Pregnancy symptoms and signs

Some women are so attuned to their body's rhythms that they may suspect they're pregnant very quickly. But many others don't have any pregnancy symptoms for weeks and may only realise they could be pregnant when they miss their period.

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It's one of nature's many little ironies when it comes to pregnancy symptoms that the first signs of impending motherhood for many women mimic PMT or their usual period symptoms.

"For me it was overwhelming PMT-like symptoms. I was ratty, tired and had very sore breasts. And this was all before my period was due." Clare

"I felt off colour, a bit queasy straight away and so very tired. Also my boobs were very tender, I felt bloated, needed to pee a lot and felt like my period was about to start." Hopeful

So if you're desperate to get pregnant, it can raise your hopes (cruelly), and if you're not, you can end up ignoring the signs until they're pretty unmistakeable

"Sore boobs, nausea and going off booze and cigs – that was a dead giveaway!" Grommit

Any chance you could be pregnant?

I felt poking feelings down in my abdomen, which turned out to be implantation
A metallic taste in my mouth
Crying at Eastenders
Looking at a bar of Galaxy and not understanding why I didn't want to devour it
Extreme sense of smell

Is your period late?

There are other causes than pregnancy for periods not arriving on time:

Stress
Being too thin
Certain medicines

But if your period is definitely late and/or lighter than usual and you've been indulging in contraception-free sex, who are you kidding?

Emotional signs of pregnancy

Sobbing at complete schlock? It could be a sign your hormones are in overdrive and not just that you're losing the plot.

"The biggest clue for me was that I became VERY emotional." Chinchilla

Physical pregnancy symptoms

For many women, the biggest giveaway (literally) is changes in their breasts and nipples (bigger and more sensitive), closely followed by a weird taste in their mouth while producing lots of saliva, and a need to pee more frequently

Implantation bleeding or cramping

This is caused by the egg burrowing into womb lining. "I got what seemed like the tail end of a period - brown blood - which had a few red speckles and went on for five days, but the fact that it didn't come on properly led me to do a preg test next day (really to goad my period into coming - has always worked before). Nearly fell off the loo when it turned out positive. Bled on and off for five days. Am 18 weeks now." whomovedmychocolate

"Going from a 34B to a 38C virtually overnight, going off tea and coffee and a strange metallic taste in my mouth" Mabs

"I had a strange metallic taste and sensitive boobs before my period was due. Nausea didn't kick in until about week six." Caroline5

Another sign (which will become all too wearisomely familiar) is fatigue. As one mum puts it: "Overwhelming tiredness – I was completely wiped out." While another says: "I could have slept all day and all night and still felt tired.

As with everything related to having babies, there are exceptions and the first pregnancy symptoms could actually make you feel as if you're coming down with something.

Some women feel lightheaded or dizzy, while others get wretched headaches.

"A vivid red, sore and itchy rash on my arms and legs, which I put down to putting on sun cream too soon after shaving my legs, but my GP spotted as an oestrogen surge. Followed by chronic fatigue." Zoe

Pregnancy tests

If any/all of this sounds familiar, get yourself off to a chemist or supermarket for a pregnancy test and prepare to join the legions of women who've discovered the profound news that they're going to have a baby while perched on the loo or the side of the bath. (Get used to it – you may be spending lots of time peeing or puking in the coming weeks.)

Most pregnancy tests can be done from the day your period's due. They detect the pregnancy hormone human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG), which rises rapidly during the early weeks of pregnancy, in your urine.

The NHS has useful info about pregnancy tests, if said pregnancy hormone is already scrambling your ability to think clearly.

Your GP can test to see if you're pregnant, but over-the-counter tests are just as accurate and most surgeries accept these as confirmation that you're on stork watch.

Sharing your news (or not)

If you don't want to share your news with your family/friends/employer just yet, get advice from other Mumsnetters who've been there/ are still there and know the emotional and physical upheavals you're experiencing.