page_title: Pregnancy
section_title: Signs and symptoms
hierarchical_section_title: Pregnancy / Signs and symptoms
caption_attribution_description: English: Melasma on the face
context_page_description: Pregnancy, also known as gestation, is the time during which one or more offspring develops inside a woman. A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occurs by sexual intercourse, but can occur through assisted reproductive technology procedures. A pregnancy may end in a live birth, a spontaneous miscarriage, an induced abortion, or a stillbirth. Childbirth typically occurs around 40 weeks from the start of the last menstrual period. This is just over nine months – where each month averages 31 days. When using fertilization age it is about 38 weeks. An embryo is the developing offspring during the first eight weeks following fertilization, after which, the term fetus is used until birth. Signs and symptoms of early pregnancy may include missed periods, tender breasts, nausea and vomiting, hunger, and frequent urination. Pregnancy may be confirmed with a pregnancy test.
  Pregnancy is divided into three trimesters, each lasting for approximately 3 months. The first trimester includes conception, which is when the sperm fertilizes the egg.
context_section_description: The usual symptoms and discomforts of pregnancy do not significantly interfere with activities of daily living or pose a health-threat to the mother or baby. However, pregnancy complications can cause other more severe symptoms, such as those associated with anemia.
  Common symptoms and discomforts of pregnancy include:
  Tiredness
  Morning sickness
  Constipation
  Pelvic girdle pain
  Back pain
  Braxton Hicks contractions. Occasional, irregular, and often painless contractions that occur several times per day.
  Peripheral edema swelling of the lower limbs. Common complaint in advancing pregnancy. Can be caused by inferior vena cava syndrome resulting from compression of the inferior vena cava and pelvic veins by the uterus leading to increased hydrostatic pressure in lower extremities.
  Low blood pressure often caused by compression of both the inferior vena cava and the abdominal aorta (aortocaval compression syndrome).
  Increased urinary frequency. A common complaint, caused by increased intravascular volume, elevated glomerular filtration rate, and compression of the bladder by the expanding uterus.
  Urinary tract infection
  Varicose veins. Common complaint caused by relaxation of the venous smooth muscle and increased intravascular pressure.
  Hemorrhoids (piles). Swollen veins at or inside the anal area. Caused by impaired venous return, straining associated with constipation, or increased intra-abdominal pressure in later pregnancy.
  Regurgitation, heartburn, and nausea.
  Stretch marks
  Breast tenderness is common during the first trimester, and is more common in women who are pregnant at a young age.
  Melasma, also known as the mask of pregnancy, is a discoloration, most often of the face.  It usually begins to fade several months after giving birth.
caption: Melasma: pigment changes to the face due to pregnancy
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