Before menstrual delay, it is possible that some symptoms that may be indicative of pregnancy are noted, such as sore breasts, nausea, cramps or mild abdominal pain and excessive tiredness for no apparent reason. However, these symptoms can also be indicative that the menstrual period is near.
To confirm that the symptoms are indeed indicative of pregnancy, it is important for the woman to go to the gynecologist and do urine and blood tests to identify the pregnancy-related hormone, beta-HCG. Learn more about the hormone beta-HCG.
Pregnancy symptoms before delay
Pregnancy symptoms before menstrual delay are common and happen due to hormonal changes that occur after ovulation and fertilization, mainly related to progesterone, which increases shortly after ovulation in order to preserve the endometrium to allow implantation in the uterus and pregnancy development. Some of the symptoms that may appear before menstrual delay and are indicative of pregnancy are:
- Pain in the breasts, which happens due to the increased production of hormones, which leads to the growth of the mammary glands; Darkening of the areolas; Pink bleeding, which can happen up to 15 days after fertilization; Bloating and abdominal pain; Excessive tiredness for no apparent reason; Increased frequency of urination; Constipation; Nausea.
On the other hand, these symptoms can also appear in the premenstrual period, not being indicative of pregnancy. Therefore, if these symptoms appear, it is best to wait for the menstrual delay to be confirmed and tests to confirm the pregnancy are carried out.
How to know if it's pregnancy
In order to be more certain that the symptoms presented before the delay are of pregnancy, it is important that the woman is attentive to her ovulatory period, as this way it is possible to check if there is a probability of ovulation and fertilization by the sperm. Understand what ovulation is and when it happens.
In addition, to find out if the symptoms are of pregnancy, it is important that the woman go to the gynecologist and do tests that allow to identify the presence of the hormone beta-HCG, which has its concentration increased in pregnancy.
A test that can be performed is the pharmacy pregnancy test, which is indicated from the first day of menstruation delay and is done using a urine sample. As the pharmacy tests have different sensitivity, it is recommended that the woman repeat the test after 3 to 5 days if she continues to show symptoms of pregnancy, even if the result was negative by the first test.
The blood test is usually the test recommended by the doctor to confirm the pregnancy, as it is able to inform whether the woman is pregnant and to indicate the week of gestation according to the concentration of the beta-HCG hormone circulating in the blood. This test can be done 12 days after the fertile period, even before menstruation starts. Learn more about pregnancy tests.
To know the fertile period and, thus, to know when it is possible to perform the blood test, just enter the data in the calculator below:
