r/pregnancy_care

Had sex on the 2nd of May and period came on the same day , took contraceptive on the 4th of May

We mostly used a condom but did it unprotected only for a few strokes like 5? And I'm sure no ejaculation inside

Period ended on the 10th of may and having pregnancy like symptoms like metallic taste , heightened sense of smell , and areola getting bigger noticing on 21st of May

Are these pregnancy symptoms or am I just in my luteal phase before my period ?

Even if sperm did get inside would it survive all the way to ovulation because period ended all the way to the 10th which is way more than 5 days of sperm survival.

And ovulation has not occurred

Am I pregnant?

PLEASE REPLY IM REALLY WORRIED

I’ve had severe back pain this pregnancy (fourth pregnancy) since I was 5 weeks. From weeks 5-9 it was spasming non stop and nobody could figure out what was wrong. After many hospital stays, an mri, lots of tests, steroids, random medications, muscle relaxers, they finally discovered I had a double bladder infection, yeast infection, UTI and Covid on top of everything. After taking double antibiotics the spasms subsided but the pain is still there. I do see a physical therapist and she thinks I’m doing good (compared to not being able to move or walk at all on our first visit when I had active spasms).

I’m currently 13 weeks and definitely still experience really bad back pain at times. I did buy a mom cozy belly band and it’s been seeming to help. Sleep is horrible every night because I can’t figure out how to lay ever that’s comfortable.

Idk any other things I’m missing that could help? Has anyone gone through something similar?

Hola. Estoy de 18 semanas y vengo aumentando algunos kilos me veo mas redonda la cara, las caderas y piernas mas anchas . Me pasa que no me gusta como me veo físicamente y eso me da culpa. Cuando alguien sube una foto mia me veo fea y no pense que eso me pasaría en el embarazo, pense me sentiría mejor... a la vez eso aumenta un poco la culpa por sentirme asi, incluso me siento superficial de estar pensando en mi estética y físico despues de que busque tanto un bebe. A alguien mas le paso? Gracias..

I’m an LPN at an urgent care and worked a 12 hour shift yesterday. I didn’t sit much and was mentally and physically drained by the end of my shift. I came home and felt exhausted and as soon as I got into bed my restless legs kicked in keeping me from falling asleep. Mind you, I had to be up this morning by 6am to be able to work another 12 hour shift. I literally cried trying to fall asleep last night because on top of those feelings, I was having lower back, hip, and leg pain just from being so busy during the day.

Fast forward to this morning, I texted my manager and explained how I was feeling and she offered for me to come in for a shorter shift. Which i’m so thankful that she’s so willing to work with me. But by the time it came to when I was to come in I was still in pain and exhausted. I decided it was best to stay home and rest for the day but I feel SO GUILTY. I tend to put others before my self first and all I am worried about is my coworkers getting through the day if it’s busy without me.

I’ll be 32 weeks on sunday and am still so bad about putting myself first but now it’s not only me, it’s the baby as well. I feel like I’m just complaining when it comes to the pain and discomfort and that I shouldn’t feel like I need to rest all the time.

How did you move past that guilt feeling? HELPPP 😅

So I'm currently 15w2d and I am (im)patiently waiting for my baby girls first movements. She is my rainbow baby after 3 years of trying and I am so excited. I know that only time will give me what im hoping for but I am so anxious to finallly feel her little flutters and movements. I have an anterior placenta and the two women who have done my ultrasounds for me so far have both said that can mean it can take longer to feel baby and that just makes me so sad. I was wondering if anybody has experience with that? Has anybody here had one pregnancy with a front placenta and one with a back and was there a difference in movements? I know every pregnancy and woman is different but I'm sure it's a common thought to have to just want to feel baby move so badly, I feel like it'll just make me even more certain this is all real lol. Also a little off topic, when did nausea end for yall? Mine actually ramped up the past week or two ish instead of starting to go away, on top of a UTI with a symptom I've never had before, some abdominal pain. Apparently silent UTI's are really common with pregnancy which I learned, as well as different symptoms compared to non-pregnancy :O

So, this is not my first rodeo - it's my 6th. This pregnancy has been strange. I have felt symptoms more than any other pregnancy (I have girls and boys so it's not a gender thing), I've gained weight incredibly fast (10 lbs, so far) and this bump is so much bigger than any prior pregnancy. I have even felt this baby move here and there for almost 2 weeks. Please don't say gastro stuff bc I've dealt with that my entire life and know the difference. I even have a tilted uterus so I am at a loss as to why I'm so huge currently. I do have a gut feeling there's a girl in there bc this is more in line with my girl pregnancies but this surpasses those symptoms by a lot. I guess I'm ranting because all pregnancies are different but, wow. People are commenting how much I'm showing and asking, "You're only how far along??". It's making me want to avoid social interactions somewhat. 7 week scan only saw one bean. I go back at 13 weeks for another so I'll have them look really well for any hidden beans. Oh, I started this pregnancy at 110lbs in decent shape. Nothing fits. Anyone else?

I got my 17 DPO BLOOD DRAW BACK & these are the results so far from daw 1:
HCG: 63
Progesterone 6.3
First pregnancy.
Yes I know I have to wait for the next draw tomorrow (48hrs after first) to see if things double & thinking this post is useless as I need that data to tell anything — but did anyone have this low of a HCG reading for first draw & still have a successful pregnancy?!

This pregnancy also occurred after a withdrawal bleed from progesterone to get my cycle to reset because I had a super long irregular cycle randomly this year. I was supposed to be scheduled to check for PMS next month doing a saline ultrasound. They canceled me because I told him I tested positive for pregnancy but now I’m fearing that I might have a chemical pregnancy/lose this. Please be kind. I’m anxious and no one knows besides my husband & doctors.

I’ve had symptoms lately, bad cramping, late for periods, but I dont know when i ovulated. Did a test for fun tonight, and this was the result, some people says it’s could be a false positive and none valid, but i never had trouble with these tests.

me and my bf have a lot of unprotected sex. and we did pretty much all throughout my ovulation period.
but i also don’t have tests for ovulation either… i just go off the flo app.

my cycle has been pretty consistent for a long time, especially this year it’s always been around the 14-16 of each month. i was supposed to start friday the 15th and today’s monday the 18th.

but also on the flo app it has ‘may start today’ for both that friday and saturday but i normally start the first day it says ‘may start today.’

i had taken two pregnancy tests the 14th and both were negative. (day before i was supposed to start my period)

my breasts have felt sore for the past couple of days and a little bit more firm, today they are not as sore. my stomach has been feeling weird. and ever since after my last period i’ve been having to go urinate a lot during the night and early morning (i get woken up by it).

my bf thinks im pregnant. we want to be pregnant. i’m mostly afraid im not. and we were waiting for like a week to test. i’m also jus scared im not :/

plz help!!!

I have a history of childhood sexual assault and for a long time didn't feel that I could trust my body to make it through pregnancy and childbirth without retraumatizing myself. I've worked through a lot of grief around this, and I'm now at a place where I feel that this could be possible, and even empowering, for me.

However, I feel that there's a lot of research and work I need to do in order to feel prepared. I'm hoping to get some recommendations from sexual assault survivors who have given birth. What books, resources, or practices helped you to feel prepared and in control throughout your pregnancy and childbirth?

I'm particularly interested in the impact of being a sexual assault survivor on pregnancy / childbirth experiences and outcomes, trauma-informed peri-natal care and birth plans, and somatic practices for during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum. Also interested in anything else that you found helpful!

TLDR: I need a total joint replacement (right side) but I also want to have a baby and I’m in my late 30s, so I’m not sure if I have time to waste waiting around for the prosthetic and surgery and recovery before trying to conceive, or if I suffer through pregnancy without meds (which barely help) and rely on PT/chiropractic/massage (which provides temporary relief) and then get surgery after baby arrives and somehow manage baby and surgical recovery. I don’t think anyone can answer this question but I’m gonna throw it out there — if it was you, what would you choose? (dang, even my TLDR is long AF)

I‘ve read that pregnancy can make TMJ worse for many people and better for a few, but I’m wondering about the surgical aspect and if it would be ”better” to get my right TMJ replaced before trying for a baby, or wait to get it done after the baby is born.

My right TMJ disc is annihilated, the condyle is grinding into the fossa, the joint space is filled with bone gravel and scar tissue. I had a semi-failed arthroscopy last month that could not be completed due to extensive scar tissue blocking the scope, and I have felt no pain relief or functional improvement from the procedure.

I have not had relief from any mouthguard, splint, or other dental appliance, and I have not had relief from Botox despite trying many many times for TMJ, cervical dystonia, and migraine.

I get some temporary relief from massage, PT, and chiropractic - and I know these are all safe to continue during pregnancy, while taking my baclofen and meloxicam certainly aren’t safe.

So I’m in a pickle because my pain is very poorly managed on most days, and my jaw specialist is pointing me towards replacing the right TMJ (left pops when hyperextended but it’s painless and I also could just … not hyperextend). Aside from the huge financial burden, there’s a long timeline to get the replacement joint fabricated, and then a long recovery after the procedure. Also no guarantee that it’ll really improve anything so that’s a little discouraging.

We hadn’t tried for a baby sooner because my pain had been poorly managed 2020-2025 before we moved to another area of the country and I got better care from different doctors who finally ordered the MRI, CT Scan, and PT with therapists that actually work on the TMJ. My PT in 2021 ONLY focused on the neck and while I understand posture is a huge factor, it’s not the only thing. Now that I have a care team that is actually listening to me and addressing the TMJ I’m grateful to have help even if it’s too little too late, but I really don’t know what this means for family planning. My husband and I want “one and done” but we are getting veeeeery close to the end of when we‘d like this to happen. I don’t want my pain to make me a bad mother, and I know once baby arrives I will not have time to be “selfish” and take care of my own needs, but if I do that before trying for baby there might not BE a baby.

Again, not really expecting anyone to have any insight ... just chatting into the abyss …!

I’m a 29F single mum to a 7-year-old child, and I met my ex in February 2025. From the beginning, the relationship was really intense. We spent almost every day together and got very attached very quickly. My son also became attached to him, and for a while it genuinely felt like we were building a future together.
The relationship was always emotionally up and down though. He could be very loving, generous, emotional, and talk about a future with me, but then also become cold, angry, jealous, controlling, or dismissive during arguments. A huge issue throughout the relationship was social media and trust. He would accuse me over things online, get upset about likes/comments, and question my behaviour, while at the same time following lots of women himself and doing things that made me uncomfortable. It often felt like double standards.Another issue was secrecy/private behaviour. Nearly a year into the relationship, I still hadn’t properly met his family or friends. His mum only knew my name. I wasn’t included in his life in the way I expected from a serious relationship, and it made me feel hidden and insecure. I kept bringing this up because I wanted reassurance and stability, especially as someone with a child already.
We broke up and got back together multiple times. Every time we argued, things became very extreme emotionally. He would sometimes sob, apologise, promise change, spend a lot of money on me, or act like he couldn’t live without me. Then during other arguments he could be incredibly hurtful, ignore me for long periods, say cruel things, or act like I meant nothing to him. I became emotionally exhausted and anxious all the time.Something important for context is that during the first year of the relationship, I already went through an abortion with him. It affected me mentally far more than he seems to understand. I struggled emotionally afterward, and I told him multiple times after that experience that I never wanted to go through another abortion again because of how much it impacted me. He knew how traumatic it was for me.
Then I found out I was pregnant again. The pregnancy has honestly been emotionally difficult from the start. Early on I had health scares and hospital visits, and instead of feeling secure, I felt scared and unsupported. At first, he was involved to some extent, saying he loves me, he’ll never leave and we were in this together he’s just finding it abit tough to process but after finding out the baby is a boy, everything seemed to completely spiral.
He basically told me he didn’t want the baby and started talking about abortion again. What hurts is that he already knew how badly the first abortion affected me mentally, and despite that, he still expected me to go through it again as if it was an easy solution. I feel like that’s deeply unfair. This is also someone who willingly had unprotected sex with me, talked about a future with me, treated my son like family, and made me believe we were building something serious.Now he’s acting like he wants nothing to do with me or the baby. Some days he says we’ll “never be okay.” He’s become cold and distant, and I feel abandoned during pregnancy. I’m struggling emotionally because I genuinely loved him, trusted him, and imagined us becoming a family. My son also became attached to him, which makes this even more painful.
At the same time, I’m trying to be honest with myself about the relationship. Looking back, there were a lot of red flags I Ignored but the worst part I feel guilty not having the abortion but I’m already in my second trimester
Part of me still misses him and hopes he’ll “come to his senses,” but another part of me feels deeply hurt and resentful that he could walk away from me while I’m pregnant with his child, especially knowing what I already went through emotionally before.

Hello, I’m just looking for some reassurance I guess idk. I’m just spiraling a little. I had my 20 week anatomy scan done on Thursday and they found an echogenic bowel so they referred me to MFM for a more in depth ultrasound. In the 2nd ultrasound they found that my baby also has a slightly thickened nuchal fold (6.2mm) we had the NIPT done early on in pregnancy and everything came back low risk. Has anyone else had any experience with this? How accurate are the NIPT results? I don’t know anyone who has gone through this and I just feel scared right now. Thanks in advance 🥲

I was expecting a squinter at best at only 7DPO. But a bright, instant positive with first morning pee, tested with next pee of the day, positive again.
Positive ovulation test on 11th tested morning of 18th. I only had the cheap Wondfo strips
My brothers are twins so that is always in the back of my mind.
Praying for our rainbow baby after a loss at 20 weeks in Jan

Has anyone ever experienced this.. if so, what was the outcome?

I am 29YO & pregnant with my 4th child. I went to my first baby doctors appointment after finding out i was pregnant. Based off my last menstrual cycle, i should have been showing to be about 9weeks. I have had some very minimal light light pink spotting but wasn’t too concerned because i know this can be normal. (However i haven’t experienced this with previous pregnancies). When the sonogram was done, the doctor informed me that the baby was only measuring to be 5-6 weeks. Meaning 1 of 2 things had happened, either we got the date/weeks wrong. Or the baby stopped growing at 5-6weeks and i am having a miscarriage. Well i did have blood work done to check my hcg levels and then compared the next day, they did rise by about 3000. (I couldn’t wait the 48 hours because i was going out of state on vacation that had been planned for months). I am suppose to go back to see doctor the day after i return home from vacation this week but i am anxiety ridden and have increased spotting including darker in color than previous. It isn’t a consistent flow though and i haven’t passed any tissue that i have noticed. Has anyone ever experienced/gone through this, if so… What was your experience? Am i being too concerned? Thank you in advance for sharing your story with me and helping me with mine.

Hi all, sorry if this is TMI. I’m currently 5 weeks pregnant and this is my first, so maybe this is silly to ask. My husband and I had sex last night for the first time since learning I was pregnant. It wasn’t rough at all, but I bled a little afterwards and noticed pink discharge this morning. Should I be worried? I‘ve read this is common, but I don’t want to under react.

I’m only 8 weeks and i’m hungry every 2-3 hours even after full meals. How about you guys? And did you try to hold off or eat small meals even though I could eat a whole meal? I know i’m not technically supposed to be “eating for two” and the amount i’m eating seems excessive. Just curious how you guys handled this. I’m also pooping at least once a day, which is a lot for me. Prepregnancy I had bowel movements probably every 2-3 days. And before I get the comments.. No, i was not constipated nor did I have any stomach issues. That was just my norm. I know going once a day isn’t a bad thing I’m just curious to see if anyone else had this change since I was expecting constipation.

Have been suspecting my partner of cheating— and now I’m testing positive during a routine STI testing. He’s completely denied it and is now saying his ONLY thought or possible explanation for this is that perhaps it’s throat chlamydia and he’s never been tested or swabbed in the throat just urine samples which always came out negative.

PLEASE help me understand if this is true/possible or what the process is like. I am so uneasy and doing everything possible to remain calm. Doctor’s office has re ordered testing just to ease my mind and to see if it also comes out positive again but this time it will be a urine sample vs a swab test (which was done 2/3 days ago). My last test was done via urine sample 3.5 months ago and was negative.

Is it possible that he had it and it somehow sat dormant as well until as of recently? I am reading so many different things online and cannot come to a conclusion on if this clearly means he’s cheated. I am more concerned about the health of our baby more than anything and am grateful that it’s something curable. Any advice or insight would be helpful. Thank you! 🙏🏼

UPDATE: I’m realizing whether it’s throat chlamydia or not as he claimed— I clearly got a vaginal swab test which tested positive so that claim does not make any sense & I would’ve tested positive the first time as well.

Any tips for morning sickness? I’m really struggling. Have been since week 5 but it’s just not letting up. It’s almost every day that I feel almost debilitatingly nauseous and every 2nd day or so I’m spending time with my head in the toilet 🫠 some days I don’t feel better until the afternoon (usually past 1pm) but 2 days ago I didn’t feel better until almost 9pm at night. I work 2 jobs and quite a lot and this is impacting my work. Like a lot. I don’t know how many more days I can be late to work without getting in trouble.

Hi everyone, I’m 18 weeks + 2 days pregnant and starting to get anxious because I don’t feel any movement at all yet. I have a home Doppler and can hear baby’s heartbeat regularly, which is reassuring, but I still haven’t felt any definite flutters or kicks.

I don’t think I have an anterior placenta because at my 16 week scan my doctor only mentioned that my placenta was low-lying and didn’t say it was anterior, so now I’m worrying even more about not feeling anything yet.

Has anyone else had no movement at this stage and everything turned out okay? When did you start feeling baby properly?

I’ve had previous losses, so I think my anxiety is making this harder 😔