There is nothing more heart-racing than guessing if you are pregnant – it doesn’t matter if you are trying to conceive or just happen to have unprotected sex. A home pregnancy test kit or a pregnancy test at the doctor’s clinic will clarify it for sure, but until you can take one, which is usually when your period is already late, there may be tell-tale signs that your body emits to show you quite early on that you are, in fact, with a baby. Read on to see if you are experiencing any of the following.
1. Sudden shortness of breath
Feeling out of breath too easily and too fast? If climbing a flight of stairs suddenly leaves you gasping a bit for air, it could mean that you’re pregnant. Your forming foetus needs oxygen, leaving you a little short of it!
2. Sore or tender breasts
If putting your bra on seems like a mild torture or your ‘twins’ seem to look or feel a little bigger than usual, well, that’s another tell-tale clue that a baby’s on the way! So are sudden darkening of the areolas and clearly visible, pronounced veins on your chest.
3. More tired than usual
You could hardly finish your dinner last night and just could not wait to hit the sack when, before this, bedtime was no earlier that 1am – Well, increased levels of hormones during early pregnancy are indeed capable of making you feel
(and look!) tired and worn out for no apparent reason.
4. Spotting
Ah, you have your period. Or do you? If it’s just spotting, and a few days earlier than expected, you may actually be experiencing implantation bleeding, where the fertilised egg attaches to the uterine wall and causes a mini-bloodshed.
5. Early nausea
While many women feel the wrath of pregnancy nausea (a.k.a. morning sickness) when they’re about six weeks along, just as many experience nausea and vomiting earlier than that. If you feel that nausea has been trying to be your new best friend lately, then you might know what to expect when you do take on a pregnancy test.
6. Lower backache
If you don’t normally get backaches but suddenly feel sore and tender at your lower back, it could be that the ligaments are loosening in preparation for carrying your baby. This, for some women, could actually carry on for the rest of the pregnancy.
7. Cramping
This could be PMS, but is could also be the result of the uterus stretching to accommodate a baby.
8. Sudden food issues
Can’t stop thinking about watermelons all of a sudden? Or perhaps tuna, which as far as you know, is your favorite sandwich filling, now turns your stomach? If you notice food issues that weren’t there before, it could be your body telling you you’re pregnant.
9. Sudden bloatedness and constipation
Just a few days ago your skinny jeans fitted great and now you suddenly can’t get into them? If you’re feeling a little puffed up or finding it difficult to ‘go’, it might be extra progesterone due to pregnancy, which slows down your digestive system.
10. Moody and blue
Did a little war erupt over your hubby’s failure to wash his own plate after dinner? If you’re feeling a little moody and not quite yourself, if might be because your body is adjusting to new hormones.
11. Super nose!
Certain odours now makes you gag and you feel that you have developed a super-sensitive nose out of the blue –
If you’re feeling repulsed by certain smells, or have an increased sensitivity to odours, it may mean you’ve got a bun in the oven.
12. The new Miss Fainter
This is the popular symptom they use to signify a pregnancy in movies. However, there’s nothing fictional about having a fainting spell during early pregnancy. Low blood sugar or blood pressure can cause some pretty giddy episodes.