Congratulations! If you are reading this article, it is quite likely that you have recently found out that you are pregnant. From now on, you are going to undergo physical and emotional changes so that your baby can happily develop inside of you.  

Symptoms of pregnancy

Nowadays pregnancy tests can be done quite early on. Some of them detect the pregnancy hormone even before the date on which you were expecting your period. But besides that blue or pink line that shows a positive result, there will be other symptoms that will confirm your pregnancy.

The most common symptoms are tender breasts, urinating frequently, some cramps, like when you are having your menstrual period, excess body fluids, and early onset of nausea or aversion towards some smells.  

And don’t forget the emotional symptoms. Although your baby is still very, very small, hormonal changes have already started inside of you. These changes can cause from irritability to extreme sensitivity. It’s common to cry without a specific reason during these months, or about things that didn’t used to bother you.

A difficult trimester for some women

In this trimester, especially in the first few weeks, is when nausea or morning sickness kicks in. Morning sickness, with or without vomiting, can be very unpleasant and make you feel quite bad.

The huge hormonal change you are undergoing can also have other physical effects, such as exhaustion, headaches or difficulties sleeping.

On the other hand, hormones can also affect your emotions, and cause you to be much more sensitive or irritable than usual. This can be difficult for you and also for your partner and loved ones.  

Lastly, the fact that you will soon become a mommy and all the changes that this will imply in your life can also cause you to feel certain uneasiness or anxiety. It is normal to ask yourself if you will be a good mom, if you will have financial problems, to wonder how you are going to balance work and motherhood or if you really do not want to continue working and want to stay home with your baby. All this is normal and millions of expectant moms go through this in the first few months of pregnancy.

You should also know that the fact that you don’t have morning sickness or mood swings does not mean that there is something wrong with your pregnancy. If you don’t have morning sickness, be grateful, as only a small percentage of expectant moms don’t have nausea during their first trimester.  

Even if you don’t have nausea or morning sickness, it is quite likely that you will be unusually tired.  Your body is now making a tremendous effort and you must do everything in your power to rest whenever you can: you should go to bed earlier and nap as much as possible.  

Prenatal appointments

When the pregnancy test is positive, make your first prenatal appointment. Prenatal appointments will help your pregnancy turn out to be as healthy as possible, and anticipate any complications that may arise. Latinas have a higher incidence of diabetes and also gestational diabetes, an illness that develops only during pregnancy and that requires medical care.  

Although in our culture pregnancy is usually associated with good health, there are certain illnesses that can only be detected with proper medical care. Prenatal appointments will increase your likelihood of everything turning out just fine.