15 signs and symptoms of early pregnancy

Figuring out if you’re pregnant can be tricky business, so to help you out we’re giving you a list of the 15 most common signs and symptoms of early pregnancy. Remember though, many of these symptoms can be attributed to other factors, which means if you are only experiencing one or two of these symptoms it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re pregnant. Likewise, most women only experience some of these symptoms, so don’t rule out pregnancy if you haven’t experienced all of them. In no particular order, here they are…

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The 15 most common signs and symptoms of early pregnancy are:

1. Frequent headaches, which are caused by hormonal surges.
2. Tender or swollen breasts.
3. Darkening of the areolas.
4. Nausea at any time of day, though with pregnancy it is most common in the mornings.
5. Lower backaches.
6. Unexplained fatigue (such as sleeping for 10 uninterrupted hours and still having no energy to get up and go to the bathroom, which you probably need to do because another sign is…
7. Frequent urination, though most women don’t experience this until well into week 6 or week 8
8. Food cravings, for weird (chocolate covered cucumbers) and normal (crisps) foods.
9. Food aversions (such as a sudden hate for ice-cream, after all who hates ice-cream?).
10. Uterine cramping.
11. Changes in your sexual libido, this can be an increase or a decrease.
12. Abdominal bloating (no you have not gained weight…yet).
13. Heightened sensitivity to odours (can’t stand the smell of your partner’s once sexy aftershave?).
14. Spotting or light bleeding, which will be caused by the embryo implanting in your uterine wall.
15. And of course a missed period (some women do continue to bleed during pregnancy, but this bleeding tends to be shorter and/or lighter than a regular period).

So if you’ve been experiencing all, some or just one (i.e. #15) of these symptoms it’s a good idea to buy a pregnancy test and/or get in contact with your healthcare provider, because you just may be pregnant.

Check out our pregnancy hormone guide to see how your hormones are going to affect your body throughout your pregnancy and our section on pregnancy symptoms to learn about those symptoms you are going to experience during your 40 week pregnancy.