Every woman is different, and every woman experiences pregnancy differently. If you are trying to get pregnant and feel like there aren’t any obvious signs and symptoms happening in your body, don’t lose hope. The early signs of pregnancy can actually be easy to miss!
Pregnancy symptoms can be subtle and can often be mistaken for the symptoms you experience before and during your period as they are very similar. You may feel slight physical changes that can be attributed to either PMS, menstruation, or pregnancy, so it helps to pay attention to your body closely.
To help you understand the early signs of pregnancy and recognize them when they do come, here’s a list to remember.
1. Raised basal temperature
One of the first symptoms of pregnancy that you may not identify right away is a raised basal body temperature. This is your temperature when you wake up in the morning. In a regular cycle, your basal temperature increases after ovulation and remains elevated until your next period, where it goes down. However, if your basal temperature remains elevated for more than two weeks, you may be pregnant.
If you are actively trying to get pregnant, chart your basal body temperature to identify if it has increased and remained in elevation.
2. Tender breasts
Another early pregnancy symptom that you may miss has something to do with the hormonal changes that affect your breasts. While you may feel tender or sore breasts almost right away, it can be mistaken for tender breasts that happen before and during your menstruation. If you are pregnant, you may also find that your breasts feel heavier than usual.
3. Increase in vaginal discharge
Vaginal discharge is normal at certain points of your menstrual cycle, especially during your fertile days when you may be ovulating. It may also happen when you are having a hormonal imbalance or a yeast infection. However, there is a kind of vaginal discharge that doesn’t itch, is clear, and odorless. Called “leucorrhea,” this kind of discharge is an early pregnancy symptom, so pay attention to your vaginal discharge!
4. Cramps
Similar to the other symptoms described in this list, cramping is a symptom that can occur before you get your period, during ovulation, and during your actual menstruation. But did you know that cramping can also signal pregnancy — even when you don’t get a period?
Cramps can happen during implantation, which is when the fertilized egg or embryo implants in your uterus. It may also be accompanied with some spotting or bleeding. This bleeding can also be mistaken as the beginning of menstruation, but generally, implantation bleeding is a lot lighter in both color and quantity.
5. Tiredness and fatigue
Stress, anxiety, and physical exertion can all cause tiredness and fatigue, but there is a different kind of fatigue that signals pregnancy. This is the kind of fatigue that is overwhelming and even unbearable. It’s no wonder why some women realize they are pregnant when they find it hard to rise from their beds!
Fatigue, which is an early symptom of pregnancy, is caused by the elevated progesterone hormones. Aside from this, during the early days of pregnancy, most women have lower blood sugar levels and lower blood pressure, which contributes to the feeling of immense tiredness.
6. Bloating and constipation
Finally, if you’re actively getting pregnant and are experiencing all the symptoms above and are feeling bloated and constipated as well, there’s a good chance you may be pregnant. Also caused by the increase of progesterone, you may experience changes in your digestion and bowel habits during the early stage of pregnancy.
Some “more obvious” pregnancy symptoms could accompany these slight digestive changes, such as food cravings and food aversions.
While there is no symptom that tells you you are 100% pregnant, it definitely helps to look out for possible early signs of pregnancy that are easy to miss. Then again, not every woman experiences pregnancy the same way, so it’s possible that you may or may not experience every symptom in this list.
Whether or not you are already experiencing the symptoms mentioned above, the best thing to do now is to prepare your body for pregnancy by getting enough rest, hydration, and physical activity and eating a healthy, balanced diet.