A normal pregnancy lasts for about 40 weeks. Early changes and signs are present their and help one to care for herself and her child.
The Absence of period is the most obvious and visible change for a pregnant woman, although the absence of periods also implies some hormonal imbalance mostly it is the earliest sign of pregnancy even before you examine yourself for it.
Physical changes in a woman’s body are key markers to tell either if she is pregnant or not, some of these changes occur way before someone tests positive for pregnancy (as mentioned earlier).
What in it?
- Increase in Breast Size
- Nausea and Vomiting
- Frequent Urination
- Food Craving
- Body Temperature
- Cramps, Nipple Size, and Sexual appetite
- Skin Change
- Increased Blood Flow
Increase in Breast Size
Changes in breast size and feeling of tenderness to touch are some of the major signs of pregnancy. There is also some discomfort in breast this discomfort arises due to the hormonal changes in the body. Some women also experience sensitive nipples i.e. their nipples become sensitive for touch.
Another common symptom experienced by some includes tiredness, loss of appetite, nausea, mood swings, morning sickness.
These symptoms can last up to 12 weeks of pregnancy (First trimester) and usually start to disappear in 2nd trimester as zygote starts to develop into the fetus.
Here are some changes and signs of experience by pregnant women. One thing here should be noted that not all pregnant women experience these symptoms.
Sometimes, even they experience none of these mentioned symptoms. But if you are pregnant then keeping a check on these symptoms will help in your pregnancy period.
Nausea and Vomiting
Loss of appetite even for your favorite dish is another signal that you might be pregnant and sometimes they start to develop a liking towards the food which they didn’t even eat before. It is normal in the early changes during pregnancy
This might appears strange but some of the women start craving for sour fruits and strange food items which they didn’t even prefer before and one of the possible reason for this sudden change is due to the heightened sense of smell which is another sign for pregnancy.
Feeling nauseated or feeling pukish arises in some pregnant. This feeling can last up to end of the first trimester or even during the whole pregnancy. Most pregnant women experience this feeling mostly in the morning so also known as morning sickness. It is normal in early pregnancy.
The main cause of this is due to the hormone progesterone as it softens your uterine wall and sometimes even the stomach which result in the discomfort. Morning sickness combined with a heightened sense of smell can cause much of the discomfort to the pregnant woman.
Some pregnant women experience funny sometimes discomforting feeling changes in their stomach as their muscles are pulled or stretched. This problem is not so common but cannot be ignored.
These tingles are known as stomach twinges/pulling and don’t last much in the pregnancy period and fade away as the pregnancy proceeds.
One of the early signs of pregnancy includes a change in the color of Vulva as they get more blood supply so they can form more tissues as increase blood flow results into more nutrition hence more proliferation.
Usually, the color of Vulva is pinkish but gets changing into the red as pregnancy proceeds. These changes in color can be observed and notice easily by the midwives and it is perfectly normal.
Frequent urination is also can be a sign of pregnancy and pregnant women feel urges to pee frequently. Although this could also arise if one drinks too much fluid or have any sort of urinary infection which also very common in females but if these are not the case then definitely it changes arises due to the fact that you are pregnant.
A not so common but a significant change in pregnancy is dysgeusia. Dysgeusia is a sense of distorted taste. In pregnancy, a woman experiences a change in the taste of some food items or can occur with all of the food that they eat.
The taste changes to sour and slightly metallic taste. The main cause of this is due to Hormone progesterone. So if a pregnant woman experiences any sort of dysgeusia this could explain why it is happening.
Bloated feeling is also a case with pregnancy as they feel full and tummy feels rounded. Bloating accompanied with other stomach discomforts can cause more discomfort. It is seen that it happens in early pregnancy changes. Although bloating is a lot common as it can also be caused by some food items but can’t be ignored as a change occurs in pregnancy.
Blood spots on Underwear also happen as about a week after conception the embryo applies pressure and pushes itself into the uterine wall which results into some bleeding and can stain your underwear.
Constant Fatigue, Feeling asleep whole day and prolonged tiredness is also a sign of pregnancy and occur even as early as in 1st week. The possible reason for this tiredness is as your body prepares itself for the pregnancy period and hence working overtime on it.
Backaches are also common in pregnancy as your stomach starts to increase in size and puts more load on your back to support it. The ache here resembles stomach ache or period cramping. This is quite normal as your body starts to prepare itself for the upcoming pregnancy.
It’s quite common for pregnant women to suffer from leg cramping and might experience it a lot more in the early pregnancy period. This can also indicate that pregnant women have less calcium in their blood because it’s being taken up by the baby!
The sudden increase in a pregnant woman’s hormones level results in headaches. These headaches can also be accompanied by feeling pukish or if the woman is tired then can also cause sensitiveness to noise and light.
Having sudden random food cravings is another one of the most common early signs that the woman is pregnant. It is caused by body craves and linked to what it needs.
Some women may even say that they crave mud when they’re pregnant, and this may be due to a lack of iron in their blood. Some crave for combinations like fish and ice cream, Weird though. This could possibly be because of a lack of protein and sugar.
It doesn’t necessarily mean that cravings will be weird or unique though, just a craving for cheese could mean that there is a need for more calcium, especially if it’s linked with the cramps. This can start as early on and can even last throughout the pregnancy. One should give in to these cravings if can but within reason!
Throughout the cycle, the body temperature fluctuates and if it has been high for 18 days or more, it’s likely that the woman is pregnant. Normal temperature is around 96-98°F and when while ovulating or pregnant, it may be in the range of 97-99°F. The pregnant woman feels hot mostly in the day.
Cramps, Nipple Size and Sexual appetite
Most pregnant women feel uterine cramps or pain in their stomach and sometimes feel it only on one side of the stomach. The possible reason for this is because the uterus starts to increase in size to enclose the baby. This is quite common changes to have in early pregnancy.
The pain is normal in pregnancy and is expected for a healthy pregnancy. They sometimes also feel full and some even describe the pain as they about to start their period.
Change in Nipples size and color is also a common sign in about 30 to 80 percent of the pregnant women. The nipples become larger and darker and some women also small bump like structure around the nipples (resemble to Goosebumps) they appear white and known as Montgomery’s tubercules.
They are non-other than the sebaceous gland which has the main function to remove germ from the nipple area.
Sudden reduced sexual appetite is also a sign of pregnancy as the pregnant woman is constantly tired and her breasts become more sensitive. These things can make her more redundant towards sex.
A pregnant woman also notices that her skin looks more rosy and shiny. Also known as “pregnancy glow”. It is caused by increased blood flow. Pregnancy hormones can also cause extra oiliness on skin and face which results in flares of acne.
The level of hormones in pregnancy is very high during pregnancy. A pregnant woman might feel moody, forgetful, or unable to focus on a task. Fatigue and stress can increase these symptoms. But they are very common and harmless
Increased Blood Flow
The body of a pregnant woman makes extra blood and her heart pumps faster to meet the needs of pregnancy. This can result in the blue veins in the belly, breasts, and leg region and become more noticeable and visible.
One may develop spider veins on her face, neck, or arms. These are tiny blood vessels that branch out from a central area, like the legs of a spider branching out from a central area.
The muscles that break down the food become more relaxed during pregnancy period. Hormone changes also slow down this breakdown process. Food also stays in the stomach longer than to give the body more time to absorb all the nutrients.
All these things can cause or worsen the problem of heartburn. Although heartburn is not very common but can happen in pregnancy.
Pregnancy has many changes throughout it. Knowing what changes are going to happen with the body in early pregnancy can help a woman, in pregnancy.
This transformation mainly happens to the woman’s body due to the hormones and various activities. This blog has all the early changes that happen in your body during pregnancy.
From increasing the breast size, feeling fatigued, vomiting, and more are some common early pregnancy changes.
You may also read- All Changes During Early Phase Of Pregnancy
Ans) Around 97-99 °F is the normal temperature for a pregnant woman.
Ans) It is normal to feel fatigue in the pregnancy.
Ans) Nausea and vomiting are the part of morning sickness which starts in early pregnancy of a woman. Morning sickness gives a lot of sicknesses and may occur at any time of day.
Ans) The size of breast increases throughout the pregnancy.
Ans) The change in food preference happens in early pregnancy. Many pregnant women like to eat sour, sweet food.