Do you think you are pregnant? Is it possible to know this before taking a pregnancy test? What are the very first signs indicating this hormonal upheaval at the start of pregnancy? Futura helps you see things more clearly.
The first obvious sign of pregnancy is the absence (amenorrhea) or delay of menstruation. In some women, a delay of one or two days is enough to suggest pregnancy. For others, it is much less obvious! They can have very irregular cycles. For all of them, travel or stress can shift the cycles.
Other symptoms may accompany early pregnancy: nausea, vomiting, bloating, constipation, heartburn, swollen and sensitive breasts, great fatigue, irritability, palpitations, hot flushes, headaches, more frequent urination , disgust for certain smells… The presence of these signs is extremely variable from one woman to another, and even from one pregnancy to another in the same woman. A pregnancy can go unnoticed for quite a long time in some people, while in others it will immediately take up a lot of space in a woman’s life.
When can a pregnancy test be done?
The tests available in pharmacies or supermarkets are the ones you can turn to first to find out if you are pregnant or not. The pregnancy hormone, HCG (chorionic gonadotropic hormone), is secreted in the urine in case of pregnancy about 10 days after fertilization. Its level increases gradually for eight weeks, then it decreases. Urine tests are able to detect it. Morning urine on waking is more concentrated than daytime urine, which is why it is recommended to do the test in the morning on waking. It is better to wait until you are a few days late for your period before doing the test, even if some of them promise to be able to detect a pregnancy even before the presumed day of the period!
False positives are extremely rare while false negatives are common. In other words, if the test is positive, it is almost certain that you are pregnant. If the test is negative, it is better to start again a few days later, if your period has not appeared in the meantime. It is possible that you are not pregnant, or that the test was carried out too early, while the pregnancy hormone is not yet secreted sufficiently in the urine to be detectable.
What should be done in case of a positive test?
You are pregnant ? Congratulation ! This is the time to make an appointment with your doctor or midwife to set up pregnancy monitoring. You will be prescribed a test to measure the level of the pregnancy hormone in the blood. This blood test can be done at any time of the day and does not require fasting. This analysis helps to determine the onset of pregnancy.