Wondering if you are pregnant and waiting for an answer can be a stressful time in any woman’s life. If you’re trying to responsibly plan your family and are waiting for a child, not knowing exactly when you will get pregnant can be hard. It can often take days or a few weeks for enough pregnancy hormones to build up in your body, which means you have to wait for a pregnancy test. Even so, there are some common symptoms you can watch for:

• Headache, which is one of the most common complaints.
• Fatigue due to the change in hormones during the early stages of pregnancy.
• Breast tenderness.
• Feeling sick, while not one of the earliest symptoms of pregnancy, can occur
• Missed period is one of the most telling signs, though it can also be caused by changing birth control or stress.

While one of these symptoms alone may not be a strong indicator of pregnancy, having several them in tandem, especially with a missed period, is a sign that you should take a pregnancy test. Your local family planning center can get you a pregnancy test and help you with planning your next steps if you are pregnant. They can suggest resources that will help you have a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby, like nutrition education and WIC.
Remember, when in doubt it’s always best to talk to a health care professional and to take a pregnancy test!

*Some information pulled from WomensHealth.gov.