Pregnancy: Your breasts during early pregnancy may feel sore, sensitive, or tender to the touch. They may also feel fuller and heavier. This tenderness and swelling will usually happen one to two weeks after you conceive, and it can last for a while as your progesterone levels rise due to your pregnancy.
In the second trimester (weeks 14 to 27): Your breasts will get larger and heavier. You may need a larger bra that gives you more support. You will probably feel less of the breast tenderness from early pregnancy.
Breast changes
In the early stages of pregnancy, your breasts may feel more tingly, full and sore and your bra may not fit quite like it used to. Because this is linked to hormone changes in your body, it could also mean you are about to start your period.
During your first trimester (weeks 1 to 12), your breasts may start to feel swollen and tender. They may tingle. Your nipples may stick out more than usual. Some women find that their breasts start to get bigger during this time.
While the entire breast may be sore, the nipples may hurt the most—or at least be the most sensitive. Breast soreness during this time may be greater than what you may usually experience just before your period. These symptoms may go away as your body acclimates to your pregnancy.
Tenderness and discomfort
Breast tenderness is often one of the earliest symptoms of pregnancy. According to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development , breasts may become sore, heavy, or tingly as early as 1–2 weeks after conception. The nipples may also feel sensitive or even painful to touch.
Lower abdominal pain is normal during pregnancy and is most common between 18 and 24 weeks. Your growing uterus is pulling and straining the muscles that support it. You may feel sharp pains or just a mild pulling sensation. It often occurs when you cough, sneeze, stand up, sit down, roll over, or during sex.
This is known as cyclical breast pain. In the days leading up to your period, your estrogen and progesterone levels can fluctuate dramatically. Estrogen and progesterone increase the size and number of ducts and glands in the breast. They also cause your breasts to retain water, making them heavy and tender.
When certain hormones such as estrogen and progesterone increase, the size of the glands and ducts in your breasts increase along with the amount of water and other fluids. When you're breastfeeding, these glands and ducts also increase in size. Fluctuating breast-milk amounts can make breasts feel heavier, too.
Symptoms of cyclical breast tenderness
A feeling of heavier or swollen breasts before a period. Pain affects both breasts, and may often also spread to the armpits. The pain can range from mild and dull to severe in some cases. Usually begins around two weeks before menstruation and fades away at the start of your ...
Nausea with or without vomiting.
Morning sickness, which can occur at any time of the day or night, often begins one to two months after you become pregnant. However, some women feel nausea earlier and some never experience it.
Sore nipples and tender breasts can be one of the earliest signs of pregnancy. Your breasts may feel swollen, sore, or tingly – and your nipples may be extra sensitive and uncomfortable. It's all thanks to the pregnancy hormones estrogen and progesterone, which surge during early pregnancy.
How does a pregnant belly feel in early pregnancy? For most of your first trimester, you may not feel much, if any, difference in your belly. It will probably be soft and look a little bigger – similar to when you get bloated during your period or after you've eaten a large meal.
Stretching of the uterus
Symptoms of your uterus stretching may include twinges, aches, or mild discomfort in your uterine or lower abdominal region. This is a normal part of pregnancy and a sign that everything is progressing normally. Watch for spotting or painful cramping.
Implantation cramping may be an early sign of pregnancy. Understanding the causes and key differences between implantation cramps and period cramps will help people to recognize them. Implantation cramping is a type of pain sometimes experienced when a fertilized egg attaches itself to the lining of the uterus.
Not every pregnant person has every pregnancy symptom, so it's possible to be pregnant without having sore breasts or throwing up. The only way to know if you're pregnant is to take a pregnancy test after a missed period.
It's possible to be pregnant and have no pregnancy symptoms, but it's uncommon. Half of all women have no symptoms by 5 weeks of pregnancy, but only 10 percent are 8 weeks pregnant with no symptoms.
Pregnancy: Early in pregnancy, you may experience mild or light cramping. These cramps will probably feel like the light cramps you get during your period, but they'll be in your lower stomach or lower back. If you have a history of pregnancy loss, don't ignore these symptoms.
Mild stomach pain in early pregnancy (during the first 12 weeks) is usually caused by your womb expanding, the ligaments stretching as your bump grows, hormones constipation or trapped wind. It may sometimes feel like a 'stitch' or mild period pain.
The best way to know for sure whether a person is bloated or pregnant is by taking a pregnancy test and seeing a doctor.
For some women, their belly doesn't change much during the first trimester. Your belly may look a little rounder, but that's most likely due to bloating more than it is a growing baby. However, by the end of the first trimester, you and your significant other may be the first ones to notice a little bump!
Many people experience what seem to be pregnancy symptoms shortly before their period arrives. This happens because the hormone progesterone rises both during early pregnancy and in the premenstrual period. 1 In short, PMS symptoms and early pregnancy symptoms can sometimes be exactly the same.
Breast Tenderness & Pain
The breast pain brought about by PMS often resolves once your period begins. In the case of pregnancy, however, breast pain often lasts much longer and is also characterized by dull, heavy pain. The pain is often focused around the nipple and areolar regions and is often tender to touch.