NEED HELP PLEASE!!! could i be pregnant>>>>

[athena2]

hello there my name is athena i am 18 years old.. i neeedsome advice from all of you mams out there please!

me and my husband (recently married) have been having unprotected sex for a while now he has been using the pull out way.. (would firstly like to mention we are both each others first) i have had my period recently .. just before my period i was really bloated, felt sick, bad head bad cramping constant hunger, bad mod swings and been eating loads also i am constantly tierd and sleep till2-4 in the afternoon.... even when my period stopped i was still the same only diffrent sore breasts .. my period lasted 4 days wich is not normal......... i have taken home pregnancy tests but they came back negitive.. i just dont feel they are right they were morrisons own make... what should i do?? blood test ?? could i be pregnant or am i over reacting

[kipper]

Hi Athena,

I think the answer is, it's possible...

As you've probably already learned, some people have what's called a pre-implantation bleed - usually much lighter than an ordinary period but otherwise around the same time and similar. So, it looks like a period but it's actually part of the pregnancy.

The tests are all supposed to be reasonably good, but they are trying to detect a levels of hormone in your system. If you are pregnant, that hormone would be building up in your body every day for the first weeks. Some of the more expensive ones can detect lower levels of that hormone and therefore work sooner than the cheaper ones.

You may just need to wait a few more days until the hormones reach a certain level in your body.

Are your cycles fairly regular? I think the theory is that most women ovulate about 11 to 14 days before the onset of their period so if you know which date you expected your period and had sex about a fortnight before, then pregnancy is possible.

Either way, unless you are already on medication which is dangerous to the unborn (in which case, going to the doctor for a blood test is sensible), the best thing you can do is to try to think about something else for a few days or a week and then test again. Try not to worry - what will be will be.

If you are not pregnant and were hoping to wait a little while before starting a family, then do look into some more reliable methods of child-spacing. The withdrawal method is notoriously unreliable. There are some great natural family planning methods nowadays if you're uncomfortable with the chemicals/condoms but you do need to be trained and to follow the guidance. It's always worked wonderfully for us (we're expecting our third in 8 years - each of them consciously conceived).

K