PREGNANCY DAYS For most pregnant women, carrying a baby to term is largely a mysterious process. This section helps new parents answer some of the most important questions about pregnancy and childbirth.

Top 10 signs of Pregnancy

Knowing before the test reveals that you are pregnant is subjective, depending on how sensitive you are to your emotional and physical self.

From the first day of conception the hormones start changing in your body. Mood swings, depression, body aches and heaviness and even nausea (though rare in the first three months ) can happen.

If you have planned the pregnancy. the feeling may infact mimic impending menstrual l cycle.

For all of you who are happy-go-lucky, non planners, you wonder if you are going to fall sick.

For those absolutely lucky ones, you still do not know about the hurricane that has entered your life. Sometimes it is the fathers too who can pick on the subtle body changes. You can then be sure of his love for you .

Once you miss your dates, you can go for a home pregnancy test or a laboratory Investigation but there are these few tell-tale signs also that you can look for -

1. Missed periods

A sign or a symptom difficult to miss. This can happen due to various reasons, the most common being pregnancy if conditions for it are met with. Sometimes periods may just get delayed for a longtime and the only way to confirm is the pregnancy test. This too may come positive only after 2-3 days of missed date depending on which test you are using.

2. Food cravings or Altered Taste

You may just be wanting to eat certain food items more than normal and may become averse to the most favorite food of yours. It is a myth that cravings are only for pickles and stuff. It may be for sweet items also and you’ll be surprised that it may be for mud/chalk/wall plaster also. No one but the needs and the hormones are to be blamed for that.

3. Tenderness in the breasts

Some of you may feel some difference in the breast size and firmness long before you even suspect that you are pregnant. Also there might be tenderness and darkening of the skin around the nipple area.

4. Frequent urination

Once the embryo implants and begins producing the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), there is this urge to urinate and the frequency also increases.

5. Tiredness and Fatigue

You may experience these sudden moments of exhaustion and body ache. you may also mistake it for the impending periods to come. This is because of high levels of the hormone progesterone . Fatigue is one of the sure markers of early pregnancy.

6. Morning sickness

This is one symptom that you may mistake for acidity or stomach infection. Morning sickness may not even show up as generally these symptoms starts showing up after 1-2 months of pregnancy. But if you are extra sensitive and puky by nature ,you may start feeling it even earlier.

7. Headache

Not very uncommon in early pregnancy, it is too nonspecific and comes with varied reasons. You can always count it as a symptom as an afterthought when the diagnosis is confirmed rather than trying to diagnose on this basis.

8. Increased Sense of Smell

Pregnancy or the increased hormones cause almost all the senses to be more alert and so your nose too plays games with you. You may just start smelling pungent smell without a source. Also cooking fragrance drives you out of the kitchen. Some of the food becomes unpalatable only because it has a strong smell.

9. Constipation

Maybe seen because of altered hormones. There is no physical compression as in latter pregnancy.

10. Heartburn and Acidity

This is amongst the first symptoms to come and is an invariable part of all pregnancies.

Some of you may even experience a new sensitivity or feelings in your pelvic area.

In general all the symptoms point towards a viral illness, it takes a high index of suspicion to say that this is the only welcome illness which will get rewarded with a baby … so cheer up and welcome the days to come!