Pregnancy can be an exciting time, a time of discovery and new experiences. Most women have some symptoms of pregnancy to a lesser or larger degree. These symptoms can cause elation, discomfort or a little of both.
The top ten most common symptoms of pregnancy are:
1. A missed period – Usually the first sign of pregnancy is a missed period. Most women experience few or no symptoms of conception before the time when their period would normally have been due.
Home pregnancy tests will also be negative before this time, so a missed period is usually the very first symptom of pregnancy.
2. Nausea – Pregnancy related nausea is usually referred to as morning sickness because many women experience it on an empty stomach first thing in the morning.
However for many women these symptoms of pregnancy can strike at pretty much any time of the day.
3. Mood swings – Pregnancy hormones can cause a woman’s mood to fluctuate greatly. Whereas one moment she feels wildly elated and happy, she could feel down and anxious and apprehensive the next.
4. Implantation bleeding – This is more like light spotting than a regular period and it happens when the embryo implants in the wall of the uterus. It can happen about 6 to 12 days after conception occurs.
Some women have spotting as well as some amount of cramping. However not all women experience this pregnancy symptom of implantation bleeding.
5. Breast tenderness and changes – Breast tenderness is another one of the early symptoms of pregnancy.
Many women also find that the aureole darken and the nipples become larger quite early in pregnancy while others experience these symptoms later in pregnancy. Also later symptoms could include nipple discharge as the body prepares for breastfeeding.
6. Frequent urination – This is another one of the early symptoms that has women visiting the bathroom more frequently than before.
The hormones of pregnancy are responsible for this in early pregnancy, whereas later it is the uterus putting pressure on the bladder that results in more frequent urination.
7. Fatigue – Feeling tired and exhausted; feeling sleepy at strange times during the day and wanting to rest or nap more frequently are also among the symptoms of pregnancy.
8. Changes in sense of taste and smell – The sense of taste and smell can become sharper and this adds to the feelings of nausea.
9. Aches and pains – Head aches, backaches and other discomforts can manifest themselves at different times during pregnancy. Some women also find that they have a stuffy nose in early pregnancy.
10. Food cravings and aversions – A pregnant woman’s craving from specific foods is one of the best known symptoms of pregnancy.
She may crave what she otherwise did not like very much and foods that were her favorite may suddenly become nauseating, literally. It is thought that some of these carvings could owe themselves to nutritional deficiencies. The explanation for the aversions is that they are the body’s natural defense mechanism to protect the mother and baby from contamination of any sort.
