Knowing how many weeks you are pregnant can be challenging, particularly if your cycles are irregular. These six early pregnancy indicators could help you detect your pregnancy before week six.
Using a pregnancy test at home
Given that the majority of early pregnancy symptoms can resemble PMS symptoms or have other causes unrelated to reproductive health, taking a monthly pregnancy test is always a good idea.
The easiest way to know for sure if you’re pregnant is to take a test every month, according to Stix co-founders Jamie Norwood and Cynthia Plotch. With discreet and direct distribution, the Philadelphia-based internet firm hopes to make pregnancy and ovulation tests, as well as other reproductive health goods, more widely available without stigma.
Tests for pregnancy can provide quick confirmation without waiting for symptoms that might not appear.
“If your periods are irregular, we advise taking a pregnancy test 19 days after sex, or on the first day of your missed period,” they explain.
Additionally, since your urine will be at its most concentrated in the morning, they advise testing before drinking any water.
Why it is important
The first obvious indication of pregnancy is usually a missed period. When your menstrual cycle is regular, at least, it does.
You may assume pregnant within a few days of missing your period if it appears regularly every few weeks. Menstrual cycles typically last between 24 and 38 days (Trusted Source). Usually, a pregnancy test or two will provide you the necessary proof and allow you to begin thinking about your alternatives.
However, it’s possible that your periods are irregular. You have two in some months and barely a little spotting in others. You may not experience any bleeding for several months. You may be even less inclined to consider the idea of pregnancy until a few weeks have gone by if your cycles are light or irregular due to hormonal birth control.
You may be aware that parenthood and pregnancy are not for you now or in the future, but you also reside in a state that forbids abortions beyond six weeks. Unless you can fly, these additional days of uncertainty could spell the difference between receiving an abortion and not.
Naturally, reversing Roe v. Wade would severely limit, if not completely prohibit, abortion for residents in 26 states. You’ll probably want to discover out you’re pregnant as soon as possible if you need to save money and schedule an out-of-state trip.
We are available to assist. We’ll go over six of the earliest pregnant symptoms in the guide below, along with further details about your alternatives.
1. Swollen or tender breasts
Early in pregnancy is also typically when changes in your breasts or chest tissue start.
You may observe:
pain and swelling
Sensitivity and tenderness to touch a heavy or full sensation
Naturally, premenstrual syndrome (PMS) frequently causes discomfort and tenderness.
Are you unsure how to distinguish between the two? Your breast or chest veins may provide a hint: tingling in the area and pain beneath your armpits are common signs of pregnancy, as are blue, noticeable veins.
In the early stages of pregnancy, your areolae, or the ring of skin around your nipples, may start to look darker or perhaps a little bigger.
2. Feeling queasy, whether or not vomiting
The term “morning sickness” isn’t totally accurate because nausea connected to pregnancy can happen at any time of day.
Additionally, vomiting isn’t necessarily a part of morning sickness. Just feeling queasy is really usual.
While about 80% of women experience nausea in the first few months of pregnancy, only 35–40% also report vomiting, according to research by 2019Trusted Source.
During pregnancy, nausea may start quite early.
A survey conducted in 2021Researchers monitored the onset of pregnancy illness starting on the day of ovulation in 241 pregnant individuals, according to a reliable source.
Eleven to twenty days following ovulation, two-thirds of the subjects reported experiencing symptoms. Approximately 5% of participants experienced symptoms even earlier.
Overall, 94.1 percent of the subjects had some degree of nausea and vomiting.
Because ovulation occurs in the midst of your cycle, you can have nausea around the time you miss your period if you have a 28-day cycle.
However, keep in mind that not everyone gets nausea throughout pregnancy. To put it another way, “no nausea” does not equate to “not pregnant.”
3. More frequent urination
This increase in bathroom visits can occur much earlier, often as early as week 4 of pregnancy (or around the time you miss your period). You may associate frequent urination with late pregnancy.
You may have noticed another significant shift in your restroom habits. constipation.
By week 4, you may feel bloated and backed up, despite the fact that you may be urinating much more.
4. Tiredness and drowsiness
Despite the fact that it is midday, are you having trouble keeping your eyes open? Defying the temptation to slumber and frequent yawns?
Around the 4-week point, feeling more exhausted than usual is a typical pregnancy symptom.
Naturally, feeling more exhausted than normal right before your period begins is also quite common. However, you might want to get a pregnancy test as soon as possible if your period doesn’t arrive and the exhaustion doesn’t go away.
6. Modifications to flavor and scent
Taste and scent might be impacted by hormonal changes in the early stages of pregnancy.
You may observe:
supplies; or a metallic or sour taste in your mouth
An aversion to some foods, even ones you like; an increase in salivation; a sudden unpleasantness to aromas you normally don’t mind, such as coffee, spices, or cleaning supplies; or a metallic or sour taste in your mouth
A brief overview of conception comes first.
Ovulation, which occurs in the middle of your cycle, is when conception occurs.
Let’s say that since your last period, you have only had penis-in-vagina sex once. About two weeks into your cycle, that was the only time you may have become pregnant. It’s reasonable to count backwards and presume that you are two weeks along when you miss your period and receive a positive pregnancy test.
However, according to a recent Planned Parenthood press release, medical practitioners usually use your latest menstrual cycle to determine how many weeks you are pregnant. The first week of pregnancy begins on the first day of your last period. You are deemed to be four weeks pregnant by the first day of your missed menstruation. Yes, despite the fact that conception was barely two weeks prior.
You have just 14 days to locate an abortion physician, schedule an appointment, and get over any further obstacles, such as required waiting periods or counseling. To put it briefly, it severely restricts access to abortion in states that prohibit abortions before six weeks.