Detecting Pregnancy: 10 First Signs of Pregnancy before Missed Period

Pregnancy is the best of times in a woman’s life when she is bearing a tiny new life inside of her body. The whole process is connected with a full range of changes and new sensations of a woman, many of them welcome and long-awaited. The main pregnancy symptom is well-known to any woman – it’s always the missed period, but there can be still a lot of time left before another menstruation and the desire to know if the miracle of conception has happened is very strong.

You should understand that not only the missed period is a sign of it – there is a number of other widespread symptoms which help to determine pregnancy with 100% accuracy.

Can You Detect Pregnancy Before Missed Period?

The question of whether there are ways to detect pregnancy before missed periods interests a lot of women. Some of them give it much thought because of the wish to find out about the happy event as soon as possible, some of them, on the contrary, want to make sure they haven’t conceived against their wish. Only a deep understanding of female anatomy and the processes going on in the organism will provide us with the answer to this question.

It should be noted that it doesn’t make any sense to try to determine a possible pregnancy sooner than after a week since the unprotected sexual intercourse if the ovulation didn’t happen. Ovulation is the process of an oocyte going into the fallopian tube, and it happens in the middle of the menstrual cycle. Taking this into consideration, it’s reasonable to track the signs of pregnancy only since the occurrence of ovulation. Thus, you can easily detect the conception before missed period – the main thing is taking into account the reproductive system specificity.

When Do Early Signs of Pregnancy Before Missed Period Start?

The clear and pronounced enough signs of pregnancy come approximately on the 20^th day after the conception when the ovule anchors itself to the uterine wall. At this point, the organism undergoes serious changes which are hard to miss. However, there are earlier symptoms that can be not as intense, so a pregnant woman can overlook them. We should point out that it would be wrong to rely solely on one of the signs – you should pay attention to the set of changes in the organism.

The Earliest Signs of Pregnancy Before Missed Period

The ways of diagnosing pregnancy by yourself are based on the changes which start happening inside of a female body immediately after the fertilization of an egg cell. A few of those can be unexpressed, so you can identify such symptoms only after thoroughly keeping track of your state of health.

Basal Temperature Changing

Basal temperature is the lowest temperature level that the human organism can reach rest. For the most accurate results, the rectal measurements are taken in the morning immediately after waking up and before the physical activity of any sort. There is no doubt that in this case, you can detect pregnancy only if you take measurements regularly, every day – that will allow you to estimate your exact condition.

So, with the help of basal temperature measurements, you will be able to exactly enough tell what the best days to conceive (the ovulation) are. During this period of time the basal temperature is slightly higher than average and in most cases reaches 98.6°F (you can find out the exact numbers for your body if you take the data during a few cycles). Temperature increase remains almost until your period comes, and about a week before the menstruation starts it begins to lower until it reaches a normal level.

If the dynamics have changed and the decrease in temperature didn’t happen you might be pregnant – basal temperature doesn’t decrease while a woman’s bearing a child.

Spotting is One of the Early Signs of Pregnancy Before Missed Period

Even minor spotting causes apprehension in women, and it’s not surprising because spotting is often a symptom of some serious health problem. However, there are completely normal and typical for pregnant women symptoms. Experts say that one of the first signs of pregnancy before missed period is the so-called “implantation bleeding”. It happens the moment the fertilized egg cell fastens to the mucous membrane of the uterine wall and thus gets fixed.

You already know that uterine walls are supplied with blood due to the well-developed vascular mesh, and during the fastening of the ovule onto the uterine wall a blood vessel can be broken – which ends in minor spotting. This stage usually coincides with the expected time of a new period – this is the reason why it is often confused with normal menstruation, especially if your period is irregular or there’s usually not much blood. But if you keep an eye on the state of your organism you’ll be able to see the difference between the implantation bleeding and the normal period:

• Implantation bleeding is short – it’s usually over in 1-2 days
• The volume of blood is small, it is bright red or pink and doesn’t have any tissue fragments
• You don’t feel usual spasmodic pains
• The bleeding doesn’t get heavier

We should mention that you can also experience the so-called breakthrough bleeding during pregnancy. It is a result of hormonal changes, but not any woman has such a reaction. In this case, the spotting differs from menstruation by a smaller amount of excreta and lesser duration

Common Ailment – A Pregnancy Symptom Before Missed Period in the 1^st Week After the Conception

In relation to the changed level of progesterone in the body and increased temperature you can experience symptoms similar to the beginning of a cold. Those can be headaches, dizziness, weakness, fatigue, and sleepiness. There are situations when a woman’s immune system suffers because of the transformations happening in her body and it leads to a sore throat and runny nose.

This symptom as a standalone can’t be valid enough to tell if the woman is pregnant because a common ailment is a sign of a whole lot of other illnesses and disorders.

Increased Breast Sensitivity

Breast sensitivity occurs almost immediately after the implantation of the ovule; moreover, the changes affect the whole breast as well as the nipples in particular. Of course, your size won’t change considerably after only a few days of pregnancy, but your breast can swell a bit. You can also experience unusual tightness or soreness when touched even slightly.

Nipple sensitivity increases during pregnancy as well, and so much that every touch can instigate severe irritation in a woman because of the intense feeling. The nipples can change their color. You should also know about the Areolar glands – they are small rudimentary glands that pregnant women notice on their nipples and sometimes think they’re some kind of rash. Their presence is completely normal and can be noticed even before pregnancy, but after conception, they usually become more prominent – this is one of the earliest signs of pregnancy before missed period.

The Sensation of Fullness in the Lower Abdomen

During the first few days of pregnancy, the blood flow to the uterus is increased – that’s why it becomes larger in volume. This is the reason why you can experience certain heaviness, a sensation of fullness in your lower abdomen which is considered one of the pregnancy symptoms before missed period. You should be prepared for the unpleasant aspect of such an occurrence – you may start suffering from hemorrhoids.

Those who are going through their first pregnancy most often experience such a complication during the second half of their term, when the uterus is significantly increased, but during recurrent pregnancies, this side-effect can declare itself even before missed period.

Signs of Pregnancy Before Missed Period: Aversion to Smells

One of the first pregnancy symptoms before missed period is smell aversion (this sign is so widespread that it can be noticed in every second woman in her early pregnancy). It happens because of the changes in the central nervous system of a future mother. Smell aversion is usually accompanied by excessive salivation, taste changes, and even nausea.

Sleepiness, Rapid Fatigability, and Absentmindedness

During pregnancy, the female body restructures itself in such a way that all the resources are spent on fetal development. That is, the baby becomes the priority, compared to which other tasks can lose their importance and value.

The production of progesterone plays a significant part in this process, but this hormone has an oppressive influence on mental processes. On such a backdrop an expectant mother becomes sleepy and forgetful, experiences rapid fatigability and certain weakness. But you don’t have to worry about the matter – it won’t continue during the whole 40 weeks because after only two and a half months the placenta will begin active production of its own hormones: the level of estrogen will increase and sleepiness will subside, giving way to energy and cheerfulness.

Excreta Can be One of the Signs of Pregnancy Before Missed Period

Vaginal excreta are a normal occurrence in a female organism: their type and intensity change according to the state of health, the phase of the menstrual cycle, and the situation in general. But such a common thing can also be a sign of pregnancy before missed period. It often happens in the first few days – the excreta are clear, not very thick, and without any distinct scent. There can also appear spotting similar to menstruation – this is implantation bleeding, which has been mentioned earlier.

Signs of Pregnancy Before Missed Period: Toxicosis

Every second future mother suffers from toxicosis in early pregnancy, and some people consider such a state of things completely normal while in fact, it’s a dangerous process that can disturb the normal development of all the important organs and systems of a baby.

In medicine by early toxicosis experts usually mean not only excessive salivation and morning sickness but also a number of other, more serious symptoms: skin manifestations, convulsions, jaundice, bronchial asthma in the pregnant, etc.

The exact reasons for this disorder are still unknown, there are, at least, a few speculations. You can’t be sure you won’t have toxicosis, but experts have managed to summon a number of factors that can be its possible causes:

• Frequent stresses
• Improper diet
• Asthenic body constitution
• Chronic digestive tract diseases
• Abortions in the medical history
• Liver or thyroid gland problems

Frequent Urination

If you visit the bathroom more frequently (you can definitely notice it, especially during the nighttime if you wake up a few times to get to the toilet) and don’t experience any unpleasant sensations (sharp or dull pains) it can be one of the pregnancy symptoms before missed period. Such an occurrence can be easily explained by hormonal changes.

Because of the reorganization, the blood flow to the uterus increases, and the blood vessels are full, causing temporary changes in the functioning of the bladder and kidneys. Don’t take medicines immediately if you suspect you’re ill because this is often an early sign of pregnancy before missed period.

Can Thrush be a Sign of Pregnancy Before Missed Period?

Considering yeast infection as a sign of pregnancy is a dubious method, but sometimes it is indeed true. You should understand that the cause of the problem is not pregnancy, but a fungus. The dependency of one on the other can be traced due to the following reason: the blood flow to the small pelvis increases in the very first days after the egg cell fertilization, and that leads to the increased amount of the excreta aimed at the defense of the mother’s organism against harmful germs.

The level of estrogen increases as well, which is the cause of vaginal microflora changes and as a whole creates favorable conditions for the Candida fungi growth. If this happens, the excreta take clotted consistency and distinct scent, irritate the mucous membrane and cause skin itch. Thus, you can’t call thrush a sign of pregnancy before a missed period, but this illness often develops on the backdrop of conception.

National Signs that Help to Detect Pregnancy Before Missed Period

Some people trust national signs and omens – the patterns which don’t have any logical explanation but have been determined from the previous generations’ experience. You shouldn’t rely on them completely because there are easier and more accurate ways to diagnose pregnancy. Though you can’t call national signs a “valid” means to detect the conception, some of them can be true:

• Dreams about fish of a watermelon can signalize about the conception
• You can mix your urine sample with a drop of iodine – if the drop dissolves you’re pregnant;
• Your libido has increased
• Pour baking soda into a small amount of urine – if there are bubbles you might be pregnant;
• Lie down on your back and palpate the place about 3 inches down from your belly button. If you feel pulsation the conception might’ve happened
• Some women just ask if they’re pregnant and plant two identical onions into glasses. The first one to sprout will be the answer

Can You Determine Ectopic Pregnancy in Early Stages?

Ectopic pregnancy is dangerous – it’s a state when the fertilized egg doesn’t go into the uterus and fastens outside of the uterine cavity instead. The matter of this complication lies in the fact that there can be no symptoms until the situation becomes critical. The main symptom of this complication is pain in either of your sides (it indicates the place where the ovule has fastened). Unpleasant sensations become more intense when you walk or turn left and right. In the early stages, there can be some bleeding, rather abundant and lasting.