Mardie Caldwell, C.O.A.P. is a Certified Open Adoption Practitioner, an award winning author of 2 adoption books Adopting Online and Adoption: Your Step-by-Step Guide. Mardie is also the talk show host of Let's Talk Adoption.com with Mardie Caldwell and the founder of Lifetime Adoption in 1986. She travels and speaks nationwide on adoption topics, family topics, infertility and writing. She has been quoted in and consulted for Parenting and Adoption magazines and has appeared on CNN, CBS, ABC, BBC, NBC, and Fox. Featured in Parade Magazine, Caldwell is an adoptive mother living in Northern California.
You may not even want to think about it. You may even have hopes that it's all one big nightmare, and that when you wake up, it will be over. Chances are, the signs are there, but the willingness to face the reality is not. Yes, you may be pregnant.
If you have been intimate with someone and have engaged in unprotected intercourse, you could really be pregnant. Before you make any assumptions, take a look at yourself and decide if you have cause to strongly believe that you could be expecting a child.
1. Did you miss a period? You know about when to expect your menstrual cycle. If it's been a little while, then it could be the first sign that you are possibly pregnant. If you have irregular menstrual cycles, then, this sign could be a little tricky for you to detect. You may need to just go for it, and take a pregnancy test.
2. Are your breasts sore, tender and/or swollen? They may actually hurt like crazy with only a light touch. If you are pregnant, that soreness could be due to an increase in hormones as your body starts preparing for a baby.
3. Feeling hot all of the time? It could feel like you just can't get cooled off, and it may not even be summer! If you keep track of it, check to see if this hot feeling or elevated body temperature keeps going on for more than about 2 weeks. If so, you may be pregnant.
4. Is your stomach puffy? You know how your stomach feels right before your period. You may have that bloated feeling now. This bloating may even cause your clothes to start feeling tighter than usual. It could be a hormonal change causing this if you are pregnant.
5. Do you constantly have to pee? You may have to keep going to the bathroom, between classes, after lunch, while waiting for the bus...just all of the time. If you are pregnant, your body will start to produce more blood and fluids. The extra fluids dump into your bladder and that's what may be making you go, what feels like, every minute of the day.
6. Does everything around you stink or smell very, very strong? You may be extremely sensitive to smell, even to the point where the smell makes you feel sick. An increase in estrogen, yet another hormone in the female body, could be causing this if you are, in fact, expecting.
7. Got a nasty "taste" in your mouth or, even worse, do you gag or throw up at just the thought of certain foods? Your favorite food could even be one of the culprits that is making you nauseous and causing you to vomit. Known to most as morning sickness. This feeling or gag reflex can happen at any time of day, unfortunately mostly early on in your pregnancy.
8. Are you dog tired, even after you get tons of sleep? You may be dragging and feel like you haven't slept in ages. That fatigue could be due to an increase in the hormone progesterone in your body if you are expecting.
9. Have you had very light, pinkish or reddish-brown bleeding or discharge coming out? This may last only a day or two, and it is usually noticed about a week or so after you missed your period.
10. Have you taken a pregnancy test? If not, you should. If you are experiencing some or most of these signs, you could be pregnant.
While it may not have been an "expected" thing, the truth is, having a baby can be a beautiful life experience. How you handle may depend largely on the support and guidance that you receive. You should consult with an agency such as Lifetime Adoption, which offers free pregnancy test referrals, support, and help when you need it most.
You don't have to face this alone. If you are pregnant, great things could await you and your baby. Get the help that you need to make the decision that is right for you. Help is only a phone call or email away.
Mardie Caldwell has been helping women facing unplanned pregnancies for many years. She founded Lifetime Adoption Center to help women with their choices when facing the surprise of being pregnant. If you are facing a pregnancy and need someone to talk to, call anytime of the day or night- 1 800 923-6784 and speak to someone now about your pregnancy or the pregnancy of someone you care for.
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