Finding Out You're Pregnant

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Pregnancy tests. The symptoms of early pregnancy. What your due date really means. How you may feel about being pregnant. Telling your partner. Telling family and friends. Your rights as a pregnant employee

Finding Out You're Pregnant

If you and your partner have been trying to conceive for some time, you may strongly suspect that you are pregnant even before the pregnancy test actually comes back positive. Part of this is clearly wishful thinking: you're hoping like crazy that this is the cycle when you've actually managed to conceive. But at least a part of this feeling may be based in biological fact. Studies have shown that some women are able to detect hormonal changes, however slight, from the time that the body begins to produce human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)-about seven days after conception. If you don't notice anything particularly out of the ordinary until you've missed your first period, you're certainly in good company. Most women don't experience any of the classic symptoms of early pregnancy- morning sickness, fatigue, and tender breasts-until after their first missed period.

If, on the other hand, you aren't consciously planning a pregnancy, it may take you even longer to consider the possibility that you might be pregnant. If you aren't on the lookout for possible symptoms of early pregnancy, the milder symptoms may actually go unnoticed. You may explain away your feelings of fatigue by thinking about how hard you've been working lately and wonder if the touch of nausea you experienced when you woke up this morning was caused by something you ate for dinner last night. Because these symptoms can be mild or even nonexistent, you could be well into your third month of pregnancy before you decide that it's time to dash down to the drug store to purchase a home pregnancy test.

In this chapter, we discuss the symptoms of early pregnancy, how pregnancy tests work, what your due date really means, and what to expect when you share your news with others in your life-your partner, friends, family, and employer. We also briefly touch on your rights as a pregnant employee-something you'll want to know all about before you start spreading your news at work.

"The moment I discovered I was pregnant, I began a nine-month-long research project. I read everything I could get my hands on regarding pregnancy, labor and delivery, and raising babies and children.
-Jennifer, 21, mother of one"

The symptoms of early pregnancy

Despite what some pregnancy books would have you believe, there's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all pregnancy. You may experience a lot of early pregnancy symptoms, or none at all. What's more, the fact that you felt perfectly well during your first pregnancy is no guarantee that you'll be quite that lucky during the next. It's the ultimate crapshoot.

That said, you are likely to experience at least one of the following common signs of pregnancy. Just one word of caution before we plunge into the list: If you wait for each and every pregnancy symptom to appear-or if you expect them to appear in a predesignated order-you could be in labor before you believe that you're actually having a baby!

missed period: Although missing a period is one of the most frequently cited symptoms of pregnancy, it's by no means a clear indicator that you are, in fact, pregnant. Although pregnancy is the most common explanation for missing a period, you can miss a period for many other reasons: low estrogen birth control pills, jet lag, severe illness, surgery, shock, bereavement, or other causes of stress. And as if that weren't enough to muddy the waters, some women continue to have menstrual-like bleeding throughout at least part of their pregnancies.
A need to urinate more frequently: As your progesterone levels rise and your body begins to produce hCG (something that typically happens about a week after conception), blood flow to the pelvic area increases. This can cause you to feel as if you need to urinate more frequently than usual, even if you're passing only small quantities of urine at a time.
Fatigue: Here are two good reasons why you may feel tired during the early weeks of pregnancy: your body increases its production of progesterone, a natural sedative, and it increases your metabolism so that it will be able to support the growth of an embryo as well as your own vital organs.
A heightened sense of smell: Strong odors such as cigarette smoke, coffee, or perfume may make you feel sick. Some scientists believe that this aversion to unhealthy substances is nature's way of protecting the baby you are carrying.
Food aversions and cravings: Hormonal changes can cause your mouth to take on a metallic taste-something that can dramatically affect your enjoyment of certain foods and beverages, such as coffee. You may find that you start to crave certain foods-maybe even the proverbial pickles and ice cream!
Morning sickness: The term morning sickness is used to describe everything from a mild feeling of nausea to vomiting to the point of dehydration. Although the condition can occur at any time of day, it tends to be worse when your blood sugar is at its lowest level, as is the case first thing in the morning.
Breast changes: Your breasts may become fuller and feel achy or tender. The areola may begin to darken, and tiny glands on the areola may begin to enlarge.
Cramping: You may feel period-like cramping in the lower abdomen and pelvis, or you may feel bloated and gassy.