Early Pregnancy Signs and Symptoms Forum

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Q: Symptoms of Pregnancy

asked by: DoctorQuestion on January 26th, 2007

i heard that a person can get pregnant even without penetration. i have been in 'direct contact' with my partner a couple of times but i am pretty sure that there was no penetration involved. however, i am quite concerned as to whether i can get pregnant or not. i have been experiencing a few symptoms which makes me all confused.

1. missing my period. it is still too early to tell, as the contact happened in the frame of two weeks ago. however, there is a slight problem as my period is irregular. i was due on january 15th if the cycle was regular, however i cannot be too sure as my period has a mind of it's own. sometimes i go for 3 months without bleeding. so, although i havent had my period yet, i am not too sure if i am 'missing' it or not.

2. i've had a couple of blackouts today. however, it might be due to my jetlag as i had just returned from the UK yesterday. i haven't been consuming enough food and water as well. i'm also a little bit anaemic due to my beta thalassaemia trait.

3. pain in the right breast. i read that one of the symptoms of pregnancy is tenderness in the breasts. but what if it's unilateral? and i dont think i am experiencing tenderness, because i would explain the feeling as pain with a score of 5 in a scale of 0-10. this pain i would also attribute to wearing the wrong bra for 2 days (as i was travelling on the plane) and wearing tight clothing, as well as my sleeping position. the pain subsided after i woke up from my sleep.

4. i woke up today coughing and some yellow liquid with the consistency of saliva came out when i tried gagging. (i usually produce lots of saliva when i am anxious). i dont think that i was nauseous but i am still concerned anyway. could it be reflux as well?

as u can see, i am very confused as the symptoms are quite 'explainable' by other things. yet, i dare not cross out pregnancy. is it too early to tell? what can i do to confirm things? please answer as i am very confused and anxious over this matter.

Replies(1)

Dr. Nikola Gjuzelov , MD

replied on January 31st, 2007

Early Pregnancy Signs and Symptoms Answer A2243

Of all the symptoms you mentioned, missing a period is the only symptom that could be considered a serious sign of possible pregnancy. Missing a period is the first serious sign of early pregnancy but a missed period is not 100% secure because lack of menstruation can be present during other conditions such as irregular cycles, functional ovarian cysts, etc. That’s why you should first take a home pregnancy test to confirm or exclude pregnancy.

The other symptoms (blackouts and breast pain) are present during pregnancy but are also present during many other conditions. Anemia and hypotension are very common reasons for blackouts, for example. Unilateral breast pain is not a sign of pregnancy and you should check your painful breast for bumps.

A cough with yellow expectoration (mucus) in the morning usually is not a sign of pregnancy but probably of a respiratory infection.

If your period is late 2 weeks after it is expected, you should take a home pregnancy test. Then you can visit your gynecologist to report the results and to follow up on any possible infections, or conditions.

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