Many people experience what seem to be pregnancy symptoms shortly before their period arrives. This happens because the hormone progesterone rises both during early pregnancy and in the premenstrual period. 1 In short, PMS symptoms and early pregnancy symptoms can sometimes be exactly the same.
Some people will experience classic early pregnancy symptoms by day 26 of their cycle, including fatigue, sore or tender breasts, and nausea. But these symptoms are tricky because they can easily be mistaken for signs of PMS, especially if they occur before a missed period.
The flood of hormones in your body in early pregnancy can make you unusually emotional and weepy. Mood swings also are common. Bloating. Hormonal changes during early pregnancy can cause you to feel bloated, similar to how you might feel at the start of a menstrual period.
Unfortunately, no matter how much we feel that we may know our bodies, pregnancy cannot be self-diagnosed. The only way to know whether or not you're pregnant is through a pregnancy test.
Although it is rare, pseudocyesis (“false pregnancy” or “phantom pregnancy”) is a serious emotional and psychological condition. Psychological factors trick the body into believing that it's pregnant.
A phantom pregnancy or false pregnancy happens when a woman has pregnancy symptoms but isn't pregnant. Phantom pregnancy is rare, and experts don't know exactly what causes it, but it's probably a combination of psychological and hormonal factors.
Certain medical conditions can mimic the symptoms of pregnancy, including ectopic pregnancy, morbid obesity, and cancer. These conditions may need to be ruled out with tests.
In early pregnancy, a bigger belly or feeling of tightness is probably due to digestive changes. As your uterus takes up more room in your pelvis, it's pushing your intestines upward. In addition, hormonal changes are slowing your digestion, leading to increased gas and constipation.
Although a positive pregnancy test is possible during implantation bleeding, it's still very early and your hCG levels are usually very low at this point. You're more likely to get an accurate test result if you wait until your implantation bleeding stops and after your first missed period.
Again, some women have had positive urine tests as early as 2 to 3 days after implantation and others have had to wait up to a few weeks. It all depends on pregnancy hormone levels and how fast your body produces them.
The sensation itself is similar to period cramps, but is typically not as strong. Many women don't realize they're experiencing implantation cramps because they're due to start their period within the next week; they dismiss their mild cramping as premenstrual symptoms.
Generally, the due date is calculated 40 weeks after your last period. Therefore, if you have your due date, you can subtract 40 weeks from this date to determine your last menstrual period. Once you know the first day of your last period, you can add 11 to 21 days to figure out your conception date.
Home pregnancy tests can differ in how early they'll detect a pregnancy. In many cases, you might get a positive result from an at-home test as early as 10 days after conception. For a more accurate result, wait until after you've missed your period to take a test.
You may feel very tired and have nausea, breasts that feel tender or sore, and heightened sensitivity to smell. You may also notice light spotting (from implantation bleeding). Other common early pregnancy symptoms include mood swings, frequent urination, bloating, food aversions, and excess saliva.
Can Too Much Pee on a Pregnancy Test Make It Negative? Urinating too much on a urine pregnancy test should not cause a false negative result. But diluted urine, or urine with a higher water content, can impact a pregnancy test by skewing results.
Early positive test results — received days before your period is due — might be one clue that you're having twins, but don't count on it.
Week 4 of pregnancy
For example, a fertilised egg may have implanted in your womb just 2 weeks ago, but if the first day of your last period was 4 weeks ago, this means you're officially four weeks pregnant! Pregnancy normally lasts from 37 weeks to 42 weeks from the first day of your last period.
Pimples are likely to show up on your face, neck, chest, or back. And we're not talking about small whiteheads. During pregnancy, you're likely to see nodular acne. These zits run deep and are usually red and painful.
By the time they're 5 weeks pregnant, only about half of women have symptoms. It's not unusual at this point to have no pregnancy symptoms or symptoms that come and go. In fact, even women with severe symptoms have stretches when they feel okay, thanks to fluctuations in hormone levels.
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.
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. The bleeding and cramps, however, are slight.
Where do you feel implantation cramps? Most women experience implantation cramps in their lower abdomen or lower back. On occasion these cramps will be isolated to one side of the body and be felt within the lower right or lower left side of your abdomen.