There is no doubt that many things related to the human body are baffling and confusing!

Almost everyone has had moments of wondering exactly why their body did something so peculiar, or mysterious, or perhaps even smelly, and so on and so on. Things can really become confusing when the person in question is a woman who may be wondering if she is pregnant or not!

The various signs of pregnancy are just as confusing, if not more so, than any other medical condition, but to hopefully help to clear things up, I have listed here a few common pregnancy symptoms, as well as their causes, and possible reasons other than a pregnancy, for why they may be occurring.

One of the most well known signs of pregnancy is morning sickness! This is described as various degrees of nausea, when in some instances, women can even experience vomiting. It is thought to be caused by a surge of the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin in the blood of a newly pregnant woman. Morning sickness may also be a result of the expanding uterus pushing on the stomach and creating an excess of stomach acids. In cases where the woman is not pregnant, a virus, gall bladder disease, or other medical problem may cause this feeling of nausea.

Another well known sign of pregnancy is unusual food cravings. These usually occur in the first trimester of pregnancy, and are thought to be caused by hormonal changes. Food cravings may be a sign of poor nutrition, early signs of impending menstruation, or a stress coping mechanism, if they are experienced by a woman who is not pregnant.

No wonder it is often difficult to recognize the signs of pregnancy. For example, breast tenderness can begin as soon as two to three days after conception, when there has not even been time for a missed period. However, breast tenderness can also often be a symptom of the beginning of the menstruation cycle. and therefore it is easy to see why this symptom which is a normal occurrence, could be mistaken for a sign of pregnancy. If a woman is pregnant, tender and swollen breasts are a result of the high levels of estrogen and progesterone in the body.

No woman who is pregnant or suspects that she may be, wishes to experience vaginal bleeding, but continuing in the theme of confusing body symptoms, vaginal bleeding can sometimes actually indicate a pregnancy. Among the many signs of pregnancy, some bleeding in early pregnancy, is a sign of the egg implanting itself inside the uterus.

When this happens, the color is usually pink or brownish instead of vivid red, but when the woman is not pregnant, this bleeding may probably indicate the beginning of her monthly period, or has happened as a result of her taking birth control pills.

These signs of pregnancy are just a few of the many misleading events that can happen when a woman is trying to conceive. Although home pregnancy tests are fairly accurate, the only real way to know for sure if conception has occurred is to visit the doctor for a blood pregnancy test.

I do hope that this brief article may have helped to contribute some useful information. Pregnancy is a wonderful and sometimes frightening experience, and in all situations, you should not hesitate to contact professional medical practitioners, even if you concern appears to be fairly minor.

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Once you have a good reason to suspect for your pregnancy or had a missed period, the next step is to end up the suspicion by doing a pregnancy test. There are two types of pregnancy tests. One is urine test and the other is blood test. Urine test can be done at home too, which is known as home pregnancy test.

Home pregnancy test

Home pregnancy test is very common now a days as its quiet easy to use, in expensive, gives privacy and fast results just in few minutes.

How do they work?

They work by detecting a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin or HCG, which is produced when a fertile egg attaches to the uterine lining.

How is it done?

All the types of test kits contain a solution that detects for HCG. In some kits, you need to collect urine in a cup and dip a stick into it, which will result in changing in color if you are pregnant. In another type of pregnancy, kit has a hole where you need to put few drops urine using an eyedropper. After few minutes you will see a sign like plus (+) sign or minus (-) sign, in which plus sign means the test is positive and you are pregnant while the minus sign means the test is negative and you are not pregnant.
In some kits instead of the signs, you see only lines. If one line appears, it means the test is negative and if two lines appear, it means positive.
Moreover, in digital test it appears the word “pregnant” or “not pregnant”.

To get an accurate result in your home pregnancy test;

• Take the first morning urine or waiting more that 4 hours without urinating is also same as the first urine in morning.

• Do not take more fluids if you are going to take a test as more fluid intake can dilute HCG level in urine.

• Follow the instructions in the kit carefully as home pregnancy tests are accurate enough if followed the instructions.

• Do the tests 1 week after you miss a period. That is 2 weeks after the conception as urine detects HCG level between 20 ml/mL and 100 ml/mL

• Do not read the result after the suggested time as you may get a false result because an evaporated line may appear after 3-5 minutes that is mostly suggested.

Blood test

You can also do your pregnancy test at your doctor’s office by doing a blood test. On the other hand, if you got a negative result from your home pregnancy test and you did not get your period its better to see your doctor to know whether you are pregnant or not. Then he or she may advice you to do a blood test, as it is more accurate than the test done in your home or the urine tests. Blood test can detect HCG level as low as 1 ml/mL and can find out whether you are pregnant or not only in 7 – 12 days after the conception.

When finally you know that you are pregnant, you need to start your prenatal care, as it is very important for the health of both mother to be and the unborn child. In addition, make sure you visit your doctor regularly.