There are lots of women who just don't know they are actually pregnant until they have missed a period. However, there could be other clues before that to help you out.
¢ Do you experience sickness ? ¢ Do you experience nausea ? ¢ Can you taste a metal type of taste in your mouth ? ¢ Are you experiencing breast tenderness ? ¢ Are your breasts tingling ? ¢ Are your breasts larger than usual ? ¢ Do you see small bumps on your nipples ? ¢ Do you have stomach pains ? ¢ A general feeling of being tired ? ¢ Are you constipated? ¢ Do you need to urinate more than usual? ¢ Have you noticed your diet has changed ? ¢ Have you noticed you 'gone off' certain food or drinks ? ¢ Increased vaginal discharge ? ¢ Spotting ?
If I think I am pregnant, when do I do a pregnancy test to check ?
The home pregnancy test you can buy in the supermarket and pharmacies generally can be used on the first day of your missed period. There are other tests available that are really sensitive and you are able to use them sooner than this date.
Ok so what is the science behind them ?
It all revolves around detecting the presence of a hormone in your urine. The hormone is called Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin or hCG for short !. Basically when the pregnancy test stick comes in contact with this hormone from your urine, it changes colour.
So how accurate are pregnancy kits then ?
Pregnancy tests are accurate as long as you use them correctly. However it is possible to have something called a false negative. That is, the stick says you are pregnant but you are in fact not. It' is better to repeat the pregnancy test and also check with your doctor. Where can I buy pregnancy testing kits ?
In no particular order, some places you can buy pregnancy testing kits are:
Online Supermarket Chemist Some GPs Family planning clinics
When will my little one be due?
How long your pregnancy will be will depend on when the first day of your last period was, even though you actually conceived before that (This does depend on the length of your cycle of course!). The date would be two weeks either side of the due date.
There are some great online tools called pregnancy calculators that can help you work out the date, but you should not rely on these tools 100%. Just type in 'Pregnancy calendar' or 'Pregnancy calculator' in Google or Yahoo, Bing etc and you will find loads of them. You should always consult your doctor rather than relying on online tools.
The pregnancy test says I'm pregnant, does my doctor need to confirm my pregnancy? If you have been out and bought the home testing kit used it and it's a positive, you should tell your doctor. Usually they will offer you something called a 'dating' scan. Basically an ultrasound scan is done early on during your pregnancy to discover your uterus size and embryo. This is all done to help provide a more accurate picture of how many weeks you are pregnant.
All content within the 4little1s.com website is provided for general information only, and should not be treated as a substitute for the medical advice of your own doctor or any other health care professional. We are not liable for any diagnosis or otherwise, you should always consult your own doctor if you're in any way concerned about your pregnancy.
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