8 Early Signs of Pregnancy

You are usually pretty careful, but lately you and your partner have been throwing caution to the wind. All you keep hearing about is how much trouble your friends have trying to conceive, so really what are the odds? Still, you have been so tired lately, get up from your desk 20 times a day to use the ladies' room, and your bra feels like it has a stranglehold on your chest. It's too early to know if you've missed your period, but are these the early signs of pregnancy?

They just may be. Fatigue, frequent urination, and breast tenderness are some of more subtle first signs of pregnancy and may occur even if it is still too early to take an at- home pregnancy test.

“Always suspect that you could be pregnant, even if you are using contraception -- as nothing except abstinence is 100 percent,” says Xavier Pombar, MD, an obstetrician at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. “The earlier you know, the better prenatal care you can get. So it’s always important to watch out for the early signs of pregnancy.”

If you are pregnant, it’s never too early (or too late) to start making important lifestyle changes, such as cutting out caffeine, nicotine, sushi, and alcohol. And if you are not already doing so, you’ll need to take prenatal vitamins. “You may also be taking medications to treat other conditions that will need to be stopped or adjusted if you are pregnant,” he says.

So what are the early signs of pregnancy that you should be on the lookout for?

1. Fatigue.

“Extreme, unexplainable fatigue is probably the most common sign of early pregnancy,” says high-risk obstetrician Gil Gross, MD, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

“Don’t treat fatigue with excessive caffeine if there is a chance you may be pregnant.” Instead, “listen to your body, take it easy, and try to keep well-rested,” says Donnica Moore, MD, a women's health expert in Far Hills, N.J.

2. Food aversions.

The thought of chicken makes you wince, and you can’t even walk past the local Chinese restaurant without gagging. Sound familiar? If it does, you could be pregnant. Many women report that such intense food aversions are one of the first signs of early pregnancy. These can be caused by rising levels of beta-hCG hormone, Moore says. There isn’t all that much to do except steer clear of triggers.

3. Sensitivity to smells.

Scents that were never pleasant (like cigarette smoke) and even ones that were agreeable (like your partner’s cologne) can also make you gag during the beginning of pregnancy. “For some women, this can be a tip-off that they are expecting,” Moore says. This is likely a result of rising hormone levels. Unfortunately, “there is really nothing you can do except avoid them where you can,” she says, “especially cigarette smoke, which is not good for you or the baby.”