How to Confirm Pregnancy Without Taking a Test?

June 15, 2019

In this Article

22 Easy Ways to Confirm Pregnancy Without Taking a Test
FAQs

Finding out that you are pregnant is usually a joyful moment. There might be many signs that you are pregnant from the day of conception, but you may not notice them.

While pregnancy tests are the sought after option, there are a few ways by which you can know with reasonable certainty that you are pregnant. In this article, we will look at how to confirm your pregnancy without a test, for the benefit of expecting parents.

Also Read: How and When to Take a Pregnancy Test

22 Easy Ways to Confirm Pregnancy Without Taking a Test

There are a lot of ways to confirm pregnancy without tests – some involve observing the functions of the body, and others involve understanding how the mother is feeling. Let us take a look at a few ‘symptoms’ of pregnancy.

1. Missing Periods

In most cases, this is the reason women suspect that they are pregnant. When fertilisation occurrs in the uterus, it stops releasing eggs consequently, the woman stops menstruating. Even though missed periods may also be caused due to overeating, stress, and sudden weight changes, it is worth taking a look at if you have been trying to conceive a baby.

2. Spotting

Spotting refers to the phenomenon where bleeding occurs between a woman’s menstrual cycle. When the fertilised egg implants itself on the wall of the uterus, light bleeding occurs through the vagina. This is usually a couple of weeks after the woman’s last period. Spotting is usually a concrete sign of pregnancy, so it is best to consult the doctor if you observe blood at a different time than expected.

Spotting can sometimes also be accompanied by light cramping, which indicates that the egg has implanted itself along the lining of the uterus. Since spotting and cramping can be easily mistaken for the start of another period, here is how you can assess if your cramps are a result of implantation occurring in your uterus:

Your cramps might feel like pricks
Your cramps might feel like pulls
You might have a tingling feeling as a cramp

Implantation cramps may occur 6-12 days after your ovulation has occurred, which is usually also when a period begins, so make sure you assess what your cramps feel like. Remember that these cramps are not severe; if you feel severe cramping in your abdomen, call a doctor immediately.

3. Vomiting

Another common sign that a woman is pregnant is morning sickness. It is when a woman gets sick right after waking up and ends up vomiting for the slightest reason. It is caused due to the rising levels of the hormone in the woman and occurs around three weeks after fertilisation has occurred.

4. Feeling Full

Very early during pregnancy, women might feel unnaturally full even without having consumed a small amount of food. This feeling may be accompanied by excessive belching, flatulence and intestinal cramps. As the progesterone levels in the body rise, it affects the digestive tract and results in bloating .

5. Sensitive Breasts

Another early sign of pregnancy is sore breasts. They become tender and swollen and the nipples become tingly at the lightest touch. The colour of the nipple might also turn darker, and there may be small spots around the area. These spots are usually white in colour.

6. Urination

Hormonal changes occur in a woman’s body whenshe is pregnantbecause of which they feel the need to urinate at a much higher frequency than normal. A pregnant woman might have to rush to the washroom every half an hour, owing to increased blood circulation and higher levels of water retention in the body.

7. Pain in the Back

Periods are commonly accompanied by pain in the small of the back, which also happens during the early stages of pregnancy. The cause of this pain might be 8. Headaches

Headaches by themselves do not indicate pregnancy, but you have to be alert if it comes with any of the other symptoms mentioned here. Headachesare common as the first trimester progresses, and continue throughout the second trimester. The main cause is usually stress, so the headaches can be treated with rest .

9. Mood Swings

Mood swings become common when a woman is pregnant. The change in your mood is sudden and quick- you might be feeling happy at one moment, and irritable the next. These occur due to rising levels of the hormones in the bloodstream and can be reduced by trying to consciously maintain a cheery disposition.

10. Changes in Food Patterns

This can go both ways you might feel cravings towards a particular type of food and aversions towards others. This occurs due to rise in the levels of estrogen in the blood and can happen any time throughout the pregnancy. Food cravings can be satisfied, provided that the items are safe and that you do not overeat.

11. Fatigue

Expecting mothers go through a lot of changes in terms of their bodily functions, and all of this can result in loss of sleep and fatigue. This is caused in part due to progesterone in the blood, and nausea that occurs constantly. The fatigue usually subsides by the second trimester, but comes back during the third trimester.

12. Sensitive Gums

Sensitive gums can be a sign of pregnancy as well. The gums may be pain and bleed even when you brush really slowly. You need to consult the doctor anyway if you have bleeding gums.

13. Redness in Palms

The medical name for this condition is palmar erythema – the palms of an expecting mother get a a reddish hue early during pregnancy. This condition occurs due to the increase in estrogen levels in the body of the mother.

14. Nasal Congestion

When the hormones in the bloodstream increase in quantity, it results in the membranes of the nose becoming swollen and dry. This leads to nasal congestion in pregnant women, – your nose might start to feel stuffy or runny.

15. Basal Body Temperature

Basal body temperature is a great way to check if you are ovulating. Most couples who are trying to conceive chart the woman’s body temperature so that they can ascertain when she is ovulating. However, if the temperature remains high for around two weeks after ovulation, it almost always means that the woman is pregnant.

16. Sex Drive

Owing to the large quantities of hormones in the woman’s body , she might not have much of a sex drive after she becomes pregnant, at least in the initial stages. Sexual interest can also decrease in the woman due to fatigue , the stress of pregnancy, or medication.

17. Discolouration

Pregnancy causes changes in the pigmentation of your face and body. Your nipples may turn dark, and you may get dark spots around the forehead, upper lips and the bridge of the nose. The medical term for this phenomenon is melisma, also known as the ‘mask of pregnancy’. However, this change in colour goes away after delivery.

18. Dark Line of Hair

Pregnant women also grow a dark line of hair, starting from the top of the uterus to the pubic bone. This line might appear earlier if the woman is getting pregnant for the second time.

19. Pimples

The hormonal changes that take place in the body during pregnancy are similar to puberty, so it is no surprise that acne makes a reappearance during pregnancy. The woman’s skin becomes oily and patchy, and pimples start appearing all over the face. If the condition worsens on using sensitive skin products, talk to your doctor .

20. Itching

When a woman is pregnant, she might feel itchy on some parts of her skin. This occurs because the amount of blood supplied to the skin increases during pregnancy, making the skin more sensitive. To combat the feeling, you can wear comfortable clothing and maybe use a few types of pregnancy creams – if it becomes unbearable, you may have to pay a visit to your doctor.

21. Spider Veins

Pregnancy results in the release of excess amounts of estrogen into the bloodstream, and this can result in the formation of spider veins across the skin. These usually fade away after the baby is born- talk to your doctor if they do not go away.

22. Dry Skin

This occurs due to a combination of factors like the hormonal changes, fatigue and the lack of sleep that occurs during pregnancy. Speak to your doctor about how it can be treated if the condition worsens. Remember to be hydrated at all times, and keep your skin moisturised so that it does not affect you.

FAQs

1. When Can Pregnancy Be Confirmed?

You can confirm your pregnancy around ten days after you first miss your period. The test checks the levels of hCG hormone in the urine, as it increases substantially when she becomes pregnant.

2. When Should You Visit the Doctor to Confirm Pregnancy?

If you doubt that you are pregnant, you can buy a pregnancy test and check for yourself. Once the doubts have been confirmed, you can pay a visit to the doctor. However, if you have a history of problems with your previous pregnancy, go to the doctor as soon as possible.

3. Can You Use Non-medical Ways to Confirm That You Are Pregnant?

They Some home pregnancy tests can be taken with the help of soap, vinegar, toothpaste, bleach, etc. However, none of these tests should be taken to be 100% accurate – you will have to visit the doctor for that.

4. How Accurate Are the Natural Signs of Detecting Pregnancy?

If only one of the above-mentioned conditions affects you, then you are most likely not pregnant. However, if you are affected by most of the above symptoms, you can be reasonably sure that you are pregnant.

5. Do Sudden Behavioural Changes Indicate Pregnancy?

If the woman goes through a lot of mood swings and is not menstruating, it might be an indication that she is pregnant. However, it cannot be taken as a sign that confirms pregnancy – you will have to consult the doctor for that.

6. Can You Confirm Pregnancy From Changes in the Sleep Pattern?

A pregnant woman’s sleep pattern changes owing to the increased levels of progesterone in her body. However, a woman might lose sleep due to a host of other reasons, so it is wrong to conclude that someone is pregnant just because she is not sleeping well.

A combination of the above-mentioned signs can indicate that you are pregnant – if only one or two affect you, you are most likely not pregnant. However, do pay the doctor a visit to confirm that you are going to have a baby if you experience some of these symptoms.