Before menstrual delay it is possible to notice some symptoms that may be indicative of pregnancy, such as sore breasts, frequent nausea, cramps, mild abdominal pain, or excessive tiredness for no apparent reason. However, these symptoms may also arise for any other reason or be indicative that the menstrual period is close, not necessarily being a sign of pregnancy.
To confirm whether the symptoms are indeed indicative of pregnancy, it is important that the woman waits for the delay of menstruation and goes to the gynecologist or do urine or blood tests, to identify the pregnancy-related hormone, beta-HCG. Learn more about the hormone beta-HCG.
Pregnancy symptoms before delay
Some of the symptoms that may appear before menstrual delay and be indicative of pregnancy are:
- Pain in the breasts, which happens due to increased production of hormones, which leads to the growth of the mammary glands;
- Darkening of the areolas;
- Rosy bleeding, which can happen up to 15 days after fertilization;
- Bloating and abdominal pain;
- Excessive tiredness for no apparent reason;
- Increased frequency to urinate;
- Constipation;
- Frequent nausea.
Pregnancy symptoms before menstrual delay are relatively common in most women and arise due to hormonal changes that occur after fertilization, mainly due to the production of progesterone, which increases soon after ovulation in order to preserve the endometrium and allow the implantation of the fertilized egg in the uterus.
On the other hand, these symptoms may also appear in the premenstrual period, and are not necessarily indicative of pregnancy. Therefore, in case these symptoms arise, it is best to wait for the menstrual delay to be confirmed and then perform the tests that confirm the pregnancy.
How to tell if it’s pregnancy
To be more sure that the symptoms presented before the delay are pregnancy, it is important that the woman is attentive to her menstrual cycle, to understand if there is a possibility of having been related during the fertile period, which is the interval of days in which there is a greater chance of pregnancy.
To know when your fertile period is, simply put the data in the following calculator. It is important to remember that the calculator result is more reliable for women who have a regular menstrual cycle:
In the case of irregular menstrual cycles, it is important to have noted the duration of the longest cycle and the shorter cycle of the last 3 cycles, as it is the most reliable way to calculate to know the fertile period. See what the calculation for the fertile period is like in irregular cycles.
In addition, one can also perform a pharmacy pregnancy test that can be done at home from the first day of the delay of menstruation. If the result is negative, it is recommended that the woman repeat the test 3 to 5 days after the first, in order to confirm the result.
However, the best way to know if you are really pregnant is to consult a gynecologist to explain the situation and do a blood test that finds the presence of the hormone beta-HCG, which has its concentration increased during pregnancy. This test, in addition to confirming whether the woman is pregnant also indicates the week of gestation according to the concentration of beta-HCG in the blood
