Pregnancy Symptoms

- A delay (temporary stop) of menstruation is the most obvious initial symptom of pregnancy. Other culprits for this symptom include excessive weight gain or loss, fatigue, hormonal problems, tension, stress, going off the birth control pill or breast feeding.

- Women often suffer from nausea and vomiting 2 to 8 weeks after conception. Often called morning sickness, it unfortunately can be bothersome at any time of the day or night. Nausea and vomiting can be caused by food poisoning, stress and a variety of other stomach disorders.

-Tender or swollen breasts often occur in women 1 to 2 weeks after conception. Such circumstances as a hormonal imbalance, use of birth control pills, and impending menstruation may also cause tender and/or swollen breasts.

- Exhaustion is another common symptom of pregnancy, feeling generally fatigued from 1 to 6 weeks after conception. Fatigue is also common when you're under stress, suffering from depression and other physical and mental strains. The common cold or flu can also cause exhaustion.

- Backaches are common through the duration of pregnancy due to the extra strain on mom's body. Backaches are also a symptom of common back problems and physical or mental strains.

- Some women suffer frequent headaches that can last the entire pregnancy. Dehydration, caffeine withdrawal, eye strain and other ailments can all be culprits of headaches as well.

- Unfamiliar or repetitive food cravings can last the entire pregnancy. Poor diet, stress, depression and impending menstruation can also cause food cravings.

- The areola (the dark circle surrounding the nipple) may become darker in the first 1 to 14 weeks after conception, and then throughout pregnancy. A hormonal imbalance may also be what causes the change.

- Somewhere around 16 to 22 weeks after conception mom will begin to feel the baby move. These movements are subtle and hard to detect in the beginning. The same sensations may be simply gas or lower gastrointestinal bowl contractions.

- Moms often find a frequent need to urinate during the first 6 to 8 weeks after conception, and again once the baby settles down into the pelvis before birth. Frequent urination can also be a sign of diabetes, urinary tract infection, and the use of diuretics causing urination.

- Mom will be able to hear her baby's heart beat some 10 to 20 weeks after conception and then throughout her entire pregnancy.