The most prominent sign of pregnancy is missing a period. This is especially true for women who are in their peak years of childbearing age and have gone at least 7 days without seeing a period that is due.
As true as this is, it can also be a misleading symptom mostly for those who have an irregular menstrual cycle or other underlying cons.
For this reason today we will be talking about stress and how it affects our psychology.
First you need to know that the brain works in such a way that the more you worry or think about something, the more you start to see it in everything around you.
So let me explain what false pregnancy is.
“False pregnancy is the appearance of clinical or subclinical signs and symptoms associated with pregnancy when the person is not actually pregnant. False pregnancy may sometimes be purely psychological.”
In case that is too much to bear, here are some layman terms that would help. Some symptoms that are associated with pregnancy are also associated with other conditions like PMS, Ovulation and even peri menopause.
This can be because the organs responsible for these changes are one and the same.
8 Most Common Signs of Pregnancy that are Associated with other Conditions:
- Sore breasts- Having sore breasts can also mean you’re experiencing PMS; it does not necessarily mean pregnancy.
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Spotting- Spotting can occur as a result of implantation of an embryo to the wall of the uterus. Spotting can also be as a result of one or more of the following conditions:
– Breakthrough Bleeding: that is bleeding that occurs in between cycles as a result of a combination of oral contraceptives in people with low estrogen.
– Endometriosis.
– Fibroids
– PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome)
– Chlamydia or other STIs (Sexually Transmitted Infections)
– Ovarian Cysts: many people mistake ovarian cysts for PCOS and PCOS for ovarian cysts. But they are not the same. A person can have cysts on the ovary(ies) and not have the syndrome (i.e symptoms of PCOS like excessive hair growth, fatigue, obesity, menstrual irregularities Bloating, irritability, hair loss, palpitations, mood swings, problems with blood sugar, trouble concentrating, etc).
- Missed or delayed periods- A missed or delayed period is the first indication of pregnancy. As true as that is, other conditions like infection, hormonal imbalances, PCOS, medication, lifestyle changes, sudden loss or gain of weight, reduction or intensifying exercise program can cause a missed or a delayed period.
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Nausea/vomiting – It’s true nausea or vomiting is a sign of pregnancy but not all women go through it in pregnancy. As much as we may want to think that nausea and vomits means we are pregnant, hormone imbalance can trigger the cells lining the gastrointestinal tract because they are receptive to progesterone and eatrogen. When the levels of the estrogen and progesterone changes within the cycle, they affect the abdomen and trigger vomiting, pain in the abdomen, bloating, constipation or even diarrhoea.
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Loss or gain of appetite- Also, loss or gain of appetite can be a sign of pregnancy but it can also mean that the hormones are causing it.
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Food sensitivity- Yes pregnancy causes sensitivity to food but this can also be a result of fluctuations in the hormones that rise or fall throughout the cycle. As mentioned above our body’s sensitivity to our hormones changes throughout the cycle can cause certain responses and food sensitivity is also part of it.
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Weight gain/loss- Weight gain or weight loss occurs in some pregnant women but this could also be a sign of the hormones in our body which changes in between cycles. In most cases, insulin resistance and prediabetic factors can be a trigger for this which in some is attributed to hormone imbalance.
Even with their affordability, home pregnancy tests are reliable. So when multiple tests come up negative, take it as is.
Always remember that many premenstrual symptoms, such as nausea and tender breasts, missed or delayed periods can feel very similar to the first signs of pregnancy.
This can happen because sometimes we tend to be more concerned about the common symptoms we experience before, during and after our period.
Credit: Onyinka Bosslady Roberts
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