The woman’s body begins to rebuild, preparing for bearing the child, immediately after conception, so the expectant mother in the first days may feel different, not like usual.
There are many signs by which you can even at home find out that soon there will be a replenishment in the family.
Moreover, each pregnancy is an individual experience, some of the features of its course will be noticeable already in the early stages, and some may not appear at all.
Young woman thinks about a possible pregnancy
Pregnancy is a special time in a woman’s life, and, of course, I want to know about her early, in time to start drinking vitamins, part with bad habits, maybe make a decision on expanding the living space. Usually, whether a woman is pregnant or not can be determined using a test sold in a pharmacy, but what if you don’t have the opportunity to buy it now or you have already done it, but doubt the result?
How to recognize pregnancy without a test at home
A woman looks at the calendar, determining when was the last menstruation
Delay
The very first and main sign of pregnancy is a long delay in menstruation. Usually, it is after this that the girls buy pregnancy tests and check if it is time for them to adjust their plans for the next few years. However, if the delay is small, it may very well be that its cause is not a future new life, but something more prosaic, for example, stress, busting with stress or a strong change in weight. You should consult a doctor if your periods are delayed for a week or more: each woman’s cycle is individual, fluctuations for several days in one direction or another are quite acceptable and may not be associated with pregnancy.
Perhaps the only minus of the “diagnosis” of pregnancy by delay is that if a woman does not plan a pregnancy and does not write down her cycles in the application or calendar, it may be difficult for her to check when her period was last time. Here it is also worth knowing that false periods are also possible – that is, bleeding continues, but they are associated not with endometrial rejection, but with the process of attachment of the egg to the uterine wall. In this case, signs appear shortly after ovulation. To determine when ovulation should have been, count 14 days from the estimated start date for the next menstruation.
The temperature is determined using the same thermometer
Basal temperature measurement
This method of determination is more suitable for those who are planning pregnancy. Basal temperature is the lowest body temperature per day, it is measured every day at the same time: at home, immediately after a long sleep before the first rise from bed. The most informative type of measurement is rectal, and it is best to use the same thermometer.
When the cycle begins, the basal temperature gradually decreases, then during ovulation it increases (this is precisely what the actively planning because it is most likely to conceive during this period) and again decreases by the end of the cycle. An increased basal temperature is also characteristic of a pregnant state, therefore, if the time for ovulation (usually in the middle of the cycle) has not yet arrived, and the temperature is at least 0.4 degrees higher than normal, you can probably be congratulated. High basal temperature is maintained during the entire period of bearing a child.
A dark strip on the stomach is another sign of pregnancy
Change in skin pigmentation
The level of hormones after conception changes, the body is rearranged to the needs of the unborn child, and sometimes you can determine what happens with the “naked eye” – without test, at home. If the face looks darker than usual, a stripe begins to appear on the stomach, going from the navel down, the color of the areola changes – it seems that soon you will need to look after the stroller and crib.
In the breast during pregnancy, not only the color of the areola changes; many expectant mothers complain about the hypersensitivity of the mammary glands, in addition, in some women, the breast grows (sometimes quite strongly), it can hurt when touched or even by itself. You should not ignore such signs if conception is impossible – with a chest pain, be sure to consult a mammologist.
The woman felt bad, she is troubled
General change in well-being
What happens after conception? In a woman’s body, a fetus grows whose genes only half coincide with her own. The placenta is developing – a new organ that nourishes the unborn baby and produces hormones. One of these hormones, by the way, is chorionic gonadotropin, the same one whose level is determined using a test. This hormone promotes the active work of the placenta, and also rebuilds the pregnant woman’s “inner world” several times, which is why she often wants to use the toilet, although the uterus is still too small to put pressure on the bladder. By such frequent urges, if there are no other reasons, it can also be determined that the woman is pregnant – the bubble is filled much faster. Desires may be accompanied by a feeling of heaviness in the lower abdomen.
The brain undergoes changes: the subcortical structures that are involved in the formation of behavior and are responsible for some protective reflexes “turn on”, and as a result, emotionality, mood changes, moodiness and irritability. If, against the background of the delay, you constantly quarrel with your family or colleagues, and the nervous state appeared as if by itself, without additional external factors that could be determined – it’s time to find out when the doctor in your antenatal clinic accepts pregnant women. Changes in the perception of smells and tastes are also likely – it can “pull” on sour, salty or sweet, smells that previously averted or vice versa begin to like. Do you constantly cook home-style roast or use perfumes that you could not stand before? These are signs: it’s time to think.
Changes in the body can also lead to the appearance of early toxicosis – the pathology of pregnant women, which occurs for up to 12 weeks. Speaking of toxicosis, one cannot limit oneself to its most famous manifestations – nausea, vomiting, or salivation. Toxemia refers to any temporary pregnancy related to pregnancy, it can be bronchial asthma, which will pass after childbirth, or muscle cramps. Toxicosis cannot be defined as the norm, it is a negative reaction of the body to what is happening, and in many cases a woman with toxicosis needs medical attention that she cannot be provided at home. Even “simple” salivation along with the liquid removes valuable trace elements from the pregnant woman’s body, not to mention such a condition as indomitable vomiting.
A woman looks tired against the background of her homework
Excessive drowsiness, loss of strength, dizziness can be considered a manifestation of toxicosis. At an early stage, the body is not used to allocating resources so that they are enough for two people. An additional circle of blood circulation is created, the unborn child draws out the nutrients necessary for growth from the mother’s body, the hormonal background changes – all this causes weakness and fatigue. During pregnancy, fainting also occurs – this is especially true for women who have low blood pressure and even hypotension, “pregnant” hormones relax the walls of blood vessels, and the pressure becomes even lower. If you get very tired for no apparent reason, you want to go home right after you get to work – this is an occasion to visit specialists: a gynecologist and a therapist to determine what fatigue is associated with and how to deal with it.
These signs – together and individually – may indicate the onset of pregnancy, but may be associated with other changes in the body that have nothing to do with pregnancy. To clarify even before the visit to the doctor what to do, panic or rejoice, it is better to plan the purchase of the test, if possible. He will show the correct result with a probability of 99%. The remaining 1% is reserved for errors that may be caused by illness, improper testing or some conditions (after childbirth, miscarriage, abortion, home tests may show a false positive in preparation for IVF).
Woman looking at test results
Can I have a pregnancy test at home?
Pregnancy tests are intended for use exclusively at home, so the answer is – you can and should. In the clinic, you can donate blood to determine the concentration of human chorionic gonadotropin in it, and at home tests are used to detect the level of this hormone in the urine of pregnant women.
How to do a pregnancy test
Tests come in many forms. Most often, test strips are used – this is the cheapest type of test for detecting pregnancy. To determine whether conception has taken place, you need to immerse the strip to the level marked with a dash in a container with urine and hold it there for 10-20 seconds. Then the strip is placed on a horizontal surface. Results are evaluated after 3-5 minutes. For analysis, the first morning portion of urine is used. A little more expensive is the version of the test in a plastic case, possibly with a special pipette into which biomaterial is collected to drip with it later on the sensitive area of the test.
Simple tests to check for pregnancy at home
Another type of test is inkjet tests. They are more sensitive, so they can be done at any time of the day. The principle of their work is reflected in the name: a strip is placed under a stream of urine, and then the actions are similar to the procedure for applying the previous described option.
Jet Pregnancy Tests
The most high-tech home tests are electronic. They can determine not only the presence of pregnancy, but even its duration – and at the same time have a fairly high accuracy. Devices work when immersed in liquid or under a stream, and although they are more expensive than their “colleagues”, but testing is more informative.
Electronic tests show how many weeks have passed since conception
How to understand a pregnancy test
Just checking is not enough, you still need to evaluate the test results. It is very simple: the instructions indicate what should be the output. If there is no pregnancy, the test will show one strip or the inscription “Not Pregnant”, and if you are really expecting a baby, two stripes, a plus sign or the inscription “Pregnant”. Congratulations!
