Early signs and symptoms of pregnancy

​​In the early weeks of pregnancy, you may experience ​a funny, metallic taste in your mouth, a common symptom for many pregnant women¹.

You might also notice that your sense of smell is more sensitive than usual and the scents of foods that you used to love now make your stomach churn.

F​​ood cravings are another early sign of pregnancy, starting in the first 12 weeks and peaking in the second trimester⁸. You might crave foods that you wouldn’t normally eat or develop aversions to the foods you previously enjoyed¹. As well as food cravings, some pregnant women also get cravings for things like dirt or clay⁹. These are known as ‘pica’ cravings, and if you find yourself experiencing them, get in touch with your doctor or midwife, as this could be a sign of a lack of iron⁹. 

If your breasts feel bigger than usual, or you’re ​​experiencing breast tenderness and soreness around the time in your menstrual cycle that your period was due, it could be a sign that you’re pregnant¹. Changing hormone levels in the first trimester can make your breasts grow and change to get your body ready to breastfeed¹⁰.

You might also notice your breasts tingling, darker nipples and more visible veins¹.

You might notice that you’re getting more vaginal discharge than usual if you’re pregnant, as this is one of the common pregnancy symptoms. This is your body’s way of protecting your growing baby by preventing any infections entering your womb through the vagina¹¹.

You should call your doctor or midwife if your vaginal discharge has a strong smell or looks green or yellow, as this could be a sign of an infection¹¹.

Stomach pain and light bleeding are common early pregnancy symptoms.

Pains and cramps can be as a result of ligament or growing pains as your body stretches to support your ​​growing baby. They can also be caused by constipation and trapped wind, which are also common early pregnancy symptoms¹².

Light bleeding or ‘spotting’ is also common in the first few weeks of pregnancy. As we discussed above, this can be ‘implantation bleeding’, which happens when your fertilised egg embeds itself into the lining of your uterus. ​In later pregnancy, light bleeding could be caused by changes to your cervix².

Most of the time, light bleeding or cramps are nothing to worry about. But if you experience any heavy bleeding, severe stomach pains, or are worried about any of your pregnancy symptoms at all, get in touch with your doctor or midwife for advice¹².

Changing levels of the pregnancy hormones, oestrogen and progesterone, can affect your body and mood during your monthly menstrual cycle¹³. If you’re pregnant, both of these hormones will increase to support you, your growing baby, and a healthy pregnancy. Sometimes, these increased hormone levels can cause you to have mood swings​¹⁴.

Changing hormone levels can cause pregnant women to feel tearful or easily irritated during the first trimester, even when they’re excited about being pregnant¹⁴. If you start having mood swings, you might want to check the other symptoms we’ve listed here and take a pregnancy test.

You can get a reliable positive result using a home pregnancy test from the first day of your missed period¹⁵. There are lots of different pregnancy tests available on the market, with some able to be used from as early as four of five days before your period is due.

If you have a regular menstrual cycle, you'll probably have an idea of when your next period is due. If you're not sure, it's best to wait 3 weeks after you think you may have conceived before doing a test¹⁵.

Whenever you choose to take a pregnancy test, always follow the instructions of the packaging to ensure an accurate result. 

If you’ve taken a pregnancy test that’s shown a positive result, you should book an appointment to see your GP. They’ll be able to give you advice on how to look after yourself during ​ ​early pregnancy and fill you in on what happens next¹⁵.

Discovering you’re pregnant can be a really exciting time. It can also be a very daunting one. However you’re feeling about it, remember that your healthcare professional is there to support you, so don’t hesitate to have a chat with them if you feel the need.

If you’re having symptoms of early pregnancy but your test comes back negative, it could be that you’ve taken it too early to get an accurate result. That’s okay, just wait a few days and try again. If your test is still negative but you’ve missed a period or have any other pregnancy symptoms, it’s time to speak to your GP for further advice¹⁵.