10 Signs to Spot the Difference Between Pregnancy and PMS

So you’re having a bad day.

You feel like the world is against you. You bury your face in a pillow one minute then laugh to your heart’s content the next minute.

But wait, are you really having a bad day? Or is it just PMS? Or…are you pregnant?

It’s the time of the month when women just want to be the queen of the world. They do what they want and other people MUST understand. PERIOD. But for some strange reason, your period hasn’t come knocking on your door when you expect it to. You suddenly feel edgy…like you want to kill someone…but would like to eat’a box of Oreos, too. Is it just PMS or are you now pregnant?

The symptoms of PMS and pregnancy may be the same especially during a woman’s early pregnancy. – Here are 10’signs to spot the difference between pregnancy and PMS.

1. Breast Pain

It’s PMS if…your breasts swell and feel tender during the second half of your menstrual cycle. It feels more painful before your period but gets less painful during or after your period as’your progesterone levels decrease. It’s PREGNANCY’if…your breasts – feel sore – and sensitive. You may also feel tenderness and swelling like you’re having PMS except that the pain lasts for a while as your progesterone level rises due to your pregnancy. – These’will usually happen – for one to two weeks after you conceive.

2. Strange Cravings

It’s PMS if…you just find yourself gorging endlessly on chocolates to salty foods…like you have never eaten all your life. It’s PREGNANCY if… – you totally despise’certain foods, even those you liked, or you may want to compulsively eat specific foods…those that you’ll die if you can’t get a taste of.

3. Feeling Gassy

It’s normal to feel gassy whether you’re having a bad PMS or you’re actually pregnant. It’s because there is a hormonal surge that can slow down the activities in your’gastrointestinal tract. However… It’s PREGNANCY if…you cannot keep it to yourself because’you don’t have the same control over your muscles during pregnancy.

4. Feeling Bloated

Bloating also comes naturally when you have PMS because of fluid retention which results in a feeling of being full. However… It’s PREGNANCY if…later in your pregnancy, your growing uterus crowds your abdominal cavity, thus, slowing digestion and pushing on your stomach, which will make you feel even more bloated after eating.

5. Cramping

It’s PMS if… – if you experience this dreaded cramps before your period. Others may even feel it during their period. Although, the pain goes away eventually by the end of your period. It’s PREGNANCY if… – you experience mild cramping early in the pregnancy. – These cramps – are the same as the one you get during your period, but it will usually be felt in the lower stomach or lower back and you can have the cramps for a long time – from weeks to months.

6. Mood swings

Both women who are having PMS and who are pregnant have mood swings. During this time of the month, women are on’an emotional roller coaster ride where’they’find themselves crying one minute, and then laughing the next. However… It’s PREGNANCY if…moodiness goes up at around six’to 10 weeks, and slows down on the second trimester, and then reappears as their pregnancy ends.

7. Bleeding

It’s PMS if… the flow of your period is heavier and it lasts up to a week. It’s PREGNANCY if… you will only have light vaginal bleeding or spotting, which usually appears in pink or dark brown. The spotting happens during the tenth or 14th day after conception and its days are shorter than a normal period.

8. Sleepiness or fatigue

It’s PMS if… you don’t actually feel this extremely. It’s PREGNANCY if… you just want to lay down in bed for the whole day for no other reason except that you feel like you’ve had a tough day but you were just actually sitting in your office the whole day.

9. Nausea

It’s PMS if… you shouldn’t be feeling this anytime during your period. It’s PREGNANCY if… you suddenly feel nauseated and feel like vomiting, thus called, morning sickness. It is one of the clearest signs of pregnancy, but the American Pregnancy Association says it happens anytime of the day, not just in the morning.

10. Once you read the signs…

It’s PMS if… you snap back to the normal you. It’s PREGNANCY if… you still feel the symptoms way beyond your expected period. So, you might want to take a pregnancy test to see if it’s positive and go and see your doctor.

Have you figured out now if you are pregnant or just having PMS?

Clare Whitfield Chief Editor

Clare Whitfield is the Editor of Stay at Home Mum and a recognised voice in practical home management for Australian families. Based in the northern suburbs of Sydney, she balances editorial leadership with life as a stay at home mum to two school age children. Her background in home economics and more than a decade of experience in recipe development, family budgeting, and household systems inform her work.

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