PARENTHOOD.IE

Not all might experience them, but there are certain physical signs that your body gives indicating that you might be pregnant. Some as early as a week after conception. Don’t worry if you have no signs, sooner or later you will coppe on…

If you already are pregnant you’ll wonder how you didn’t realise what was happening to you, it seems so obvious now. If you’re planning on getting pregnant, be aware that many sings are very similar to pre-menstrual symptoms.

As with menstruation a lot of the symptoms are due to the increased hormone production in your body. Before spending money on pregnancy tests, take a look at the list of symptoms that can have been appearing.

· Tender or swollen breasts and nipples – starts about a week after your expected period, but also common during menstruation. And your cup size could increase.
· Darker areolas – the darker ring around the nipple may darken, about the time of your expected period.
· Fatigue – very common the first 8-10 weeks and can start within a few days of conception. You could very well think you’re coming down with something, the exhaustion can almost be mind numbing.
· Nausea and vomiting – wrongly referred to as morning sickness, since it can happen morning, noon and night. Will likely start about a month after conception and hopefully end in the second trimester, about 12-16 weeks.
· Cramping – often mistaken for period cramps. Your uterus is contracting, finding its proper position for childbearing.
· Backache – as with cramps often confused with period pains.
· Frequent urination – when pregnant the amount of blood in your body increases, your kidneys are under pressure with the higher amount of fluids and more pee is directed to your bladder.
· Spotting – when the embryo implants itself into the uterus lining you might get a light pink spotting or reddish stain, about the same time of your expected period, and is often confused with a light period.
· Emotions and moods – you might start crying for no apparent reason, you’re not going crazy, it’s just your hormone production on overtime.
· Missed period – is usually our first clue and combined with other signs is a good indication to what is happening.
· Higher body temperature – you’ll probably only notice this one if you are monitoring your temperature. Your body temperature will not decline on the time of your expected period, as it usually would.
· Headaches – usually due to elevated hormone production.
· Tastes and cravings – many women feel a metallic taste in their mouths and can go off some food. Cravings usually come later, but are not unheard off.

No period, but not pregnant
There can be other causes for absent periods. Something as common as stress can cause your body to skip a period. Other things to affect your period is some medications, being to thin or very overweight. In more serious cases it can be caused by hormonal imbalances, although they don’t usually happen all of a sudden, you’ve probably been aware of them since puberty. The same goes for irregular periods.

Pregnancy tests
If you are planning on geting pregnant you might consider buying in pregnancy tests bulk and find out which one will give you the earliest results. Many tests promise to be 99% accurate from the day you expect your period, but few women are that sure of when exactly that day is. The best time to try is about a week after your expected period.
There are tests that can give you a result as early as 10-14 days after fertilization, a blood test can be done as early a 8-10 days after fertilization.

Pregnancy tests measure the hCG hormone, Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, also referred to as the pregnancy hormone, in your blood or urine. The body starts producing it once the fertilized egg is implanted into the uterus wall lining, usually 8-9 days after fertilisation. The levels of hCG hormone increases daily in a pregnant woman, and is best monitored first thing in the morning. If you get a negative test you should do another in a weeks time, it might just have been too early to test.
Only medication containing hCG could affect pregnancy tests, which are sometime used to treat infertility. The test result will not be affected by birth control pills, antibiotics, alcohol nor most over-the-counter medicines.

Product
Irish pregnancy tests and ovulation kits. Promising a 99,9% accuracy, more sensitive to cHG levels than most and at very low prices. You can test as early as two days before the day of your expected period, but for a secure result it’s best to test on the day.
The best value for money is the Pregnancy test strip, that is dipped into a container with your urine and gets a result in 30 seconds, a packet of 15 costs €9,75 plus postage, a total of €12,25. As the strip has a very small test area you might be more comfortable using a cassette or midstream test. All their products are sold on the web.
www.happybumps.com