You may feel your body making changes before you know you're pregnant or you may not notice any symptoms at all. Symptoms of early pregnancy include a missed period, needing to pee more often, tender breasts, feeling tired and morning sickness.
If you've had a positive pregnancy test, chances are very good that you're pregnant, even if you have no symptoms. And once you have an early ultrasound – and the fetal heartbeat is detected – it's undeniable. (You can probably see your baby's heart beating as early as 5 or 6 weeks.)
According to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, most women (59 percent) experienced an onset of pregnancy symptoms by their fifth or sixth week, while 71 percent reported symptoms by the end of week six and 89 percent by week eight. If you don't feel any symptoms at all, don't worry!
Pseudocyesis, or false pregnancy, is when a person thinks they are pregnant when they are not. People with pseudocyesis have pregnancy symptoms, but tests will confirm there's no pregnancy. Healthcare providers believe psychological and hormonal factors may cause it.
Take a home pregnancy test
The cheapest, easiest, most accessible way to confirm you're pregnant is with a home pregnancy test. This form of testing can identify a positive pregnancy result as early as two weeks after fertilization, making it one of the fastest ways to learn more about your situation.
Week 1 pregnant belly
There won't really be a baby bump during the first week of your pregnancy, or really, for the next few weeks. Since you'll be menstruating during this week, it is possible that hormonal changes might make you feel a bit bloated due to fluid retention.
Early pregnancy bloating and normal bloating feel exactly the same. Your pregnancy bloating may feel slightly more uncomfortable due to the additional symptoms and increased amounts of gas which can worsen gas pains.
Your growing uterus is pulling and straining the muscles that support it. You may feel sharp pains or just a mild pulling sensation. It often occurs when you cough, sneeze, stand up, sit down, roll over, or during sex.
How does a pregnant belly feel in early pregnancy? For most of your first trimester, you may not feel much, if any, difference in your belly. It will probably be soft and look a little bigger – similar to when you get bloated during your period or after you've eaten a large meal.
In the first trimester (weeks 0 to 12) it is common to feel mild pains in the lower tummy area. These are caused by hormonal changes and by your growing womb.
This is the time you can start feeling the baby from the outside. A hard spot on your abdomen during the early part of the second trimester is likely to be your fundus, which is the top of your uterus.
It occurs anywhere from six to 12 days after the egg is fertilized. The cramps resemble menstrual cramps, so some women mistake them and the bleeding for the start of their period.
Many period cramps can be felt on just one side of the lower abdomen as one of the ovaries releases an egg. Early pregnancy cramping might be more likely to be felt across the entire lower abdomen, pelvic area, or lower back.
“Early on in your pregnancy, it's natural to feel some mild cramping in your lower abdomen at infrequent times as your body prepares for your growing baby,” Dr. Nalla said. As your belly grows, so does your uterus. This may cause you to feel some slight pulling, tugging or stretching similar to period cramps.
Early pregnancy (first trimester) abdominal symptoms include nausea/morning sickness, cramping, constipation, heartburn, bloating, and gas. Pregnancy begins when a fertilized egg attaches to the wall of the uterus, and pregnancy symptoms may begin in some people as early as a week after implantation.
There's only one way to find out for sure if you're pregnant: take a pregnancy test.
Things like missing your period, sore or tender breasts, feeling more tired and nausea (morning sickness) are common symptoms of early pregnancy. Some people have symptoms of pregnancy before they miss their period. Take an at-home pregnancy test if you think you might be pregnant.
An uncertain reply of “probably not pregnant” or “probably pregnant” that was not subsequently confirmed by a pregnancy test (or, eventually, a birth, miscarriage, or abortion) is considered a “pregnancy scare” if the pregnancy was not desired.
Experts suspect that most phantom pregnancies happen due to a mind-body feedback loop, in which a strong emotion causes an elevation of hormones, in turn resulting in physical symptoms that mimic those of a true pregnancy.
There's only one way to find out for sure if you're pregnant: take a pregnancy test.