Am I Pregnant?

What are the possible ways to get pregnant?

• Unprotected sex
• Condom broke or slipped off during sex
• Forgot to take your birth control pill, switch out the ring, or get the shot last month
• Certain medications can reduce the effectiveness of some forms of birth control
• Even properly used birth control methods can fail

Could I be pregnant?

This is the first question you may be asking yourself if you have had unprotected sex and have missed a period or have had other changes in your body that may indicate pregnancy. It is important not to ignore your gut feeling or intuition that you might be pregnant. The only way to be sure is a pregnancy test. Depending on the type of pregnancy test used, many can indicate a pregnancy a few days before a missed period.

Only medical professionals can give you an answer with 100% accuracy that you are or are not pregnant. Medical professionals use urine tests to indicate if a hormone called HCG is present; when this hormone is present a pregnancy has occurred. There are many places you can get a free pregnancy test (click here for free tests) or you can visit your primary care physician.

What are the symptoms of pregnancy?

• The most prominent indicator of pregnancy is a missed period
• Nausea
• Fatigue
• Frequent urination
• Sore or swollen breasts
• Headaches.

Even if you have some or all of these symptoms, you may not be pregnant. They may indicate you are premenstrual or have other illnesses. Young women are especially prone to irregular periods (light periods, mid-month spotting, or other changes in your menstrual cycle). Irregularity may be caused by certain types of birth control, some types of medications, stress, changes in life style or diet, sickness, rapid weight gain or weight loss.

For some women, symptoms of pregnancy may be evident a week or two after implantation, which is when a fertilized egg implants itself on the walls of the uterus, usually about 8-10 days after fertilization. It is important to remember that some women do not experience noticeable symptoms of pregnancy until several weeks or even months after the pregnancy has begun. In fact it is not abnormal for some women to have light periods throughout their pregnancy.

If you suspect you may be pregnant the best thing to do is to take a pregnancy test. If it is positive, you need to have the pregnancy confirmed by a medical professional.

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