Although being pregnant brings a lot of happiness and good wishes, it does bring along unwanted guests like pains and aches, stress, and morning sickness that you find quite difficult to deal with. Apart from the expected symptoms, there are yet some unexpected pregnancy symptoms that may really get you rattled.
Read on to find out what these are so that you can prepare yourself and know how to deal with them when you experience these symptoms. Please note that we do not want to scare you off, but want you to look out for yourself and your baby.
Video on Pregnancy Symptoms That Should Never be Ignored
15 Pregnancy Symptoms That Should Never be Ignored
Following are 15 pregnancy symptoms that should never be ignored:
1. Abdominal Pain
Pain in your middle, upper or lower belly could mean several things ranging from indigestion, heartburn, food poisoning, or round ligament pain due to stretching of the ligaments. However, severe pain in the second half of your pregnancy can also be a sign of preeclampsia, and you need immediate medical attention. Sometimes, pain in the lower belly could indicate an ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage, or the onset of premature labor, among others.
2. Itchy Everywhere
As your pregnancy progresses and your skin stretches to accommodate your growing baby, some amount of itching is likely to bother you. However, severe itching all over the body could indicate a serious problem like cholestasis of pregnancy, a liver disorder that could trigger preterm labor, and even stillbirth.
3. Skin Tags
These are actually extra skin that develops in various folds of your skin like underarms, groin, and neck. They normally appear in the second trimester of one’s pregnancy and mostly fall off after your delivery. Your skin specialist can cauterize or snip them off if they do not fall off.
4. Spotting
This is one thing that is extremely usual among pregnant ladies. A slight pink or brown spotting is perfectly fine and does not warrant any emergency situation. However, do take the necessary precautions and make sure you tell your doctor about this. This occurs due to the extra blood being pumped to the cervix area or due to the implantation of the embryo in the lining of the uterus.
But if the blood is bright red, you need to get in touch with your doctor at once as it could mean a miscarriage or placenta previa. If you are less than 37 weeks pregnant and have heavy bleeding, it could mean you are going into premature labor and you should seek immediate medical attention
5. Tingling And Numbness
During conception, the hormone called relaxin, which aids to open up your pelvis for giving birth tends to loosen up all the other joints in your system too. This can trigger pain or sciatica that erupts at your lower back and passes to your legs too. This can make you experience numbness or tingling sensations that need to be attended to. If left unattended, there is a risk of severe damage that may be permanent.
6. Wrist Pain
This issue normally crops up in the later stages of pregnancy when you experience swelling in all parts of your body. However, wrist swelling can be quite painful and also trigger the syndrome of carpal tunnel. Although this issue can get better after your delivery, you could use a brace or splint to get relief from the pain and numbness while you are pregnant.
7. Bleeding Gums And Nose
Due to the sudden hike in pumping blood through your entire system, there are chances of your gums and nose tissues getting hypersensitive. This results in bleeding gums while you brush and also slight nasal bleeding. The best remedy is to use a humidifier while sleeping at night and also a nasal spray that is certain to give you relief from these unexpected symptoms. Also, convert to a soft-bristled toothbrush to stop those bleeding gums.
8. Palpitations
Due to the extra strain that your heart undergoes pumping extra blood during the pregnancy period, you may experience your heart beating a little faster and feel even that beating sound right in your ears. This is quite common and is no emergency situation. So just sit back and enjoy your pregnancy.
9. Blurred Vision
This can surely be due to the pregnancy fatigue that you are experiencing. However, if you find that your vision is constantly blurring and also find you have a headache and tummy ache too, the best course would be to consult your doctor at once as this could be the onset of gestational diabetes or preeclampsia that requires immediate treatment.
10. More Than Normal Swelling Of Hands And Legs
Although pregnancy is a phase where all parts of your body do look swollen and puffy, you need to ensure the swelling (edema) does not extend to the face and hands too. If so, you need to visit your doctor at once as it may be a symptom of toxemia, preeclampsia, or hypertension that is triggered by pregnancy. All cases need the doctor’s attention and this makes it necessary for you not to ignore these kinds of symptoms.
11. Back Pain
Although back pain is quite a common symptom during pregnancy, constant back pain that persists needs your doctor’s attention right away. This needs to be cleared in order to ensure it is not triggered by any kind of damage in the kidneys or even a bladder infection.
12. Baby Movements That Have Decreased
A moving baby provides the assurance that all is well with her. If your baby’s movements decrease suddenly, it could mean that the baby is in distress. If you are over 28 weeks pregnant, this should be reported to your doctor immediately
13. Falling On Your Belly
Not all hits or falls on the belly may be dangerous, but in the later stages of pregnancy, you should reach out to your doctor in case you suffer a fall or a hit to your abdomen. This will help the doctor catch anything abnormal early on.
14. Severe Headache
During the second half of your pregnancy, a severe headache that does not go away within a few hours and is accompanied by blurred vision, and swelling in your body, could indicate a serious problem like preeclampsia. Reach out to your doctor immediately in this case.
15. Surplus Discharge From Your Vagina
Vaginal discharge is one common pregnancy symptom that one experiences during the conception stage. This is mostly due to the different hormonal alterations that take place within your body when one conceives. This increases as you approach the last trimester of your pregnancy as your cervix becomes soft and ripened preparing for delivery.
If the discharge is quite light yellow or whitish, you can sit back and relax. However, if it is heavy and smelly and begins to irritate you, you need to consult your doctor to ensure everything is fine as there is a chance you may be developing a yeast infection that requires treatment. In the later stages of pregnancy, a gush of water down there could indicate that your water has broken, so reach out to your doctor immediately
The above-mentioned pregnancy symptoms do rear their head in many cases, but there is no need for any panic whatever your issue. Just ensure you open up to your doctor and let him or her know what exactly you are experiencing so that he can treat you accordingly.
