How Can You Tell If You’re Pregnant?

Many young women hope that they never have to ask this question, let alone answer it. However, if it is a question that has come up in your life, it’s important to know what to look for and what you should be doing to get answers.

Early Signs and Symptoms of Pregnancy

There are certain signs and symptoms that indicate you may want to take a pregnancy test. The most obvious early signs and symptoms include:

  • Skipping your period
  • Nausea - whether or not you’re also vomiting
  • Enlarged or swollen sore breasts
  • More frequent urination
  • Overall fatigue

Of course, while some teens and women experience all of these signs and symptoms, others don’t. Similarly, it’s possible to have these pregnancy indicators without being pregnant.

During the first month, it’s common to not notice anything out of the ordinary - except for missing your period. If your menstrual cycle is irregular, this might not be something that jumps out at you either.

If you think that you might be pregnant, the best thing that you can do is to take a pregnancy test.

What If the Pregnancy Test Comes Back Positive?

If you take a pregnancy test and the result is positive, you need to get in touch with a health care provider. You can call your doctor, or you can contact Planned Parenthood or similar organizations that will help you get the care you need without going to someone you know. A health care provider will give you a more accurate pregnancy test and you’ll find out what you need to do to take care of yourself and the baby.

Of course, if you smoke, drink or use any recreational drugs, for the sake of the baby you need to quit. There are also some prescribed medicines and over-the-counter medications that can harm a developing baby, so it’s important to find out what you should stop taking.

Estimating Your Due Date

If you are pregnant, you’re going to want to get some sense of when the baby is due. If you think you know when conception occurred, predicting the date is relatively simple - a matter of counting 38 weeks from the last time that you had your period. On the other hand, if you are not sure when you got pregnant or you have always had an irregular menstrual cycle, you’re going to want to have a health care professional use an ultrasound to calculate the date.