Pregnancy can either be expected or unexpected, and without a pregnancy test in those early days, you may not know for sure whether you are or not. However, within weeks of conception, you may experience some symptoms that later point to a positive pregnancy test.
Below, you can learn all about those symptoms, how to prevent pregnancy, and how to improve your chances of pregnancy.
How to Prevent Pregnancy
Not everyone is ready to start a family, and some people have already completed their family and want to take all possible precautions to avoid adding to it. You can click here to visit the Active Ingredients blog and learn more about birth control and view other health content.
One of the best ways to prevent pregnancy is with the use of oral contraceptive pills. You can access prescriptions online and have them delivered directly to your door. Birth control pills work by stopping or reducing ovulation, which is the release of an egg from an ovary.
Some of the many other pregnancy prevention methods include condoms, intrauterine devices (IUD), contraceptive implants and injections, and diaphragms.
How to Improve Your Chances of Pregnancy
If your ultimate goal is to get pregnant and expand your family, you may be wondering how to improve your chances of this happening. Some people don’t need to try anything different, but others may try a wide range of methods to increase fertility, such as these:
1. Record Your Menstrual Cycle
By recording your cycle, you may stand a better chance of knowing when you’re ovulating, which is when your ovaries will release an egg. An egg is fertile for up to one day after it’s released, and a man’s sperm can survive for up to five days in a woman’s body.
2. Monitor Your Ovulation
If your cycle is regular, ovulation monitoring may be something you consider when you’re trying to grow your family. With a normal cycle, you can estimate that you’ll be ovulating 12 to 16 days before your period.
However, your ovulation duration can change as you age, which is why relying on technology to assist may allow for more accurate predictions. Some women use home ovulation prediction kits, which test your urine for luteinizing hormone. This hormone increases when you’re ovulating.
When you receive a positive result, your chances of becoming pregnant are higher within a few days after it than at any other time of the month.
3. Have Frequent Sex
When you’re within your fertile window, frequent sex before ovulation might be when your chances of becoming pregnant are much higher. Engage in sex during this time, and you may be welcoming a new addition in nine months.
4. Take Prenatal Vitamins
Lay the groundwork for a healthy pregnancy by taking prenatal vitamins. These contain folic acid, which may help prevent brain and spinal defects in a developing baby.
5. Look After Your Body
To look after a baby, you must look after yourself. Get into the habit of eating a well-balanced diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables containing nutrients like iron, protein, and calcium. Maintaining a healthy body weight may also be crucial since being overweight may impact your chances of conceiving.
6. Avoid Alcohol and Cigarettes
Alcohol and cigarettes can be harmful to your health, but they may also impact how easy you find it to conceive. Smoking is linked to decreased fertility, while men may experience decreased testosterone and sperm production with alcohol consumption.
Common Symptoms of Pregnancy
Whether you planned to get pregnant or not, you may notice signs pointing toward pregnancy being a possibility. Here are a few of the most common symptoms many expectant parents notice:
1. No Period
One of the most obvious signs of pregnancy is the absence of your period. Some people experience a light period, while others miss it entirely. However, if you have an irregular cycle, this may not be something that stands out.
2. Morning Sickness
Nausea and vomiting are known as morning sickness when you’re pregnant. Many women experience these symptoms and a loss of appetite in the morning and often throughout the day.
Generally, morning sickness can begin from around the fourth week of pregnancy but subsides typically by week 12. Some pregnant women experience it for much longer or have it return later in their pregnancy.
3. Fatigue
Many people experience tiredness and fatigue when they’re dealing with work stress or issues in everyday life. However, fatigue can also be a pregnancy symptom.
When you become pregnant, your body needs to produce more of the sex hormone progesterone to help your baby grow. This hormone can slow down your metabolism, leading to fatigue.
Some people also experience tiredness when they have an iron deficiency, so talk to a health care professional about managing your iron levels.
4. Changes in Your Breasts
Many women experience tenderness in their breasts and other changes before they expect to get their period, but changes in your breasts when you’re pregnant can be different.
Your breasts can seem fuller, sorer, and even swollen. You may also notice that the skin around your nipples becomes darker, and the veins are more prominent.
5. General Discomfort
While not a specific symptom, you may just be feeling generally uncomfortable. Many women experience backache, headaches, leg cramps, heartburn and indigestion, itchy skin, breathlessness, among other changes.
Individually, these symptoms may not make you jump to pregnancy as a conclusion right away, but more than one may indicate that it’s a possibility.
6. Food Cravings
If you’ve noticed that you’re craving random food you’ve never wanted before, or you can no longer stomach food you used to love, consider taking a pregnancy test. Food cravings can be a symptom of pregnancy.
Speak to a medical professional if you develop a craving for non-food items like dirt. This condition is known as pica and may signal a nutrient deficiency.
7. Increased Urination
You will likely have a fair idea of how often you urinate during the day and at night.
Increased urination is something worth keeping an eye on as it can be a pregnancy symptom. Your uterus can start pressing against your bladder as it swells, and there is also an increased volume of fluids in your body.
Many signs can point to pregnancy, but not all of them will be obvious. One of the most effective ways to know if you’re pregnant is by taking a pregnancy test. You can also enjoy the convenience of ordering oral contraceptive pills online if pregnancy is something you wish to avoid right now.
