of progesterone in a pregnant women, they might experience irregular bowel movements. The progesterone relaxes muscles causing the bowels to function less efficiently than before. Other early pregnancy signs are the decreased activity that could cause constipation. Change the diet to foods high in fiber, vegetables and fruits, also drink as much water as possible.

Early pregnancy signs manifests differently in different women. Some women have the typical early pregnancy signs even before they miss their period. The most common early pregnancy signs are related with the hormone HCG, which enter the blood stream a few days after the ovulation.That's why early pregnancy signs do not appear until the hormone HCG has a high enough level, about 15 days after the menstruation is missing (about 3 to 4 weeks after the ovulation).

No matter how many of the early pregnancy signs a woman has, the only true indicator of pregnancy is a positive pregnancy test.

List of early pregnancy signs:
Cramps in the lower abdominal area.	Positive pregnancy test
Tiredness	Amenorrhea - Missed menstrual period
Nausea	Nipple or breast tenderness
Fatigue	Vomiting
Frequent urination	Food cravings
Softening of cervix	Constipation: later on the first trimester.
Lower-back pain	Fetal heartbeat on sonogram: 8-9 weeks after conception
Dark skin of areola (area around breast nipple)	Fetal movements: 16+ weeks after conception