From the very first hours after the conception of the baby, great changes begin to occur in the woman's body. Realizing this, many planning the birth of a baby begin to expect the first signs to appear even before the delay in menstruation. Interest is fueled by those who claim that literally from the first days they felt “somehow different”. In this material, we will take a closer look at whether it is possible to feel pregnancy before the delay and what symptoms may indicate it.
Conception and implantation
It is impossible to feel the process of conception, because two tiny germ cells participate in it and the whole process takes place exclusively at the cellular level. On the day of ovulation, a mature egg is released from the follicle. For another day, she retains the ability to be fertilized. If spermatozoa are nearby at this time, it is quite possible that one of the millions of sperm will still manage to disrupt the integrity of the oocyte membranes and penetrate inside.
Immediately after this, the fusion process begins, the two cells merge their DNA and the development of a new life begins. The egg cell turns into a zygote, and then into a blastocyst. Every day it splits up, the number of cells in it increases. At the same time, the blastocyst moves along the fallopian tube from the ampullar part, in which the fusion occurred, into the uterine cavity. She is actively "helped" by the villi that dot the inside of the fallopian tubes. With their movements, they push the fertilized egg forward. First, it enters the mouth of the tubes, and then it ends up in the uterine cavity.
This process lasts on average 7-9 days after conception. In the uterus, the ovum must gain a foothold in order to get chances for further development. The attachment process is called implantation. It has two stages. At the first, the blastocyst adheres with membranes to the endometrium. This stage is called adhesion. The ovum membrane secretes certain enzymes that partially "dissolve" endometrial cells.
Then the second stage begins - invasion. With her, the ovum "breaks" into the endometrium, the chorionic villi are connected to small blood vessels, and the ovum begins to receive oxygen and nutrients from the maternal blood.
Only from this moment is the pregnancy considered to have occurred, which means that the first signs can quite logically appear only after implantation, that is, 7-10 days after conception. However, some claim that they began to feel changes in their bodies earlier. Such sensations can be classified as subjective. But there is a scientific explanation for them - while the egg moves towards the uterine cavity, hormonal changes begin in the body.
Also, early signs can be psychosomatic. This occurs in women who have long and unsuccessfully been planning the birth of a baby. They tend to see any unusual sensation as a sign of "interesting position." It is often said about them that they "invent" symptoms for themselves. Such ladies do not deceive at all, they really feel pregnancy, but they instilled these feelings into themselves.
In order to better understand her own feelings, a woman should know exactly what changes from the point of view of official medicine occur inside her body in these two weeks, which separate ovulation from the date of the next menstruation.
What happens in a woman's body?
After ovulation, regardless of whether conception has taken place or not, the concentration of the hormone progesterone increases in the blood plasma. In the second phase of the menstrual cycle, this substance regulates all processes - first, the endometrium thickens under its influence, becomes looser, prepares for implantation. If there was no fertilization, then two weeks later, when progesterone falls and estrogens begin to prevail, menstruation begins - the very overgrown endometrium, which this time "was not useful", is rejected.
If conception has taken place, then progesterone is produced more actively. Even before implantation, this substance triggers some biochemical changes - the endometrium thickens, the smooth muscles of the uterus relaxes somewhat, the cervical canal is tightly closed with a thick mucous plug to prevent sperm, bacteria, and viruses from entering the uterine cavity.
"Explanatory work" is carried out by progesterone and female immunity. The embryo consists of half of the native genetic material. The second half of it is the paternal genes, and it is they that can be perceived by the vigilant immune defense of an adult woman as hostile. To prevent immunity from rejecting the embryo, progesterone begins to exert an immunosuppressive effect on it, which partially suppresses the activity of antibodies.
Immediately after implantation, the changes become more extensive. The chorionic villi, with which the membranes of the ovum are connected to the wall of the uterus, begin to produce their own hormonal substance, the name of which is well known to all those planning a pregnancy - this is hCG. Chorionic gonadotropic hormone stimulates the production of progesterone. If in a non-pregnant cycle, the level of the hormone begins to fall by menstruation, now hCG will not allow him to do this, and menstruation as a result will not come.
The chorionic hormone increases as the ovum grows, while the rate of increase in its concentration is quite clear - every two days the concentration of hCG in the blood plasma increases exactly 2 times. If a woman becomes pregnant with twins, then the hormone level will increase not 2, but 4 times relative to the previous values.
Together, the two hormones act on almost all organs and systems. Progesterone increases appetite because it is designed to maintain pregnancy, and for this, evolution provides for the creation of nutritious fat and carbohydrate reserves in the event of nutritional deficiencies. The mucous membranes under the influence of two hormones become looser and more vulnerable. The pelvic organs begin to be better supplied with blood, the load on the heart and blood vessels increases.
A new functional center is being formed in the cerebral cortex - the center of pregnancy. For nine months he will have to be responsible for the consistency of all processes that are designed to help in bearing the fetus. It is this center that will regulate the growth of the uterus, mammary glands, control hormonal balance and compensate for all the inconveniences that the fetus growing in the womb will bring to the internal organs of a woman.
All this happens about a week before the next menstruation. And this last week may well bring something new and unusual to the usual sensations of a woman. However, much depends on individual sensitivity, on the state of immunity.
The stronger the immunity, the more pronounced the first sensations and signs can be (the body will begin to resist some changes). Immunocompromised women may not notice anything unusual.
Symptoms and sensations before delay
Knowing about biochemical processes, it will not be so difficult to understand which sensations are justified and which are invented by a woman. Most often, early pregnancy signs resemble a common cold. A woman may feel overwhelmed, tired, and a runny nose that appears will completely convince her that she is sick. In fact, this is the effect of progesterone on immunity. Among other discussed first symptoms of pregnancy in the earliest stages, the following can be noted.
Trouble falling asleep or persistent sleepiness
An obsessive desire to sleep a little longer a week before the end of the menstrual cycle is normal if conception has taken place. The internal processes described above lead to increased energy costs. Fatigue and sleepiness are a defense mechanism designed to offset these costs.
The inability to get enough sleep is noted by about half of pregnant women. The woman does not yet know if pregnancy has occurred, but the woman's body already knows the answer to this question for sure. A new impulse center, which has arisen in the cerebral cortex, gives the neighboring centers a lot of discomfort. One of the "suffering" is the center of sleep regulation.
That is why after implantation, a week before the date of the next menstruation, a woman can pay attention to the fact that she does not get enough sleep, even if she sleeps enough time, or cannot fall asleep when it is time. Frequent awakening, light and shallow sleep can also indirectly indicate a possible pregnancy.
On the other hand, insomnia may well be caused not by pregnancy, but by stress, worries, problems at work or at home, financial difficulties, and even a plentiful dinner before bed and stuffiness in the bedroom.
Mental and emotional instability
Progesterone has one unpleasant side effect - it causes mental and emotional instability. The central nervous system is partially suppressed by the hormone to provide a more favorable psychological background for the development of pregnancy. But without a "fight" the central nervous system does not give up, and because of this, a woman about a week after conception may feel sudden mood swings. Many become tearful, more resentful, and some even aggressive.
Women who experience premenstrual syndrome on a monthly basis are aware of this effect of progesterone firsthand. However, with PMS, mood changes usually begin two to three days before your period. With the onset of pregnancy, instability of emotions and reactions usually manifests itself somewhat earlier.
This symptom also cannot be regarded as specific, since it depends on the individual characteristics of the woman's psyche, on her temperament and lifestyle. Some have no sign, some have it outside of pregnancy.
A heavy stomach
If the severity appears the day after conception, it is most likely food-related. But 3-4 days before the expected menstruation, a feeling of enduring heaviness in the lower abdomen may already be one of the early signs of an "interesting position." The fact is that the amount of circulating blood begins to gradually increase, because the pelvic organs already require increased blood supply.
Women often regard the feeling of being "full" as a sign of imminent menstruation, and therefore do not pay due attention to it.
Strange sensations in the womb
The uterine muscles become more relaxed and softer under the influence of progesterone. This is necessary for the full development of the baby in the womb. It is the process of softening that is sometimes felt as "tingling" or small "lumbago" in the uterus. Usually, women begin to notice this sign a few days after conception.
This symptom should not be regarded as mandatory. Even if there is no pregnancy, a slight softening of the uterus in the second half of the female cycle is a physiological norm, and therefore tingling sensations can occur.
Breast tenderness
Women planning to conceive are very fond of examining their breasts to find the answer to the question of whether pregnancy has occurred. From a medical point of view, there is some common sense in this. Hormonal changes in the body after implantation of the ovum cause small changes in the concentration of other hormones. Breast sensitivity can increase, or, conversely, decrease.
There is no single standard for assessing breast before delay. However, women note that, with a high probability, the breast in the “pregnant” cycle will behave differently than in the “non-pregnant” one. In other words, if usually in the second half of the cycle the nipples were more sensitive, then after conception they may stop hurting and vice versa.
Other signs
Other indirect signs of the initial stage of pregnancy include headaches, which are also "side effects" from the effects of progesterone and hCG. They usually start in the morning or evening and rarely last long.
Progesterone softens not only the muscles of the uterus, but also partially relieves intestinal tone. Because of this, constipation and heartburn are possible. The hormone has a similar effect on the bladder, and therefore many women note frequent urination even before retention.
The thought of a cold can visit a woman not only because of a physiological rhinitis and a feeling of fatigue. After implantation, that is, about a week after ovulation, a woman may notice that her body temperature rises in the evenings, and chills appear. However, the next morning the temperature drops to return in the evening. This is not a cold, but a way of immune defense to adapt to the new conditions in which the body has to be.
Many pregnant women, even before the test and blood test, find out about their position by their characteristic salivation. Typically, saliva is secreted in large quantities at night when the woman is asleep. So a certain center in the cerebral cortex "revolts", which regulates the production of this fluid. With the emergence of a new center - a center for the regulation of pregnancy, its work is disrupted by a new "neighbor".
Allocations
After ovulation in the second half of the cycle, the discharge becomes less abundant. Under the influence of progesterone, the so-called "dry period" begins. Discharge normally remains light, thick. Under the influence of progesterone, yellowish shades of vaginal secretions are possible.
In some women, the process of implantation itself is accompanied by a rather obvious symptom, which is called "implantation bleeding". About a week or so after ovulation, a woman may notice a scanty brown discharge, a "daub" that she may mistake for early menstruation.
Implantation bleeding occurs due to a violation of the integrity of the endometrial layer during invasion of the ovum. The discharge does not pose any danger either to the health of a woman or to the development of her baby. They usually end in a few hours or a maximum of a day.
The symptom does not occur in all pregnant women. Therefore, the absence of such discharge at the right time is not yet a reason to be upset, believing that conception did not occur.
Basal temperature
Measurement of basal temperature can give food for thought only to those women who have systematically taken daily measurements of temperature in the rectum for at least the last three cycles and entered them into special schedules.
Two weeks before menstruation, the basal temperature rises. This is the ovulation peak. If conception has taken place, then the temperature does not return to the values of the first phase of the cycle and is increased - above 37.0 degrees.
Sometimes, with the onset of pregnancy, the temperature remains below 37.0 degrees, and this is an individual feature of the woman's body, most often associated with an insufficient level of progesterone.
Sometimes, an elevated basal temperature may indicate not pregnancy, but an inflammatory process in a woman's body, and therefore the measurement method is not one hundred percent accurate diagnosis.
External and physical changes
No doctor will give an affirmative answer to the question of how a woman's appearance changes after conception before a delay.Medicine does not have such data. But the fair sex themselves have long noticed that some changes are quite possible. So, according to reviews, the first signs may appear within a week after conception. In the morning, the face and hands may swell a little. Acne may appear, since this is how the woman's body is able to respond to changes in hormonal levels.
In women who have previously treated thrush, a week after conception, itching may appear in the external genital area, accompanied by thick, cheesy white discharge. The manifestation of thrush is a common sign of pregnancy before delay, since the immune system becomes weakened under the influence of progesterone.
Those who suffer from chronic hemorrhoids note that an exacerbation of an unpleasant disease may begin. This is due to the increased blood supply to the pelvic organs.
When to do the test?
Considering that the hCG hormone, which is determined by rapid tests, grows every two days, its concentration in urine begins to exceed the sensitivity thresholds of tests only a couple of days before menstruation or on the first day of delay. Testing earlier only increases stress levels. A woman is worried, fears failure, stress hormones disrupt the normal course of pregnancy and may well cause a detachment of the ovum from the uterine wall.
With late ovulation, tests may show negative results for several days after the delay. Therefore, it is the absence of menstruation that is considered the most objective sign of pregnancy.
If you really want to know about your situation earlier, you should do a blood test for hCG. This analysis can be taken in any clinic, its cost is low (500-600 rubles), the accuracy is almost 100%. About 4 days before the delay, a laboratory test will detect hCG in the blood plasma.
Reviews
Many women who left feedback on their early signs on thematic forums indicate that one of the first was unusual sensations in the mammary glands and mood swings. In most cases, they were manifested by an increased reaction to films, books, touching photographs. Women note that they cried with or without reason. The symptom of frequent urination is also quite common - many note that a week before the expected date of menstruation, they began to wake up at night to go to the toilet.
But nausea, a change in taste preferences and a special sensitivity to smells usually appear a little later - after a delay.
It is not necessary that the signs and symptoms that were in the first pregnancy will be repeated with accuracy in subsequent ones. Symptoms may be different, and no one will ever predict which signs will appear first. Everything is individual. Therefore, you do not need to "wind yourself up" by comparing other people's symptoms with your own. You can feel absolutely nothing and be pregnant, but you can find every single symptom listed in this article, and not be pregnant at the same time. Numerous reviews fully confirm this.
For the first signs of pregnancy before missed periods, see the next video.
