Early Sign That Your Pregnant

Pregnancy & Childbirth

This Vulvapedia entry focuses on pregnancy and childbirth. If you are looking for advice on how to handle an unplanned pregnancy that you are not sure you wish to carry to term, we invite you to visit VaginaPagina on LiveJournal or the LiveJournal community PregnancyChoice for more information. The information contained in this Vulvapedia entry may be helpful to anyone wanting to know more about what pregnancy entails, whether or not s/he is pregnant or wishes to carry a pregnancy to term.


How does pregnancy happen?

To understand how pregnancy occurs, it helps to understand how the menstrual cycle works. A woman will typically ovulate once per menstrual cycle, barring any medications which prevent ovulation or any conditions (like endometriosis or polycystic ovarian syndrome), and it is the time just following ovulation that fertilization is possible. Pregnancy occurs when a fertilized ova (or egg) implants in the uterine wall. In order for fertilization to occur, the egg must meet up with a sperm cell at some point. This may occur as the result of sexual intercourse, from artificial insemination, or even in a petri dish in a fertility clinic.

What are some of the early signs of pregnancy?

Some common signs include:

  • abdominal cramping (sometimes surprisingly strong cramping)
  • mood changes
  • breast tenderness
  • food cravings or aversions
  • nausea
  • yeast infections, or YI-like symptoms

The following sites all have more information about early pregnancy symptoms:

  • The Signs and Symptoms of Early Pregnancy (Tracee Cornforth on About.com)
  • Early symptoms of pregnancy: What happens right away (MayoClinic.com)
  • Early Pregnancy Symptoms (Pregnancy.org)
  • Early Signs of Pregnancy (earlysignsofpregnancy.net)

I'm having some of those symptoms, but how can I know for sure that I'm pregnant?

It's important to note that the presence or absence of any of these symptoms listed above is not a valid indicator of pregnancy -- the only real way to know if you are indeed pregnant is to take a pregnancy test.

How/Where do I take a pregnancy test?

You can test at home, via a kit purchased at a pharmacy or other store, or you can test at a health care facility – doctor’s office or clinic. With a home test, it’s recommended to use your first day’s urine, which will be more concentrated and have more of the pregnancy hormone (HCG) if that hormone is indeed present in your body. The site PeeOnAStick.com has a great deal of information about home pregnancy tests that may prove helpful to you.

Is there anything else I should know about pregnancy testing?

If you’ve a history of miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy which takes place outside the uterus, usually in the fallopian tube, is not viable, and can be extremely dangerous to your health), your health care provider may order serial blood tests to check your hormone levels. These tests detect the pregnancy hormone (HCG) and enable your health care provider to ensure that the blood levels of this hormone are doubling every two days -- the sign of a healthy, viable pregnancy. These tests are not necessary for everyone though, so be sure to check with your provider to see if s/he thinks they make sense for you and your situation.

I'm definitely pregnant! What should I do now?

Once you have established that you are pregnant, sit back and relax!

Some of the things you'll want to do now:

  • Take prenatal vitamins (your health care provider can prescribe some, including specific brands which help combat pregnancy-related nausea, or you can find many varieties over-the-counter), as they can help combat neural tube defects like spina bifida.
  • Eat well, drink lots of water, and try to get enough rest – you may feel more tired than usual during this time.

Check out for a preview of what's to come!

What medications are safe to take during pregnancy?

One of the questions health care providers hear quite often is “Can I take _______ during pregnancy?” You can certainly call your health care provider (most offices have nurse lines equipped to handle questions just like this) to ask about a specific medication you're wondering about, but you can also invest in a guide that you can refer to yourself – the most common guide on this topic is Hale’s. Many pregnancy communities like the Mothering Magazine website, Pregnancy.org, various LJ communities (see the Resources section at the end of this article for a few), and VaginaPagina.com/VP on LJ are also helpful and full of advice.

Below are some common ailments and some remedies for each that are safe to take while pregnant and/or breastfeeding. If the treatment you'd like to use isn't listed, or if you've tried those listed without success, you can give your health care provider a call to get more suggestions. (Note: Generic versions of the medications listed below are also safe to take.)

  • Allergies and Congestion

Over the Counter - Plain Sudafed (in the red box) or a generic version thereof, plain saline nasal spray
Prescription - Zyrtec, Flonase, Nasacort (or generic versions)

  • Cough

Robitussin DM (or generic version)

  • Constipation

Metamucil, Fibercon, Senokot, Colace, or Milk of Magnesia
Also, try increasing your intake of water and dietary fiber.

  • Diarrhea

Kaopectate or Immodium

  • Headaches

Tylenol/acetominophen
Also try drinking plenty of water!

  • Hemorrhoids

Tucks, Preparation H, Anusol

  • Heartburn/Indigestion

Maalox, Mylanta, Rolaids, Tums, Zantac, or Pepcid
Also try to stay hydrated and avoid foods likely to cause heartburn.

  • Itching/Skin Irritation

Aveeno, Cortaid/hydrocortisone cream, Bendadryl (cream or spray), Calamine

  • Nausea

Vitamin B 6 (10-25mg), apricot, peach, or pear nectar, crackers, eating small, frequent meals, non-carbonated cola beverages, ginger tea, peppermint lozenges

  • Sore Throat

Chloraseptic spray

  • Yeast Infection

OTC treatments such as Monistat, one of the alternative treaments covered in the Vulvapedia entry on YIs

Do I need to go to the doctor right away?

Don't be concerned if your health care provider doesn't ask you to come in for a visit immediately. Most first obstetrical visits are at around eight or ten weeks, as that’s when the health care provider will be able to check ultrasound for fetal heart and ascertain viability of the pregnancy. This is important, because up to 20-25% of pregnancies are non-viable, and will end in miscarriage (usually early in pregnancy, but some later in gestation).

How do I know how far along I am?

Many women will calculate how pregnant they are based on when they would’ve conceived – either based on intercourse on a certain day, or based on an assumed date of ovulation. Modern medicine however, calculates pregnancy based on last menstrual period, or LMP . This is not foolproof, particularly if a woman has long or irregular menstrual cycles, so a health care provider may ask for additional information, such as a probable day of conception, length of other recent menstrual cycles. Your provider may also perform sonograms (also called ultrasounds) to calculate the gestational age of your embryo or fetus, based on developmental characteristics and crown-rump length. What is important to know though is that because your health care provider will be calculating based on LMP is that your gestational age may be more advanced than expected. You should also know that the average length of pregnancy from LMP to delivery (also called EDD or EDC) is 40 weeks – that is, ten months, rather than the nine months commonly associated with pregnancy.

So what's pregnancy like? What can I expect in general?

Pregnancy, like many things, is different for each person, but there are some general truths, some of which are discussed below. If you have any questions at any point during pregnancy (especially if you feel that something may be amiss!), you can always contact your health care provider, who will be able to answer based on your specific situation.

When talking about pregnancy, it helps to break the experience down into trimesters .

First Trimester

This is the time when you are ovulating, the ovum is being fertilized by sperm, and implantation is occurring. Most women will realize that they are pregnant during this time. You may experience signs and symptoms of pregnancy, and you may experience bloating – some women think this means you’re already “showing”, but that’s quite unlikely.

You may experience some of the symptoms of pregnancy. A common occurrence in the first trimester is morning sickness, which despite its name can occur at any time of day.

Some strategies for avoiding or minimizing morning sickness are:

  • staying well hydrated
  • trying to keep your blood sugar steady (some women find that spikes and valleys make the naus

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