by Olaide Akande

Created on: June 18, 2009   Last Updated: July 13, 2009

The first trimester of pregnancy is the most difficult part in my opinion and one can expect a barrage of symptoms, physical and emotional changes. This is when the various pregnancy hormone levels start rising and they are partly responsible for the symptoms you may experience. However these changes vary from one person to the other and even from one pregnancy to the next. Some of what to watch out for include:

Nausea and Vomiting

This is often referred to as "morning sickness" but this is a kind of misnomer as it isn't always limited to the morning. It may be provoked by sights and smells of food and a wide variety of other stimuli, including after finishing a meal. Some women may have a severe form known as hyperemesis gravidarum (simply means excessive vomiting of pregnancy) and thus require medical treatment. Majority of cases of morning sickness however can be managed by eating small frequent light meals and regular fluid intake.

Abdominal pain/Discomfort

One may also have a non-specific abdominal pain that is difficult to characterize, or more commonly bloating and discomfort. It typically comes up after eating but you may feel bloated all day long. Note that if you are having a specific cramping pain that is moderate to severe, or it is accompanied by vaginal bleeding, this may indicate something more problematic and you need to seek medical help immediately.

Fatigue

You may find yourself being unusually tired after little or no exertion. One reason for this is dilutional anemia, a situation in which your blood volume increases relative to the amount of red cells. There is also the tendency to sleep more often. If you were someone who previously had difficulty sleeping during the daytime, you can sure expect this to come easily to you during early pregnancy. The hormone progesterone has been implicated as a cause of this increased sleepiness.

Heartburn and Constipation

These are also due to rising levels of progesterone. Progesterone causes the muscles of the esophagus and bowels to be more relaxed and hence they tend to be more sluggish in emptying their contents leading to aforementioned problems.

Physical Changes

Breast tenderness and fullness is also a symptom of early pregnancy. However this shouldn't be too much of a problem as long as one wears comfortable bras. It is similar to breast changes one experiences during cyclical menses. You may also notice darkening of the area around your nipple. This will continue throughout pregnancy.

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