Last updated on July 26th, 2021 at 05:40 am
Pregnancy Symptoms are many and it varies depending on your body, but there are general signs of pregnancy you should monitor.
Disclaimer: These pregnancy signs were given by a nursing mother. However, you are advised to take a pregnancy test or consult a qualified medical doctor if you noticed any of the below symptoms.
10 Pregnancy Symptoms you may notice
- Increase in breast size
- Feeling weak intermittently
- Regular Urination
- Hard Lower abdomen as a pregnancy symptom
- Morning Sickness:
- Feeling nauseating as a pregnancy symptoms
- Mood Swing:
- Facial/body change:
- Extreme urge for certain foods:
- Missed period:
Increase in breast size:
You are definitely going to notice changes in your breasts, they will increase during the course of pregnancy. This is one of the early signs of pregnancy.
“I noticed that my bra was tighter when I missed my period in my first pregnancy. My nipples became ticker,” says Mrs. Adelana, a nursing mother, “I had to go for bigger bra later.”
Research has shown that hormones fluctuate in your body when you are pregnant, when this happens there will be tenderness and swelling in your breasts.
If it is your first, you may notice mild pain around your breast region,but the pain may decrease later.
Feeling weak intermittently:
“I noticed i was feeling weak and tired back then, initially i thought I was going to treat malaria, but when I visited the hospital that’s when I was told I was pregnant.”
The fatigue, according to medical practitioner, is due to the fact that you are growing a new life inside you, which is one of the pregnancy symptoms.
Tiredness is expected during pregnancy “due to the fact that you have an increase in the hormone progesterone, which can cause drowsiness,” wikihow medical experts say.
When you begin to experience this symptoms the first is to visit a family hospital, or register at a nearby government clinic to monitor your situation.
Desist from self-medication in this kind of situation. It’s no longer you alone, another living soul is right inside you, and needs medical monitoring .
Regular Urination:
Another pregnancy symptom is running to the toilet often to urinate.
“Baby puts pressure on his mother’s bladder which makes her to develop the urge to urinate more offer. Sometimes a mother may run to urinate just for her to have a drop of urination,” a matron at a state hospital said.
It was also gathered that this is due to a change in hormones.
Bottom line: If you noticed a change in the number of time you urinate compared to how it used to be, go for a pregnancy test to be sure of your state.
Hard Lower abdomen as a pregnancy symptom
Apart from digestive issue like constipation, pay attention to your lower abdomen.
“One of the first parts of a woman we check for possibility of pregnancy is gently press her lower abdomen, if she feels pain, there are chances that she is pregnant,” a registered nurse said.
Bottom line: Pay attention to stomach pain at the lower region.
Morning Sickness:
“Morning sickness” is a common issue with newly pregnant women. This refers to nausea that tends to happen in the morning, but can occur at any time of the day. Often, this symptom starts about two weeks after conception and eases up after the first trimester.
Mrs. Adelana said she had morning sickness during her first pregnancy, “I felt reluctant to rise from the bed early in the morning, I later got used to use it in my second pregnancy.”
Research has also proved that on average, about 70-80% of pregnant women experience morning sickness during pregnancy.
Action: Don’t do self-medication, consult a specialist for the right guide.
Feeling nauseating as a pregnancy symptoms
Do you feel like vomiting? This is one of the signs of pregnancy you need to watch out for.
In the olden days, we learnt this is one of symptoms mothers watched out in their female children. When a female child began the vomit, the next they check was her nipples.
It still works, vomiting isn’t a guaranty. There are some people who vomit during sickness as well.
Mood Swing:
“The hormonal changes of pregnancy can affect your moods, causing you to be euphoric one minute and crying the next minute,” expert says.
“I hardly find things funny during pregnancy. I laugh at things that rarely make other people laugh,” a nursing mother said.
“There was a day I cried because I wanted to eat banana, which was not available in the house, and my husband who was around at the time had to the market to buy it for me.”
Mood swings isn’t a universal sign, though. It is common to pregnant women, so some through their pregnancy period till the time of delivery.
Facial/body change:
This is the time some women look so beautiful. Some look extremely ugly this time as well. Some begin to look fat, this is due to “a plus” to the body system.
Extreme urge for certain foods:
“During pregnancy, I feel like eating plantain, ‘amala’ (African yam flour) with ewedu (African vegetable) all the time. The two foods are my favourites, but during pregnancy I feel like my life depend on them.”
You may also experience aversion to strong smells or certain foods, while at the same time, you may start craving other foods.
“The smell of fish and body cream makes me vomit during pregnancy. I don’t eat fish, and don’t apply body cream during pregnancy. I only eat chicken, and goat meat,” Adelana said.
Missed period:
I’m sure you have been expecting to see this as our number one pregnancy signs.
Did you miss the your period? This is one of easier signs of pregnancy. For instance, if your expected start date of your period is a week gone, it could mean you’re pregnant.
This is why it’s important to track your period. You need to figure out when you had your last period. If it’s been more than a month, it could mean you’re pregnant.
The exception to this is if you have irregular periods. Even at that it should be easy for you to track.
Think about when you last had sex. You must have had vaginal sex to be pregnant. Oral sex doesn’t count in this case. Also, consider whether you practiced safe sex .
If you weren’t on a birth control pill and didn’t use another form of contraception (such as a diaphragm or condom), you have a much higher chance of getting pregnant than if you did practice safe sex.
It actually takes about six to ten days after you have sex for the fertilized egg to start the implantation process, which is when you officially become pregnant. That’s also when your body starts releasing hormones. A pregnancy test is most accurate if you wait until you miss a period to take it.
What other signs do you think are not included in this list? Share your experience with us.
