Waynick stresses the importance of taking every pain and discomfort seriously, not only as signs of pregnancy, but for any other possible health concerns. In many cases, the signals a woman's body gives her are highly informative, Waynick continues. It's all about taking the time to educate yourself and know what to look for.
Ouch, My Breasts Hurt
As Waynick says, your body may show symptoms if you are indeed pregnant. For those first couple of weeks that you're unsure, they're probably going to be very subtle, but they'll be there.
According to Jon Knowles, author of Planned Parenthood s All About Birth Control: A Personal Guide, what you should look out for during those first couple of weeks are sore nipples and breasts (as well as the darkening of the areola), nausea and vomiting, exhaustion, head and backaches, and frequent urination. But remember, just because you aren't experiencing any of these symptoms doesn t mean you're not pregnant. You're just lucky.
It's a Take-Home Test
You've tried to chart your menstrual cycle, and you've noted every symptom your body has given. You haven't gotten your period yet, but you're still not sure if you're pregnant. Since most home pregnancy kits won't show true results until approximately two weeks after ovulation, using one up until now would be ineffective. But it has been a couple weeks and Aunt Flo is definitely late, that's why it's pretty important that you invest in a reliable home pregnancy kit soon. (Expect to shell out $5 to $19 dollars per kit.)
Although most home pregnancy tests claim that their product is 97 to 99 percent accurate in their labs, your bathroom results aren't always going to have the same numbers. That's why you should take the test again a couple of days later, no matter what the first result was.
So you've done just about everything you can do up until this point. If your pregnancy tests show up positive, visit a doctor's office ASAP. There should be dozens of free clinics that'll keep your case anonymous while advising you on the options you have.
Look through your local yellow pages or surf the Net for clinics in your area. And if your tests show up negative, then thank your lucky stars and wait for your period.
