When do pregnancy symptoms start?

Women, especially those trying to conceive, often wonder and ask: When do when pregnancy symptoms start? And if pregnancy symptoms appear before a missed period?

Dr. Adba Fragieh | Gynecologist Obstetrician
Dr. Adba Frangieh
Published on:Mar 19th 2022 |Updated on:Feb 10th 2024
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When can you feel early pregnancy symptoms?

Women trying to conceive are eager to find out whether they are pregnant or not, sometimes a woman might feel pregnancy symptoms before a missed period. But the truth is early pregnancy symptoms cannot be felt until after six weeks of conceiving, so after a week or two weeks of a missed period.

Early pregnancy symptoms

Many wonder how to differentiate between PMS and pregnancy symptoms, there are symptoms that distinguish pregnancy from the period, such as:

  • A missed period
  • Swollen and painful breasts
  • Feeling dizzy or weak is considered a rare early pregnancy symptom.

Differences between early pregnancy symptoms and period symptoms

  • Frequent urination, without a burning sensation. This symptom occurs because of the changes in hormones happening during pregnancy.
  • The difference in the breast swelling and pain. In the early days of pregnancy, the breasts become harder and more swollen than during PMS. This happens because of the high increase in the progesterone hormone happening before the expected date of the period. When periods happen progesterone levels decrease and swelling ceases. But with pregnancy the levels stay high, hence the difference in breast swelling.

When is the best time to take a pregnancy test?

The best time to take a pregnancy test is different depending on if the woman trying to conceive has regular or irregular periods. If periods are regular and happen at a fixed time each month, a pregnancy test can be done after one day of missing the period. It is worth mentioning that home pregnancy tests don’t offer 100% accurate results and it is advised to have a blood test to confirm the pregnancy.

If the period occurs before 28 or 30 days of the cycle, then in this case pregnancy tests can be done before the date of the last period. But it is recommended to wait until the exact date of the last period to take the test for more accuracy.

 

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Dr. Adba Fragieh | Gynecologist Obstetrician
Dr. Adba FrangiehGynecologist Obstetrician

Dr. Frangieh is a Lebanese gynecologist/obstetrician with 25 years of experience in normal vaginal deliveries, cesarian sections, treatment of infertility, laparoscopy, and all kinds of gynecologic surgeries. Dr. Frangieh holds a degree in Medicine from the American University in Beirut, in addition to an Internship at Yale University, and training at Baltimore University.

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