Understanding early pregnancy symptoms is very important because the sooner you realize you are pregnant, the sooner can you start caring for yourself and the unborn child. When you suspect that you are pregnant, you must take the pregnancy test. The home test must be followed up with a formal laboratory test to verify and reconfirm the results of the home test.

Early pregnancy symptoms can differ from woman to woman and even from case to case for the same woman. However, the common symptoms of pregnancy are probably as old as the history of mankind and the first birth to have occurred. What you must remember, though, is that not all women will experience each and every pregnancy symptom.

Some women develop early pregnancy symptoms soon after conception, while others will develop them later. Whatever the case may be, the commonly occurring symptoms of pregnancy include the following:

Implantation bleeding can be the earliest symptom of early pregnancy. Not all women experience this symptom, but those who do experience spotting and cramping at an unusual time of the month. This usually happens within 6-12 days of conception and results from the embryo implanting itself into the uterine walls.

The most common symptom of pregnancy is a missed menstrual cycle. When a woman becomes pregnant she normally misses the next menstrual period. However, some women may not entirely miss the menstrual period; they may only have a different menstrual cycle that is lighter and shorter.

Another early pregnancy symptom is breast tenderness and painful breasts. Within a couple of weeks after conception, the pregnant woman may feel that her breast are swollen and tender, Though this condition is quite common as  pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS), the tenderness in the breasts followed by a missed menstrual cycle is most likely to be a pregnancy.

A very early pregnancy symptom is the feeling of fatigue and tiredness that a woman may begin to feel even before the pregnancy has been confirmed.

Anytime time between 2-8 weeks of conception, the tell-tale morning sickness and nausea may begin. This is a classic early pregnancy symptom and most women experience it. Men too have learned to recognize this symptom.

A dull backache is the bane of most every pregnancy. However, a low back pain is another early pregnancy symptom. Low back pain usually starts in early pregnancy and some kind of back pain will continue throughout the pregnancy.

Pregnant women often find themselves wanting to urinate more frequently than they did before they got pregnant. This early pregnancy symptom usually develops 6-8 weeks after conception.

Food cravings are another classic early pregnancy symptom. Pregnant women have been known to have cravings for the strangest things like potters clay and soap. While these are amongst the most bizarre, cravings for sour pickles is rather common.

Many women find that the area around the nipples also darkens during pregnancy. This symptom of early pregnancy is a common outcome of the hormonal changes that the body is experiencing.