When you’re pregnant, a missed period, sore breasts and feeling tired are the most common symptoms you may experience. However, some other unusual signs could have also indicated pregnancy even before a test.
During the first few days of pregnancy, hormonal surges can cause lots of changes to your metabolism, mood and even your dreams. It may result in some unusual signs of pregnancy such as:
- Increased body temperature.
- Drooling.
- A metallic taste.
In this article, we’ve uncovered some of the weirdest things you may experience that let you know the likelihood of pregnancy.
Increased body temperature can be a sign of pregnancy
An increase in body temperature may well be a sign that you are pregnant. Even when you're very relaxed and not exercising, you still feel very warm.
Normal Body Temperature vs Body Temperature in Pregnancy
A pregnancy can slightly raise your body temperature. An average pregnant woman body temperature is 37 °C (98.6 °F) orally. Depending on a multitude of factors such as pregnant woman’s age, activity levels, body mass index and even ethnicity, the normal range can be as low as 36.4 °C (97.5 °F) and as high as 37.1 °C (98.8 °F).
It might not even be a noticeable change. You may just not want to wear as many jumpers during the wintertime as before. It is because your future baby will need to be cosy and warm while it grows.
Is feeling hot during early pregnancy normal?
Yes, feeling hot during early pregnancy is common. Your body achieves this signal by giving your metabolism a boost. And increased metabolism means your body can burn food and convert it into heat to keep your baby toasty. The result is your resting body temperature may become much higher when you are pregnant.
Since your body is trying to keep your baby nice and warm, you may stay very hot until the baby is born. This symptom can last the whole nine months.
Of course, one hot flush might not be a sign you're about to pop out a little one, but you should definitely keep an eye on it.
If you wake up one morning feeling warm and your temperature just doesn't go down, and you don’t have the flu or any other illness, it may be time to take a test!
SUMMARYTo help keep your baby healthy and warm, your body will focus lots of energy on keeping you warm. This means you may well start feeling much warmer. If you feel hot or find you don't need many jumpers in winter, you could be pregnant. Keep an eye on your body temperature over a few weeks, and if you're consistently hot, you could be growing your own little baby. |
Rapid mood swings in the first trimester
Another unusual early sign of pregnancy is rapid mood swings during the first trimester. There is a stereotype of heavily pregnant women being cranky and moody.
What causes pregnancy mood swings?
| STATUS | PHYSICAL STRESS | FATIGUE | METABOLISM CHANGES | HORMONES CHANGES |
| Surprised | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Happy | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Sad | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Angry | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Not so good | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Okay | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Sick | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Sleepy | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Terrific | ✓ | ✓ |
Most people think the mood swings only happen in the third trimester as your body gets ready to give birth. However, it can also happen in the first few days of pregnancy.
Unlike women nearing the end of pregnancy, women in the early stage may not be quick to anger. Instead, every emotion will feel heightened.
Can mood swings start in the first week of pregnancy?
Yes, mood swings can start as early as the first week of pregnancy. When you first become pregnant, your body prepares for a massive change and is in protective mode. This means you may react fast to everything, and you may feel every emotion all at once. It is the reason why mums-to-be experience rapid mood swings in their first few days of pregnancy.
Your hormones have a massive impact on your mood. Actually, your hormones impact the signals in your brain, which creates your attitude.
Hormonal changes mean your emotions will be all over the place. You may feel extra happy or extra sad or even cry more frequently.
Feeling stressed can be a very early sign of pregnancy
Lots of women also report feeling super stressed during the first days of pregnancy.
The rapidly changing hormone levels mean everything feels very tense, and you may constantly be on edge. Your brain might think there is something to be worried about, and it translates your racing hormones as stress and then makes you feel even more stressed.
So, if you are planning for pregnancy and find yourself getting stressed and anxious easily, it might be time to grab a pregnancy test.
Lemon Balm tea for mood swings
Lemon Balm Tea is perfect for adding to your daily diet if you find yourself suffering from mood swings.
While the tea can't stop you from having very intense emotions, evidence from this 2014 study suggests it can help boost your mood throughout the day. Just two cups per day could leave you feeling more positive overall and less likely to burst into tears.
Lemon balm is also thought to be very calming and soothing to help reduce anxiety and stress. Perfect for those days you feel overwhelmed.
SUMMARYAs your body prepares to protect another growing life, your hormones will surge and start to play havoc on your emotions. You might start crying for no reason and then suddenly feel very happy. If you find yourself having substantial mood swings that don't last long, it could be a sign you're pregnant. Lemon Balm tea can help you to relax. |
A metallic taste in your mouth as a sign of pregnancy
If you suddenly find yourself with a metallic taste in your mouth, this could be a sign that you are in the early stage of pregnancy. It even has its own name: dysgeusia.
How early in pregnancy can you get a metallic taste?
Some women can experience dysgeusia (metallic taste in the mouth) as early as a week after pregnancy begins. After implantation occurs, our hormones start to change in order to welcome your new baby. The significant hormone changes will be an increase in oestrogen and progesterone. Bizarrely, a sudden boost in two hormones can have a huge impact on your taste buds. Most noticeably, you may experience a strange metallic taste in your mouth during the first days of pregnancy for no reason at all.
You may experience a metallic taste while eating and drinking, which is subtle and tastes like using metal cutlery. However, some women in pregnancy report a sour or bitter metallic taste at other times in the day.
This same phenomenon is also responsible for crazy pregnancy cravings in the later stages of pregnancy. Studies like this one show that the changes to your taste buds make women crave weird things in the third trimester.
Since taste and smell are linked, you may also think you smell metal, but there's no need to panic; it's all in your head. Or rather, it's all in your hormones!
Treating dysgeusia with strong flavours
Unfortunately, as your body undergoes hormonal and sensory changes, you can't prevent the horrible taste from happening. If it happens to you, it happens. However, you can take steps to get rid of dysgeusia and mask it as soon as you start to taste metal.
The most effective cures for dysgeusia include very intense flavours such as spicy foods, vinegar and citrus fruits like lemons. You can also eat even more sour food, such as sour sweets, pickles, and green apples.
One more option is to drink strong herbal tea such as Ginger Tea. The intense flavour of the ginger will help to hide the metallic taste, while the plant's natural properties can stop you from feeling ill.
Another way to treat dysgeusia without eating everything in sight is to snack on ice chips or drink very ice-cold beverages. The extreme cold helps to numb your taste buds and gets rid of the bitter metallic taste.
SUMMARYHormone spikes in the first few days of pregnancy can play havoc with your senses. One of the major changes is your taste and sense of smell. Being pregnant can cause dysgeusia or a metallic taste in your mouth. You can't get rid of the taste; however, you can mask it with very intense flavours. During later pregnancy, this becomes weird food cravings. |
Vivid dreams are unusual but normal in pregnancy
Have you ever woken up and thought, "Wow, that was a crazy dream"? Or may you have had a dream that was so intense and felt like it was real? Vivid dreams are a very unusual thing to happen to women in the first days of pregnancy.
Most scientists believe that once again, it's our hormones playing tricks on our minds. In particular, one study found that the hormone progesterone is thought to give you some really wild nightmares.
According to the sleep foundation, crazy dreams and nightmares are normal in pregnancy. Some people claim that it's your unconscious mind trying to communicate with you and tell you that you are pregnant.
What kind of dreams do you have in early pregnancy?
Although you have been dreaming for all your life, the emotion-packed dreams you will experience as a pregnant woman includes:
- Pregnancy and babies
- Animals giving birth
- Give birth in space
- Give birth to an alien, a monster, an animal
- Drowning
- Being trapped
- Being with someone else
- Dreams about your baby
Your crazy dreams may possibly stay with you throughout pregnancy. Some women even report having bizarre dreams after the baby is born!
Chamomile during pregnancy can improve your sleep
If you are struggling with some crazy dreams, you could try drinking a warm cup of chamomile tea before bed.
Chamomile is well-known for helping people fall asleep. The deeper you sleep, the less likely you are to dream, and if you do dream, you may not remember your dreams because you were so unconscious.
Most dreams occur in the lighter stages of sleep, known as REM sleep. This 2016 study focused on how chamomile impacted postnatal women struggling with sleep problems and found it hugely beneficial.
The soothing properties in the tea will also soothe the anxious and stressed parts of your brain, so when you do sleep, you're more likely to have a good dream.
If you love the honey-like taste of chamomile and want to use it for your babies in the future, check:
SUMMARYAs your hormones go mad, so will your dreams. Very vivid and realistic dreams happen to most women all the way through pregnancy. Most women report dreaming about pregnancy and babies during their first few days of pregnancy. |
You may drool excessively while pregnant
It might be a little gross, but if you're having a baby, you should probably get used to a little bit of drool. However, if you're drooling like crazy and find you've got a lot of saliva, you could be pregnant.
Why do I drool so much while pregnant?
As pregnancy hormones change how your body functions to prioritise growing a new baby, it also impacts your nerves and glands. This means your salivary glands may become swollen or overly stimulated.
Excessive drooling can be surprisingly tough to handle, but it is your body's way of preparing for the morning sickness to come. It's a pretty unusual pregnancy symptom, but you'll likely have less morning sickness if you get it.
The two symptoms are heavily linked, so your body could well be preparing your intestines and digestive tract by lubricating it to make the sickness less painful and intense.
So, you should be thankful you're salivating lots!
The extra saliva will usually go away in the second trimester when the morning sickness starts to calm down; until then, you'll just have to get used to a bit of drooling!
How to stop spitting while pregnant
Usually, having mint can help stimulate saliva production when you suffer from a dry mouth condition; literally the opposite of too much saliva! However, pregnant women have found that having mint flavours can also help slow down saliva production.
Scientists aren't really sure why, but studies show the menthol in the mint gives your salivary glands a nudge, so they realise they are either producing too much or too little.
Peppermint Tea is also a good option because if you've been drooling, you'll need to replenish the water you've lost, so a nice cup of strong mint tea should help with both problems.
SUMMARYExtra saliva is very common in the early stage of pregnancy. Not only is your body trying to minimise the effect of morning sickness, but your glands may be overly stimulated, making you drool even when you're sleeping. |
Loose teeth and sensitive gums in pregnancy
One unusual sign of early pregnancy is loose teeth and sensitive gums. This could start within the first few days of pregnancy and may continue after you’ve given birth.
When you first become pregnant, one of the major changes is a surge in oestrogen. A side effect of this is that the tissue that holds everything together becomes loose; this is why you may experience sensitive gums and loose teeth in pregnancy.
Before you start panicking, studies show this is very unusual but normal, and most women will only experience some gum sensitivity or pain and won't actually lose any teeth.
Usually, loose teeth during pregnancy won't cause any significant changes, and once your hormones even out, everything will return to normal.
It can be a bit scary to suddenly have wobbly teeth as an adult. But there's no need to panic if your pregnancy test comes back as positive. Just keep an eye on your teeth and gums during the first trimester.
You might only need to buy some sensitive toothpaste to help minimise pain! But if your case gets worse, it's best to chat to your dentist.
SUMMARYA surge in oestrogen can loosen connective tissue giving you sore joints. Loose tissue in your gums can lead to gum sensitivity and wobbly teeth as your hormones rise during the first weeks of pregnancy. It's nothing to worry about, but you should keep an eye out. |
What to do if you think you are pregnant
Some of these unusual signs of pregnancy may occur before you know you are pregnant or before a test can pick up a precise result. Your body will start to change very quickly, so you may well be the first to know you're pregnant.
If you experience one or more of the signs we've described above, it's time to start thinking about what to do next.
Things that should be done first if you think you are pregnant.
1. Confirm your pregnancy
If you think you are pregnant but aren't sure, the first thing to do is take a test. Remember, if it's early days, some tests may not pick up your pregnancy yet. Try to buy early-warning tests that can pick up results during the first week.
2. Find your due date
The next thing you need to do if you are pregnant is find out when your bundle of joy will arrive! Some pregnancy tests will tell you how far along you are, making it very simple. Alternatively, you can check the date of your last period with a pregnancy calculator.
3. Speak to your doctor
You'll undoubtedly need lots of help from your doctor during your pregnancy. Reach out and speak to a professional as soon as possible. They will be able to give you all sorts of advice and support. You can also talk to a midwife for specialist advice.
4. Change your diet
As soon as you think you are pregnant, you should think about your diet. Immediately stop drinking alcohol and caffeine and stop smoking. Start taking pregnancy vitamins and check which foods are safe for your baby and which you will need to cut out for the next nine months.
5. Start gently exercising
Staying fit and healthy during your pregnancy will help both you and the baby. Now isn't the time to suddenly run a marathon but being active by walking every day will help you have a less complicated pregnancy and keep your baby in good shape.
In the meantime, try a few natural remedies to help minimise your symptoms without damaging your little baby. If you want to find out which herbal remedies you can have while pregnant and which you should avoid, read:
Resources and supportPregnancy, Birth and Baby Pregnancy Care Guidelines |
Conclusion
The early stage of pregnancy can be very stressful because your body undergoes so many changes as it prepares to welcome new life. You might feel overly warm, start having strange dreams or start drooling, and some women even start to lose their teeth.
There's no need to panic; your body will do all sorts of weird things when you're pregnant. If you've started experiencing some of the unusual signs we've talked about, or maybe you're experiencing something else, it's time to take a test and speak to your doctor.
If you are not yet pregnant and want to know more about being pregnant or how to get pregnant, read: