Am I Pregnant

You're nauseous, you've been experiencing headaches, aversions to certain smells and foods, and now your period is late. It's time to ask that person in the mirror, "Am I pregnant?"

The answer: Maybe. A missed period is certainly one sign of early pregnancy. However, it's also a symptom that follows too much stress or radical changes in one's diet or lifestyle. Other signs of early pregnancy, according to the Mayo Clinic website, include mood swings. Some women feel more elated than usual and notice a change in their demeanor and body while it makes the appropriate changes in one's hormones to accommodate a pregnancy. These changes can make a woman's breasts swollen and tender. She may also notice she's frequenting the bathroom more often than usual or that she's also easily exhausted.

Knowing whether you're pregnant or not, even with the presence of the aforementioned symptoms, is, unfortunately, a waiting game. It can take up to a week or so after a missed period for a pregnancy test to come back positive. This is about five weeks into the first trimester of pregnancy, following the implantation of the blastocyst in the uterus. In the mean time, the Mayo Clinic website suggests that women experiencing serious nausea eat small meals or snack throughout the day. Women should also avoid places with strong food smells, copious amounts of cigarette smoke or perfume as these can also make a pregnant woman feel ill.