Pregnancy symptoms such as nausea and cramping are normally the first hint that you are pregnant. It is these symptoms alongside a missed period that encourage women to take a pregnancy test to see if the result is negative or positive. So what are the early signs of pregnancy? And how soon do they come?
Pregnancy symptoms
The symptoms of pregnancy are different in every woman– not all women will get every symptom.
Symptoms include:
- Nausea (morning sickness)
- Tiredness
- Sore breasts
- Needing to wee more often
- Constipation
- More vaginal discharge
- Cravings
When can you do a pregnancy test?
A very sensitive pregnancy test can be used to get an accurate result even before you miss your period.
This means you can get a positive result as early as eight days after conception.
You should try to do a pregnancy test about 21 days after you last had unprotected sex, or from the first day of a missed period.
You can do a pregnancy test on your urine at any time of the day, it doesn’t have to be in the morning.
When do pregnancy symptoms start?
Pregnancy symptoms can start as early as a week after conception, so you might get symptoms before you are able to confirm you are pregnant.
It’s worth noting that the symptoms you had in your first pregnancy may be totally different from what you experience if you get pregnant again.
One of the earliest signs that you’re pregnant might be headaches, and this is because your hormone levels are rising and you have an increased blood flow.
Another early symptom is changes in your breasts, and this is also down to your hormone levels.
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These increased hormone levels might also cause mood swings, tiredness, and sickness early on.
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Nausea or vomiting, more commonly known as morning sickness, can start to happen as early as two weeks after you have conceived your baby.
Morning sickness doesn’t only happen in the morning, it can happen at any time of the day.
Another early sign is getting a strange metallic taste in your mouth, or you may lose interest in certain food that you used to enjoy.
If you find yourself needing to wee more often, especially at night, this could also indicate that you are a few weeks into a pregnancy.
If you experience any of the symptoms mentioned but your pregnancy test comes out negative, you might still be pregnant.
Wait a few days and take the test again.
Pregnancy tests work by detecting a hormone called human chorionic gonadotrophine (hCG).
This hormone starts to be produced around six days after fertilisation, so you may get a negative result if you have tested too early on.
A positive test result is almost always correct, but a negative result is less reliable.
Source: Daily Express
