Contents
- How to determine pregnancy by the state of the body?
- How to determine pregnancy without a test: advice from doctors
- The main signs of pregnancy
- How to determine pregnancy without a doctor’s examination?
- Why you should not trust 100% folk methods for determining pregnancy?
- Determination of pregnancy without a test in the doctor’s office
Sometimes there are such circumstances that it is not possible to buy a pregnancy test, and an immediate visit to the doctor is also inaccessible to a woman. In this case, you can try to determine the pregnancy yourself, focusing on the signals that your own body gives. The main thing is to be able to interpret them correctly, because the changes that occur in a woman’s body after conception are simply colossal. It is impossible not to pay attention to them. In addition, some folk methods can come to the rescue, allowing you to determine pregnancy at home.
How to determine pregnancy by the state of the body?
The first signs of pregnancy appear very early – even a few days before the delay in menstruation occurred. Of course, it is impossible to judge the onset of pregnancy by 100%, but it is quite possible to suspect it.
Most women in early pregnancy note the following changes that occur in their bodies:
Emotional instability. The hormonal background after conception begins to change, which can affect the state of the nervous system. Pregnancy will be indicated by a sharp change in mood during the day, increased irritability, tearfulness, and sometimes even aggression.
Sometimes in the first days of pregnancy, a woman experiences an indisposition that can be mistaken for a starting cold. At the same time, fatigue and weakness are present all the time, despite the usual daily routine.
There is drowsiness, and the dream itself becomes restless. Even after sleeping about 12 hours a day, a woman in the early stages of pregnancy will feel insufficiently rested.
In the area of the pelvic organs, a feeling of heaviness or fullness may appear, which is associated with increased blood circulation in this area.
In the area of the uterus, slight tingling may periodically occur, which do not cause severe anxiety.
The chest becomes more sensitive, it can react with pain even to the slightest touch.
Appetite begins to increase literally from the first days of conception, but the desire to eat something unusual and a change in taste preferences may appear a little later.
In the morning, a feeling of nausea may be disturbing, which becomes stronger with memories of certain foods.
A pregnant woman also becomes more sensitive to smells. This applies to aromas emanating from food, perfumes, household chemicals, etc.
It should be understood that the totality of all these signs is observed quite rarely, and they can be caused not only by pregnancy. However, a combination of 3-4 “symptoms” should lead to certain thoughts. It is also useful to take a closer look at your own appearance.
After pregnancy, it may change somewhat:
The face, arms, neck, and legs may begin to swell slightly. Puffiness of the face is more noticeable in the morning, while the lower limbs swell in the late afternoon.
Hormonal changes in the body often lead to the appearance of acne on the skin.
From the very first days of pregnancy, the intestines begin to work more slowly, which will lead to constipation. Hormones, in turn, provoke swelling of the intestinal walls, which is expressed in bloating.
The veins on the chest increase in size and begin to appear under thin skin. These are not all changes related to the mammary glands. Often, women note that the areolas of the nipples become darker.
Increased blood circulation in the body as a whole can lead to the appearance of a blush on the cheeks, which comes out especially clearly in the evening hours.
Pigmentation can increase not only on the areolas of the nipples, but also on the abdomen. It often has a distinct dark line running down from the navel.
If a woman is expecting a baby, then she will definitely pay attention to these early signs of pregnancy, allowing her to be identified without a test.
How to determine pregnancy without a test: advice from doctors
Doctors have their own criteria for assessing a woman’s condition. With their help, the doctor can suggest that the patient is pregnant, even without examination and testing. Knowing these medical “secrets”, you can try to independently detect signs of pregnancy.
The appearance of bloody discharge from the vagina. Calling such discharge menstrual bleeding will not work, since they will be quite insignificant. Moreover, the color of the discharge will be close to pink or brown. They usually appear 7-12 days after conception has occurred and indicate that the embryo has implanted in the uterine wall. In this case, small capillaries can collapse and bleed slightly. This is what explains the appearance of bleeding. Although, there is another reason why, after the onset of pregnancy, droplets of blood can come out of the vagina – this is erosion of the cervix. The fact is that the pelvic organs after conception begin to be more actively supplied with blood, which leads to increased bleeding of the existing damage to the epithelium.
Cramps in the calf muscles that occur at night may indicate pregnancy. Moreover, their intensity is great enough to wake a woman.
Blood pressure in the first months of pregnancy very often decreases. Moreover, in hypotensive patients, it can reach extremely low levels. This will lead to dizziness and weakness. Sometimes women even lose consciousness due to a sharp drop in blood pressure.
Immunity deteriorates, which can lead to the development of colds in early pregnancy.
Salivation in a woman increases, and very often this symptom is combined with the appearance of a feeling of nausea.
There is more vaginal discharge, but normally they should not change their consistency, color and smell. This is due to increased blood supply to the pelvic organs.
Very often in the early stages of the development of pregnancy in a woman, thrush is exacerbated. This, first of all, will be associated with a deterioration in immunity. Thrush is always accompanied by severe itching and burning in the vaginal area, as well as the appearance of curdled discharge.
Urination becomes more frequent, and this phenomenon is observed throughout the entire period of pregnancy. If in the early stages of gestation frequent trips to the toilet are associated with increased functioning of the kidneys, then in the later stages a woman is forced to urinate more often due to excessive pressure of the fetus and uterus on the bladder.
The most important sign that allows you to suspect pregnancy is the absence of menstrual bleeding on time. It is on this symptom that both doctors and women themselves are guided. But when the delay in menstruation is accompanied by the above changes on the part of the body, then you can once again be convinced of the correctness of your assumptions.
The main signs of pregnancy
One of the most obvious signs of pregnancy is a feeling of heaviness or fullness in the lower abdomen. Sometimes discomfort also extends to the lumbar region. They occur due to the fact that the uterus increases in size, however, this happens in the later stages of pregnancy.
As the uterus and the baby in it grow, the pressure on the bladder will increase. As a result, the urge to urinate will become more frequent. It should be borne in mind that this sign of pregnancy also appears at later stages of its development.
Discharge during pregnancy may increase slightly. At the same time, they should remain transparent and an unpleasant odor should not come from them.
How to determine pregnancy without a doctor’s examination?
As for the doctors, they are all quite skeptical about folk methods for determining pregnancy. However, there are ways to diagnose the conception that has occurred, which have a scientific basis. For example, regular measurement of basal body temperature can help in determining pregnancy. To do this, you need to draw up a schedule and, based on it, evaluate your situation. In addition, doctors do not deny the fact that pregnancy is evidenced by the signals given by the body.
Basal body temperature and pregnancy
Measurement of basal body temperature refers to one of the methods for determining pregnancy, which has a scientific basis. Basal body temperature is the temperature inside the body. It can be measured in the oral cavity, in the rectum and in the vagina. To obtain the most reliable results, you will need to measure the temperature every day for 3-4 months. In this case, all indicators must be recorded.
Measurements should be taken every morning, immediately after waking up. On the day of ovulation, the average body temperature in the rectum ranges from 37,2 to 37,5 ° C. While on ordinary days it remains at around 36,4-36,8 ° C. After ovulation, if conception does not occur, the temperature begins to gradually decrease and returns to normal a few days before the onset of menstruation. If pregnancy occurs, then the basal temperature does not fall, but keeps at consistently high levels. This method is one of the auxiliary in determining the onset of pregnancy. The fact of conception is confirmed by the fact that a woman does not have her period on time.
To take measurements, you need to use an electronic thermometer to minimize the risk of damage to the device during the procedure. If a woman has a constant menstrual cycle, there are no diseases, and she keeps a schedule of measurements of basal body temperature for several months, then this method allows diagnosing pregnancy with high accuracy.
To be able to determine pregnancy in the early stages using this method, certain rules should be followed:
You need to measure body temperature without getting out of bed.
Body position during measurements should not be changed.
In the evening, you need to make sure that the thermometer is at hand.
You need to measure body temperature for 5-8 minutes, trying to remain motionless.
For measurements, you should use the same device.
The most accurate measurement results can be obtained in the rectum.
The information content of this method of determining pregnancy can be affected by factors such as taking hormonal drugs and sedatives, and the abuse of alcoholic beverages.
Conducting a pregnancy test online
On the Internet, you can find many sites that are dedicated to pregnancy. Some of them offer a woman to be tested online. You can find many variants of tests, which are often humorous in nature. Accordingly, the results of such “research” should not be taken seriously.
These tests detect pregnancy by common symptoms. However, even a pregnant woman can take such a test and get a negative result, so don’t rely on their result!
Some signs of pregnancy
Doctors advise women to pay attention to such signs of pregnancy as:
The appearance of age spots in places where they were not there before. For example, on the face or along the abdomen, starting from the navel and below.
Change in taste preferences.
Swelling of the mammary glands and increased sensitivity.
Increased emotionality.
Weight gain.
Change in the nature of the stool.
Rapid fatigue and drowsiness. Sometimes women in the early stages of pregnancy feel very tired, which is typical for the recovery period after suffering colds.
A woman who decides to try one or another folk method for determining pregnancy can only be advised one thing – do not take the results too seriously. After all, the most reliable and reliable method for diagnosing the onset of conception is a pregnancy test. They can be purchased at an affordable price in almost any pharmacy.
Why you should not trust 100% folk methods for determining pregnancy?
If at home it would be possible to determine pregnancy with such ease, then the manufacturers of rapid tests would have suffered multi-billion dollar losses long ago. It is simply impossible to get accurate results with iodine, urine and soda.
Soda is an alkali that reacts with an acidic environment. Therefore, it is not surprising that after soda enters the urine, a violent reaction can occur. After all, it is impossible to determine the acidity of urine at home. Its pH level depends largely on what the woman drank and ate, as well as on the presence of diseases of the urinary system.
Now a few words about tests using iodine. Paper soaked in urine can indeed turn blue if iodine gets on it. However, it is possible that starch is present in the urine. For example, this can happen if the liquid collection container is not rinsed well. Yes, and there is no scientific justification for such tests.
To trust or not to home tests is a personal matter for every woman. Surely it will not be superfluous to double-check the results with the help of a pharmacy express pregnancy test.
Determination of pregnancy without a test in the doctor’s office
Perhaps the most reliable way to diagnose pregnancy without a test is to visit a doctor’s office. The doctor will examine the woman on the gynecological chair and send her for testing.
If the gestational age is six weeks or more, then during the examination, the doctor will find softening of the cervix and turning blue. The change in the color of the cervix is due to increased blood circulation. The uterus itself increases in size.
At about five weeks, an ultrasound can help diagnose pregnancy. The doctor at this time will be able to visualize the fetal egg implanted in the wall of the uterus. It will contain the embryo and the yolk sac.
To detect pregnancy at a short time, you can donate blood to determine the early factor of pregnancy. It is isolated in the blood already 28-48 hours after conception. This method is informative at 67%. Then the early factor of pregnancy continues to increase, an increase in indicators is observed during the first three months after conception. This technique is not widely used, but is practiced by some doctors.
The level of chorionic gonadotropin in the blood after implantation of the embryo to the uterine wall also begins to rise. By this criterion, pregnancy can be determined in the laboratory. By the way, all express pregnancy tests are based precisely on this indicator, but urine, not blood, is required to conduct a study at home.
Thus, it is possible to determine pregnancy without a test, especially if you combine several methods at once. In the case when there is a suspicion that the conception did occur, it is best to contact the doctor and dispel all doubts in his office.