Have you been feeling unusually nauseous recently? Craving some very specific foods? Getting extremely tired for seemingly no reason?
There are just some of the signs that you could possibly be holding a little bub inside. In this post we’re going to go through some of the little tell-tale signs that you may possibly be pregnant, as well as how you can be absolutely sure.
Nausea
We hear about it from our mothers, we see it in movies and sometimes we experience it ourselves: morning sickness. Now, the term ‘morning sickness’ can be misleading, as the nausea that you may be experiencing will most likely follow you throughout the entire day, or in some cases last many. The reason this is a good early sign that you may be pregnant is because almost three quarters of all women will experience vomiting or nausea during the first trimester of their pregnancy. Nausea will generally begin around the 6 week point of pregnancy, however this does vary from person to person and can start as early as 4 weeks. Luckily, it is very uncommon to for this sickness to last the entire pregnancy; if you are still experiencing intense nausea after your first trimester, it is best to contact your healthcare provider as this has the chance to lead to dehydration and drastic loss of weight needed for the pregnancy.
Aches and/or Cramps in Your Lower Abdomen
Pains in your stomach during the early stages of pregnancy can be worrying for a lot of us, as it can create the fear that something is wrong. It is natural to experience some pains here and there around your abdomen during the early stages of pregnancy (up to 12 weeks) as this is most commonly due to the womb expanding to accommodate for your soon-to-be bubba. Other potential causes for this discomfort could be due to the ligaments stretching as your baby-bump grows, hormonal constipation or even the need to pass wind. Sometimes all it takes to ease the pain is a quick trip to the bathroom. If you are experiencing these symptoms and haven’t yet taken a test to confirm, you may just have a bun in the oven! If you do experience more severe pains or even some potential bleeding, be sure to contact your midwife, doctor or hospital right away.
Excessive Tiredness
During the early stages of pregnancy, a lot of women tend to report feeling tired at times when they are usually wide awake and ready for action. This is especially common throughout the day, with many women feeling drowsy at work, watching the television, or even behind the wheel! Becoming extra tired during pregnancy is most likely due to the rising levels of progesterone, which improves your fertility health and helps to prepare the uterus for pregnancy, using up all the energy your body has and leaving you with barely any left to go about your day; as well as causing a rise in hormone levels.
Headaches
This one can be a bit more of a tricky one to gauge as to whether it is pregnancy related depending on whether or not you tend to get headaches often. During the first trimester of pregnancy, there is a surging increase to hormones and your blood volume, which is the main cause behind these headaches. These can then be further agitated by stress, poor posture or diet and even changes in your vision. You may have an increase in the quantity and intensity of headaches during pregnancy if you are experiencing lack of sleep, low blood sugar, dehydration or (and this one is very common) caffeine withdrawal.
Food Cravings
Been craving popcorn covered in peanut butter? Yoghurt covered chips? Smashed avo on pasta? These ‘delicious’ combos are some of the creations our brains may make when that crazy pregnancy craving starts to kick in. You might crave your favourite food, or even something you haven’t eaten since childhood. Why does this happen? Well, the answer is, we don’t know! There has never been a concrete scientific confirmation as to why these cravings occur. Some believe it is because the body begins to crave new nutrients and minerals, or even something missing from our diet that our body just reallllllyyy wants. Now obviously if we gave in to all these outrageous cravings we wouldn’t have a very healthy diet. The key to holding back on these cravings is to make sure you are maintaining a balanced diet with 3 meals a day, with only giving in to a couple of the cravings here and there, because it’s still good to treat yourself. After all, who doesn’t want meat pies with marshmallows?
There you have it, those are the most common signs that you may have a baby on board! If you are experiencing any of these symptoms and feel that may be the case, be sure to contact your healthcare provider for confirmation, and enjoy your journey to parenthood!
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