{"id":52449,"date":"2023-05-03T10:00:14","date_gmt":"2023-05-03T08:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ivi.uk\/?p=52449"},"modified":"2023-05-30T15:35:05","modified_gmt":"2023-05-30T13:35:05","slug":"early-signs-pregnancy-symptoms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ivi.uk\/blog\/early-signs-pregnancy-symptoms\/","title":{"rendered":"Early signs of pregnancy: how do you recognise symptoms?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">It\u2019s easy to assume that we all know the <strong>early signs of pregnancy<\/strong>, and everyone has heard about missed periods and morning sickness. But when it occurs to you that you may be pregnant, whether you don\u2019t want to be pregnant or very much do, you may need more than your baseline of general knowledge. It\u2019s only natural to monitor your body closely for those tell-tale signs and keep an eye out for every little twinge or alteration.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">This article looks at <strong>some lesser-known pregnancy symptoms<\/strong> and those that are more obvious. Read on for our top 10 tips on recognising the <strong>early signs of pregnancy<\/strong> but do bear in mind that all women are different; every pregnancy is different. An individual may have all or very few of these pregnancy signals.<\/p>\n<h2>What are the classic early signs of pregnancy?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Missed period:<\/span><br \/>\n<\/strong>The best known of all <strong>pregnancy symptoms <\/strong>and perhaps one of the easiest to recognise. Sometimes, however, you may have <strong>slight bleeding or cramping<\/strong> when your period would normally be due. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ivi.uk\/blog\/what-implantation-bleeding\/\">Implantation bleeding<\/a>, about 10\u201314 days after conception when the blastocyst implants in the womb lining, may also result in <strong>light red, pink or brown spotting<\/strong>. Implantation bleeding lasts no more than three days.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><strong>Morning sickness:<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\nDespite its name, &#8216;morning&#8217; sickness can happen at any time of day. <strong>Feeling nauseous during early pregnancy<\/strong> is very common and, although unpleasant, usually is nothing to worry about. But if your nausea is severe and you can\u2019t keep anything down, you should contact your GP or medical adviser. It can worsen towards the end of the third month but usually subsides after this point.<\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Breast tenderness:<\/span><br \/>\n<\/strong>During pregnancy, <strong>breasts may become larger, feel tender, heavy or have a tingly sensation.<\/strong> Veins often become more visible and the nipples may darken and become more prominent. The skin around your nipples can look bumpy due to the presence of areolar glands known as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ivi.uk\/blog\/montgomery-tubercles-sign-of-pregnancy\/\">Montgomery&#8217;s tubercles<\/a>. These glands secrete an oily fluid in preparation for breastfeeding.<\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Feeling tired:<\/span><br \/>\n<\/strong>Fatigue can strike early during pregnancy, most likely due to increased progesterone levels. This is not a normal tiredness you may feel after a busy day, but <strong>deep and otherwise inexplicable exhaustion<\/strong>. If you are free to give in to it, the best response is to <strong>allow yourself extra sleep<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Frequent trips to the loo:<\/span><br \/>\n<\/strong>You may need to <strong>urinate more frequently<\/strong> long before your growing baby starts putting on your bladder. Even during very <strong>early pregnancy<\/strong>, the amount of blood pumped around your body increases, meaning the kidneys process more fluid than usual. This results in <strong>an increased amount of fluid in your bladder<\/strong>. It is important to stay hydrated.<br \/>\n<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Increased vaginal discharge:<\/span><br \/>\n<\/strong>Having <strong>more vaginal discharge than usual<\/strong> is a <strong>common early sign of pregnancy<\/strong>. Unless you have an infection, it does not bring any irritation or soreness. The discharge is usually <strong>white and milky<\/strong>. It is caused by a growth of the cells lining the walls of the vagina, which begins very quickly after you have conceived. It is harmless and can continue throughout the pregnancy.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Food cravings or aversions:<\/span><br \/>\n<\/strong>Another well-known peculiarity of <strong>early pregnancy<\/strong> is \u2018going off\u2019 certain everyday things like coffee or fatty foods. Alternatively, you may find you suddenly <strong>crave items you do not normally eat<\/strong>, especially high-calorie \u2018comfort\u2019 foods like biscuits and ice cream. This is normal and relatively harmless unless it implies putting on weight more than would be reasonable during the pregnancy. It is different from pica, an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebump.com\/a\/pica-during-pregnancy\">eating disorder in which you crave non-food items<\/a> like soap, paper or soil. This is potentially dangerous and if it happens, you should consult a medical adviser.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">A funny, metallic taste:<\/span><br \/>\n<\/strong>The <strong>strange, metallic taste<\/strong> reported by some women in <strong>early pregnancy<\/strong>, known as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.parents.com\/pregnancy\/my-body\/pregnancy-health\/dysgeusia-during-pregnancy-what-to-do-when-everything-tastes-bad\/\">dysgeusia<\/a>, could be connected with food aversions and sometimes a heightened sensitivity to smells. It could also be an over-production of saliva.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Mood fluctuations:<\/span><br \/>\n<\/strong>The hormones <strong>oestrogen and progesterone<\/strong> start to swirl around your body <strong>very early in pregnancy<\/strong>, and the sudden change can make you prone to <strong>mood swings<\/strong>. You could find that you feel emotionally \u2018wobbly\u2019 and more reactive than usual. This is normal, and nothing to worry about.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">The pregnancy glow:<\/span><br \/>\n<\/strong>We saved the best to last. The famous <strong>\u2018pregnancy glow\u2019<\/strong> is a phenomenon, probably due to the increased blood flow, changes in hormone levels and raised body temperature. Increased activity of oil glands can add a shiny gloss to the hair and an extra glow to the skin, or acne, in some cases.<br \/>\n<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\">Get to know more about the early symptoms of pregnancy<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Naturally, as soon as you suspect you are pregnant, with or without any symptoms, you must take a test. If positive, contact your GP immediately to begin antenatal care. You may also like to browse our tips on a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ivi.uk\/blog\/mediterranean-diet-linked-to-increased-chance-of-successful-ivf\/\">healthy diet during pregnancy<\/a>. On the other hand, if you\u2019re still hoping to get pregnant, take a look at our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ivi.uk\/blog\/trying-to-conceive-10-tips-successful-conception\/\">10 tips for successful conception<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">If you have any worries about <strong>your fertility<\/strong>, our website has plenty of information about our range of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ivi.uk\/assisted-reproduction-treatments\/\">treatments and services<\/a>, including how to contact our fertility specialists through our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ivi.uk\/ask-for-an-appointment\/\">online contact form<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s easy to assume that we all know the early signs of pregnancy, and everyone has heard about missed periods and morning sickness. But when it occurs to you that you may be pregnant, whether you don\u2019t want to be pregnant or very much do, your baseline of general knowledge is no longer enough. It\u2019s only natural to monitor your body closely for those tell-tale signs and keep an eye out for every little twinge or alteration.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":105408,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15,14],"tags":[245,244],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.12 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Early signs of pregnancy: how do you recognise symptoms?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It\u2019s easy to assume that we all know the early signs of pregnancy, and everyone has heard about missed periods and morning sickness.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ivi.uk\/blog\/early-signs-pregnancy-symptoms\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" 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