Pregnancy – Elbestor Health

Am I Pregnant? 10 Early Pregnancy Signs and Symptoms

Prity Kumari — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 09:41:00 +0000

Pregnancy is the gestation time where one or more offspring develop inside a woman’s womb or uterus. It happens when the sperm of the male sex partner fertilizes with the egg of the female partner, more likely at the time of her ovulation.

The signs of conceiving a child can vary from person to person and from one pregnancy to the next. Hence, it can be difficult to figure out whether the symptoms experienced by women are of pregnancy or pre-menstruation. Well, the only way to confirm pregnancy is to go for a pregnancy test or ultrasound which is best recommended after one week of missing the menstrual period to get the most accurate results.

If looking forward to giving birth to a child, there are a range of early pregnancy symptoms or signs that women can look for. These include missing periods, most often the first sign of pregnancy, morning sickness, sore b-reasts, fatigue, and mood swings, to name a few. However, these symptoms can appear at different times. Some women can immediately feel bodily changes that indicate their pregnancy, while others may go for months without noticing any symptoms at all. The most common early signs of pregnancy are probably caused by a rise in the levels of the pregnancy hormone hCG as well as a surge in female sex hormones. Read on to get more insights on pregnancy signs and symptoms. [2, 3, 4]

When to Expect Early Symptoms of Pregnancy?

It may sound strange, but the first week of pregnancy is based on the date when the last menstrual period happened. Even if a woman is not pregnant, normally, her body considers her menstrual period as the first week of pregnancy. Furthermore, the expected date of delivery of the child is calculated using the starting date of the last menstrual period. This is why women may not experience pregnancy symptoms during the first few weeks of their 40-week pregnancy. [5]

The 10 Most Common Early Pregnancy Symptoms Before Missed Period:

Missed periods or unusual vaginal blood spotting/slight bleeding
The first and most obvious sign of pregnancy is the missing period. Likely, this happens 4 weeks after conception. This is when the implantation of a fertilized egg is complete, and the body is making human Chorionic Gonadotropin hormone (hCG) which tells ovaries to stop ovulation (release of eggs every month). It may be harder to notice missing or strange periods if the person typically experiences irregular or late periods. A pregnancy test can help detect levels of this hormone in urine as soon as 8 days after missing the period to show if the person is pregnant or not.
Sometimes, women can get confused and think that slight bleeding or spotting is a sign that a period is on its way, but that’s not so! It’s the implantation bleeding or a normal effect of pregnancy which according to the National Institutes of Health starts after 6 to 12 days of conceiving. It can appear as a brownish discharge or a few tiny drops of red blood which may last for a few days or even several weeks and sometimes throughout the first trimester. [1, 5]
Raised Basal Body temperature
Basal Body temperature (BBT) is the core body temperature of women who have just woken up in the morning. It is recorded before the woman gets out of her bed. In case of pregnancy, Basal Body Temperature is elevated and does not fall to or below the cover line temperatures on the BBT chart. [4]
Frequent urination and incontinence
At the time of pregnancy, there are hormonal fluctuations that prompt a series of events that cause kidneys to process more blood than usual. This results in more fluids in the urinary bladder. Hence, shortly after getting pregnant, women often feel an urge to pee and find themselves rushing to the washroom more frequently or experience accidental leaking of their urine (i.e. urinary incontinence). [3, 5]
Extreme tiredness or fatigue
As early as the first week of pregnancy, most women find themselves feeling fatigued all of a sudden. This could be because of soaring levels of progesterone hormone. Extreme tiredness can even be caused by morning sickness or constant peeing during the night resulting in disturbed sleep. [1, 2]
Sensitive or tender breasts, pain in boobs
Sore and tender breasts are usually the first physical signs of pregnancy that occur during weeks 4 and 6. Around week 11, the areola (the area around the nipples) may also grow larger and darker in color. Some women begin to bust out of their bras. These changes in breasts are caused by a rise in female sex hormones as the breasts prepare for breastfeeding. The breast discomfort significantly diminishes during the second trimester as the body gets adjusted to hormonal changes. [4, 5]
Mood swings
At the onset of pregnancy, mood changes are widespread, partly due to high levels of female sexual hormones that affect the brain’s chemical messengers. Some women during this time would experience heightened emotions i.e. both good and bad, while others might become depressed, irritable, and anxious. [3]
Morning sickness, nausea, and vomiting
Usually, around weeks 4 to 6, morning sickness and nausea can develop and be at their peak around week 9 of pregnancy. It can happen anytime throughout the day. [5]
Abdominal Bloating and constipation
The hormonal fluctuations during early pregnancy can give a feeling of enlarging belly which is bloating. Women may even experience constipation. All this is due to slower digestion of food caused by the impact of high levels of progesterone. [3, 4]
Cramping in the abdomen or pelvis
When the embryo attaches itself to the uterine lining i.e. gets implanted, women might experience mild cramping in the lower back, pelvis, or abdomen. [1]
Smell sensitivity and food aversions
Smell sensitivity is mostly self-reported by women in their early pregnancy. It may trigger nausea and vomiting and lead to their strong distaste for certain foods. Within 6 to 12 weeks postpartum, smell sensitivity usually returns to normal. [5]

References:

https://www.everydayhealth.com/pregnancy/am-i-pregnant-signs-and-symptoms-of-early-pregnancy/
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/9709-pregnancy-am-i-pregnant#:~:text=You%20may%20feel%20your%20body,feeling%20tired%20and%20morning%20sickness.
https://www.babycenter.com/getting-pregnant/how-to-get-pregnant/pregnancy-symptoms_1146468
https://www.verywellfamily.com/early-pregnancy-signs-2759952
https://www.healthline.com/health/pregnancy/early-symptoms-timeline#symptoms-timeline

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Women with Migrane Are At Higher Risk of Pregnancy Complications?

Prity Kumari — Fri, 09 Sep 2022 07:06:00 +0000

A large number of preliminary studies on pregnant women having a history of migraine suggest that they are at higher risk of pregnancy complications. It has been seen that among women with migraine and aura, the risk of preeclampsia was somewhat higher (i.e. 51%) than those women with migraine but no presence of an aura (having 29% risk). This conclusion was released by ‘The American Academy of Neurology’ on February 24, 2022, and was officially presented at its 74th annual meeting being held in Seattle in person from April 2 to 7, 2022, and virtually held from April 24 to 26, 2022.. [1, 2]

The author of the large prospective study, Alexandra Pursue-Smithe, Ph.D., of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, said that the impact of migraine on pregnancy outcomes has not been well understood. This link found between migraine and possible pregnancy complications could make both women and doctors aware of potential risks that can arise during pregnancy and help them identify and manage them at their earliest. However, detailed research is still needed to collect data on migraine aura, migraine attack frequency, and other migraine features, thus determining exactly why migraine is associated with higher risks of pregnancy complications. [2, 3]

What is a Migraine?

For those who are unversed, migraine is a type of medical concern that causes a severe form of headache characterized by extreme throbbing on one side of the head and can present itself with or without a visual aura. Auras are sensations, often visual disturbances like flashing lights experienced by a person before having a severe headache.

Migraine can sometimes result in nausea, vomiting, hallucinations, blurred or tunnel vision, and extreme sensitivity to sound and light. It tends to be frequent and long-lasting (episodic). It is commonly experienced in 10-20% of the population and is up to three times more commonly found in women of childbearing age (roughly 20% women) than in men of similar age.

Migraine Headaches do not have a definite cause. But, it is known to involve changes in the neurochemicals, nerve pathways, and blood flow in the brain. According to researchers, some overly excited brain cells stimulate the release of chemicals which irritate the blood vessels on the surface of the brain. As a result, the brain vessels get inflamed and induce a pain response.

Women with migraine experience changes in their pattern of migraine headaches due to changes in the level of estrogen hormone that is thought to play some role in migraine. [2, 3, 7]

Pregnancy Complications Linked with Migraine:

Preterm Delivery

Preterm delivery refers to the birth of the child before women complete 37 weeks of their pregnancy. Based on the gestational age of pregnant women, there are three sub-categories of preterm delivery including:

Extremely preterm- when a child is given birth in less than 28 weeks of pregnancy
Very preterm- when babies are born alive in 28 to 32 weeks of pregnancy
Moderate to late preterm- when a child comes to life in 32 to 37 weeks of pregnancy.

Maternal migraine can result in preterm delivery. As per studies, women with migraine are found to have 17% higher risk of preterm delivery after the researchers have accounted for obesity, age, and other health and behavioral risk factors. [1, 5]

Gestational Hypertension

Gestational hypertension is a medical condition wherein women experience high blood pressure during pregnancy and do not produce proteins in their urine or develop any heart or kidney problems. Typically, this is diagnosed in women who are close to the end of their pregnancy or after 20 weeks have passed from the start of the gestation period. Usually, it can go after the delivery of the child. However, some women having this pregnancy complication might be at risk of having chronic hypertension in the future.

According to research studies, women with migraine are at a 28% higher risk of having gestational high blood pressure. [1, 6]

Preeclampsia:

It involves sudden or chronic hypertension and the appearance of other symptoms like protein secretion in the urine, after 20 weeks of pregnancy which could be life-threatening for both mother and the baby in her womb. Some symptoms of preeclampsia include sudden weight gain, nausea or vomiting, a persistent headache, pain in the upper stomach area, difficulty breathing, swollen face or hands, and changes in vision including eyesight problems, seeing spots, or blurry vision.
Researchers have reported in their studies that women with migraine are at 40% higher risk of having preeclampsia than others. [1, 6]

Others:

As per a comprehensive register-based study, pregnant women with migraine have a greater risk of cesarean sections, miscarriages, and giving birth to a child with low birth weight. The study also suggests that these pregnancy complications can be alleviated in mother-to-be women by using some prescription migraine drugs.

Migraine Remedies That Are Safe During Pregnancy:

Women who are pregnant are generally advised by their doctors to stay off any medications unless there is a real need for them. The right decision on the intake of drugs is important that can be done by weighing the potential effects of the drugs on the unborn baby.

For women having migraines during pregnancy, most standard treatments of migraines are safe while some can lead to pregnancy complications. For instance, some of these medications are known to cause intrauterine growth restriction, bleeding, and miscarriage. Anti-inflammatory drugs can be taken by such women on a limit. Commonly prescribed medications that have vasoconstrictive properties (ability to reduce blood flow to the brain and associated headache) include Mi-dri-n and Sum-at-ript-an. Most anti-nausea medications are also safe and effective for pregnant women with migraine. Severe migraines usually require hospitalization so that pain medication, fluids, or anti-nausea medications through IV can be provided safely to pregnant women.

It’s advised to double-check with an obstetrician or gynecologist about the safety of any medication during pregnancy prescribed by a headache specialist for migraine to prevent any complications. [4, 7]

References:

https://practicalneurology.com/news/women-with-migraine-may-have-a-higher-risk-of-pregnancy-complications#:~:text=Women%20with%20migraine%20had%20a,behavioral%20and%20health%20risk%20factors.
https://www.india.com/health/pregnant-women-with-migraine-at-higher-risk-of-preeclampsia-complications-study-5261902/
https://www.thehealthsite.com/pregnancy/migraine-during-pregnancy-elevates-the-risk-of-preterm-delivery-high-blood-pressure-and-preeclampsia-866096/
https://utswmed.org/medblog/headache-migraine-pregnancy/
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/preterm-birth
https://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/pregnancy.htm#:~:text=Gestational%
20Hypertension,away%20after%20you%20give%20birth.
https://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/migraine-headaches-and-pregnancy

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