Symptoms of pregnancy

Proven content

The first symptoms of pregnancy can be confusing – future mothers often do not pay attention to nausea and fatigue, associating them, for example, with the symptoms of food poisoning. Pregnancy is an extraordinary, for many even mystical, period in a woman’s life, when a new man is created from the fusion of two microscopic cells. These are 9 months full of turbulent changes both in the physiology and psyche of a woman, preparing her for the role of a mother, and her body for the development, gradual growth and birth of a child. See when fertilization occurs and what are the symptoms of pregnancy?

Ovulation – the possibility of fertilization

A woman cyclically goes into a state of readiness to become pregnant from the moment of puberty until the menopause. Under the influence of sex hormones secreted by the pituitary gland and ovaries, the so-called menstrual cycle culminating in ovulation, i.e. the moment when a mature egg is released from the ovary, ready for fertilization. If male reproductive cells develop in a woman’s genital tract during the period around ovulation, fertilization can occur. Otherwise, the egg cell dies and along with the exfoliated lining of the womb, it is excreted outside the body during menstruation.

The phases of the menstrual cycle

In healthy women, the menstrual cycle is characterized by regularity: a certain length and consistency of successive phases. The cycle lasts about 28 days (the norm is 25-35 days) and consists of four phases: menstrual bleeding phase, proliferative phase, ovulation phase and luteal phase. The first two phases may be of different length and this determines the length of the menstrual cycle in different women, ovulation occurs 14 days before the next menstruation, hence the length of the luteal phase is always constant and amounts to two weeks. In a woman who is menstruating regularly, these relationships allow us to approximate the fertile and infertile days, i.e. to determine the moment when the probability of becoming pregnant is the greatest or the lowest. The fertile days are the time of ovulation and the period of several days before and after ovulation. The remainder of the menstrual cycle is the non-fertile days. As a result of fluctuations in the concentration of sex hormones, a woman’s body temperature and the nature of the secretions produced by the glands of the genital tract change during the cycle. Regular observation of these two parameters, as well as the position and consistency of the cervix, may additionally increase the accuracy of the calculation of fertile and infertile days, and thus the chance of pregnancy.

Methods of pregnancy planning and contraception

The above methods of determining fertile and infertile days lie at the heart of the natural methods of family planning, i.e. a marriage calendar, the Billings method or symptothermal methods. These methods require a woman and a couple to be highly committed, disciplined and able to observe their own body, they do not take into account many factors that may disturb the regularity of the menstrual cycle, such as infection, stress, travel, climate change, the use of certain medications, etc. average effectiveness. Couples who want to prevent pregnancy with greater certainty use condoms, which additionally protect against sexually transmitted diseases, and various forms of hormonal contraception (tablets, patches, intrauterine devices, discs, implants).

Fertilization and implantation

Fertilization, i.e. the fusion of an egg and a sperm, occurs most often in the fallopian tube. The zygote formed as a result of this process moves towards the uterine cavity, dividing intensively and after a few days it nests in the uterine mucosa. This phenomenon is called implantation is sometimes associated with slight spotting, which may be misinterpreted by a woman as the beginning of a period.

The fertilization and implantation of the embryo in the uterine cavity are a signal for the woman’s organism about the beginning of pregnancy. The first symptom of pregnancy is the fall of the menstrual cycle, resulting in no menstrual bleeding at the expected date. Further symptoms of pregnancy appear as a result of hormonal changes, changes in organ systems and the growth of the embryo and the uterus itself. Symptoms are non-specific in the early stages of pregnancy. Some of them are felt by the pregnant woman herself, some are confirmed by a doctor during a gynecological examination.

Symptoms of pregnancy

The first symptoms of pregnancy include:

1. the aforementioned delay and ultimately arrest of menstruation;
2. nausea with or without vomiting, especially in the morning (for nausea, try Organic Tea for Pregnant Women);
3. enlargement and swelling of the breasts, which become more sensitive to touch, bluish-green blood vessels appear on the surface of the breasts, and nodular lumps may appear in the mammary gland;
4. enlargement of the nipples and nipples are associated with their darkening, tenderness, itching;
5. more frequent urination and a feeling of tightness in the lower abdomen;
6. weakness, tiredness, increased sleepiness, sometimes feeling faint;
7. gradual abdominal enlargement and weight gain;
8. sensation of fetal movements (this is a late pregnancy symptom, in the first pregnancy, the mother begins to feel the baby’s movements at 18-20 weeks, in subsequent pregnancies earlier, around 16-18 weeks).

FOR PREGNANT WOMAN – herbal and fruit tea, which you can buy at Medonet Market, will help in relieving unpleasant ailments related to pregnancy.

What really influences the occurrence of each symptom?

1. Breast pain and mood swings: hormones: estrogen, progesterone, chorionic gonadotropin, prolactin, cortisol, and growth hormone, the levels of which increase in the first weeks of pregnancy, are responsible for changing moods in pregnant women. Why do breasts become sensitive? Breast tenderness, darkening of the nipples and their enlargement are caused by hormonal changes. Attention! Painful breasts aren’t always a sign of pregnancy.

2. Hypersensitivity to odors: many women complain about smells from the first weeks of pregnancy. Perfumes that used to be favorites are now unbearable. Coffee, exhaust fumes, the smell of gasoline or cigarette smoke are a nuisance for many pregnant women. It is said that nature protects future mothers from chemicals or food that can harm the baby.

3. Fatigue, sleepiness: hormones that go wild in the first month of pregnancy make a woman feel sick. He feels weakness, apathy and drowsiness. Increased desire to sleep is caused by an increase in progesterone in the body. And fatigue? organs in pregnant women are more burdened, in the end they have to meet the needs of not only the mother but also the fetus. The development of the placenta takes a lot of energy from the body, hence the feeling of constant exhaustion.

4. Nausea: these are one of the most common symptoms of pregnancy, often leading to vomiting, but not every woman complains of these ailments. This symptom is due to the fact that the high concentration of progesterone slows down the work of the intestines (everything is digested much slower), and the sphincter, which is on the border of the esophagus and stomach, works worse. Hence the nausea and vomiting.

Pregnancy symptoms – beta HCG

A woman with symptoms of pregnancy performs a blood test for beta HCG. This hormone is produced by a fertilized egg after implantation in the uterus. HCG levels are significantly increased in the first weeks of pregnancy and can be detected as early as two days after implantation of a fertilized egg between the 6th and 8th day of ovulation. The hormone is detectable when there is no placenta yet, and most importantly, it cannot be detected other than during pregnancy.

It is best to perform beta HCG blood tests not earlier than on the day of the expected period.

Pregnancy tests and symptoms of pregnancy

When a pregnancy is suspected, women usually perform the so-called a pregnancy test (strip, stream or plate) for the presence of the hormone beta-hCG (chorionic gonadotropin) in the urine, which is produced by the embryo and later by the placenta. Currently, pregnancy tests are so sensitive that they allow you to obtain a positive result as early as 1-2 weeks after conception. A positive pregnancy test has a very high probability that you will become pregnant, but it is not synonymous with its diagnosis. The concentration of the hormone also increases, for example, in rare neoplastic diseases of the placenta.

The presence of symptoms suggesting pregnancy is an indication for a gynecological consultation. During the gynecological examination, the doctor determines the enlargement and loosening of the body and cervix, increased blood supply to the vaginal walls and cervical disc. He will also order a more sensitive laboratory blood or urine pregnancy test. Some symptoms of pregnancy include visualization of the embryo in the uterine cavity by ultrasound (it is possible as early as 3 weeks after conception) and confirmation of the fetal heart function (usually in the first, screening ultrasound between 11 and 14 weeks of pregnancy).

From the moment her pregnancy is confirmed, the woman should be under the constant care of an obstetrician gynecologist. Regular medical visits combined with obstetric examination, blood and urine tests as well as imaging tests allow to assess the correctness of the course of pregnancy and the development of the embryo and fetus, and to detect early maternal health disorders that adversely affect the pregnancy. This enables early initiation of pharmacological treatment in a pregnant woman, correction of some defects in the body structure of the fetus during pregnancy or planning such treatment after delivery.

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