Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)

The variety of pregnancy symptoms really impresses, as they are very individual for each woman. The definite sign of possible pregnancy is the absence of menstruations, but many women don’t experience this symptom during the early pregnancy stages. Most of such symptoms can be caused by other things, that is why the best way to define whether you pregnant or not is use the pregnancy test or consult a doctor.

If you are planning to conceive a child, you should prepare your organism for pregnancy period. You should find more about this aspect to be ready for successful pregnancy and childbirth. You should adjust your diet, habits and lifestyle in accordance with your future state, as well as study the physical activity exercises that may help to gain the best form for easy birth.

Signs That You Are Pregnant

Changes in Menstrual Cycle
It is the most popular pregnancy “side effect”. Most of women don’t experience periods during the menstruation, or menstruations become shorter and less intensive till the full stopping. Also the regularity of periods is changing slightly. You should remember that such changes are not 100% signs of pregnancy, as they can have another nature like rapid weight changes, stresses or hormone disbalance. It can also be a side effect of stopping the intake of hormonal drugs.

Implantation Bleeding
When the embryo is trying to attach itself to the uterus wall, the process can be accompanied with short period bleeding that usually starts in six – twelve days after the conception was made. Very often this bleeding is taken as a menstruation by mistake. Sometimes the process of embryo implanting causes menstruation-like spasms or cramping. To relief these symptoms, you can use a heating pad. In case you are pregnant it is better to avoid painkilling drugs.

Sickness and Vomiting
These are the most famous symptoms of pregnancy that can accompany you during the whole period. Usually the morning sickness starts in two – eight weeks since conception was made. Don’t think that it is only the morning ‘hello’ to pregnant women: the nausea can happen any time during the day and night. Also it can be a specific reaction on some food or fragrances. Some women do not experience it at all, most feel sickness during the first trimester. There is a possibility to regard nausea as a pregnancy side effect instead of its real cause like food poisoning or other disorders. Regular visits to a doctor will help to avoid such mistakes. By the way the doctor assistance will be also helpful to relief morning sickness effect. A doctor will prescribe some medicines or diet therapy allowed during the pregnancy.

Breasts Sensitivity and Swelling
Women breasts react to any hormonal changes in the organism very quickly, and pregnancy will also make an effect on them. In one – two weeks of pregnancy you may feel that your breasts became bigger in size and more sensitive to various irritants. You also may feel pain discomfort like during the PMS. Sometimes the color and size of nipple areolas also change. Remember that breasts swelling and tenderness can be also a side effect of other hormonal disbalance or taking some hormonal pills like birth control medicines. Even the intake of much coffee can cause the same symptoms.

Tiredness and Exhaustion
You can feel it soon after conception, but don’t take it as a definite pregnancy symptom. It can be caused by stresses, depression or heavy physical activity.

Changes in Attitude to Specific Tastes and Aromas
The nature of this symptom is still unknown for science, but it really happens in the vast majority of cases. Most likely it is also the effect of increased estrogen production. So don’t wonder if some fragrances or dishes that never made any discomfort to you may suddenly make you mad.

Frequent Micturition
This symptom takes place within the six weeks after the child was conceived. It is natural process when the amount of various liquids in the organism increases during the pregnancy period, so don’t worry about frequent visits to the toilet. Also the baby grows inside you and less and less place is left for your bladder, so it can hold less liquid and needs more often liberation.

Enlargement of Abdomen
The feelings during the first pregnancy period is almost the same like when the periods start: you feel bloated. As the child growth your abdomen will grow respectively.

Appetite Raising
You need to eat more as there is someone else inside who also need to get all necessary nutrients. The organism should be strong and full of vitamins, that’s why you are eating more during the pregnancy..
Raised Basal Temperature
If you measure your basal temperature regularly, and there is a constant raise during 18 days or more, it seems that you are pregnant.

Testing

You can surely find out if you are pregnant or by using special pregnancy test or consulting a doctor. Most of home tests give no guarantees for definitely trustworthy results. If it has shown that you are not pregnant, but you experience various pregnancy symptoms, you should see a doctor to diagnose the reasons.

In some cases women mix up and got the wrong point of view of pms symptoms. As the pms symptoms are quite similar to pregnancy symptoms.

Perhapes, the woman can feel depressed with several symptoms similar to pms symptoms. One of the most well-known fact is that during pregnancy there is so-called pregnancy depression, firstly, it’s connected with the hormonal changes. One should remember that pms depression is connected with the menstrual cycle changes as pregnancy depression is connected with hormonal changes in the body.

One should also remember that pms depression can last for 2 weeks maximum only (as the level of serotonin at this very period lowers).

Other symptoms like headaches, pains in back, breasts pains and so on are also can be taken for pms symptoms. In this case, they are quite alike. But to identify depression symptoms among which are delay of menstruation (but it’s the only symptom to be identified among 45% of pregnant women only). Usually pms symptoms start at the same period each month ( 2 weeks to 2 days before menses) as pregnancy symptoms start usually at the period of expected menses. In case of menses (if there is no suppression of menstruation) pregnancy symptoms can be easily mixed up with pms symptoms and to define them a woman should consult a doctor.

One more factor to identify pregnancy as the doctors recommend in case of sex with no contraception is pregnancy test. It’s recommended to use monthly before expected menses to identify pregnancy. Pregnancy tests are not of high accuracy at the starting point of pregnancy as they are highly recommended to use at the periods of suppression of menstruation.

At first sight pms symptoms can be easily mixed up and the only way is to consult a doctor and to make haemanalysis to define pregnancy.