what's normal,
what's worth a call.

first trimester

• morning sickness

  Morning sickness is nausea, with or without vomiting, that affects around 7 in 10 pregnant women.

• implantation bleeding

  Implantation bleeding is light spotting that can happen when the fertilised egg embeds into the lining of the womb, around 6 to 12 days after conception — often close to when your period would have been due.

• cramping in early pregnancy

  Mild, period-like cramping is common and usually normal in early pregnancy — the womb is growing and its supporting ligaments are stretching.

• fatigue

  Profound tiredness is one of the earliest and most universal pregnancy symptoms, driven mainly by rising progesterone and the sheer metabolic work of building a placenta.

• sore breasts

  Breast tenderness is often the very first pregnancy symptom, appearing as early as 1 to 2 weeks after conception.

• food aversions

  Food aversions — a sudden, visceral repulsion to foods you normally enjoy — affect around 6 in 10 pregnant women, usually starting in the first trimester alongside nausea.

• frequent urination

  Needing to wee more often is one of the earliest pregnancy signs, driven by increased blood flow to the kidneys and hormonal changes.

• constipation

  Constipation affects up to 4 in 10 pregnant women, because progesterone relaxes the muscles of the gut and slows digestion right down.

• headaches

  Headaches are common in pregnancy, especially the first trimester, driven by hormone shifts, increased blood volume, tiredness, and often caffeine withdrawal.

• dizziness

  Feeling light-headed or dizzy is common in pregnancy, because progesterone widens your blood vessels and blood pressure naturally dips, especially in the first and second trimesters.

• insomnia

  Insomnia affects most women at some point in pregnancy — hormones disrupt sleep architecture in the first trimester, and physical discomfort, loo trips, and an active baby fragment it in the third.

• bleeding gums

  Swollen, tender gums that bleed when brushing affect the majority of pregnant women — pregnancy hormones increase blood flow to the gums and amplify their reaction to plaque.

• discharge changes

  More vaginal discharge than usual is normal throughout pregnancy — healthy discharge is clear or milky white, mild-smelling, and increases as pregnancy progresses.

second trimester

• constipation

  Constipation affects up to 4 in 10 pregnant women, because progesterone relaxes the muscles of the gut and slows digestion right down.

• heartburn

  Heartburn — a burning feeling rising from the stomach towards the throat — affects up to 8 in 10 women at some point in pregnancy, most often in the second and third trimesters.

• headaches

  Headaches are common in pregnancy, especially the first trimester, driven by hormone shifts, increased blood volume, tiredness, and often caffeine withdrawal.

• dizziness

  Feeling light-headed or dizzy is common in pregnancy, because progesterone widens your blood vessels and blood pressure naturally dips, especially in the first and second trimesters.

• round ligament pain

  Round ligament pain is a sharp, brief pain or pulling sensation in the lower belly or groin — usually one-sided — caused by the ligaments that support the uterus stretching as it grows.

• back pain

  Lower back pain affects up to two thirds of pregnant women, usually from mid-pregnancy onwards, as the growing bump shifts your centre of gravity and the hormone relaxin loosens supporting ligaments.

• leg cramps

  Sudden, painful calf cramps — usually at night — affect around half of pregnant women, most often in the second and third trimesters.

• braxton hicks contractions

  Braxton Hicks are irregular 'practice' tightenings of the uterus that can start from mid-pregnancy and become more noticeable in the third trimester.

• pelvic girdle pain

  Pelvic girdle pain (PGP) is pain around the pelvic joints — the pubic bone at the front, or the sacroiliac joints at the back — affecting around 1 in 5 pregnant women.

• sciatica

  Sciatica in pregnancy is pain that shoots from the lower back or buttock down the back of one leg, caused by irritation of the sciatic nerve.

• shortness of breath

  Mild breathlessness affects up to 7 in 10 pregnant women — progesterone drives you to breathe more deeply from early pregnancy, and later the growing uterus presses the diaphragm upwards.

• itchy skin

  Mild itching is common in pregnancy as skin stretches over the bump and hormones make it drier.

• linea nigra

  The linea nigra is a dark vertical line that appears down the middle of the belly, usually in the second trimester, caused by pregnancy hormones stimulating extra pigment in skin that was always there.

• bleeding gums

  Swollen, tender gums that bleed when brushing affect the majority of pregnant women — pregnancy hormones increase blood flow to the gums and amplify their reaction to plaque.

• nosebleeds

  Nosebleeds affect around 1 in 5 pregnant women — pregnancy hormones expand the delicate blood vessels lining the nose while your total blood volume rises by half.

• discharge changes

  More vaginal discharge than usual is normal throughout pregnancy — healthy discharge is clear or milky white, mild-smelling, and increases as pregnancy progresses.

• haemorrhoids (piles)

  Haemorrhoids — swollen veins around the back passage, also called piles — affect up to 4 in 10 pregnant women, most often in the third trimester.

third trimester

• fatigue

  Profound tiredness is one of the earliest and most universal pregnancy symptoms, driven mainly by rising progesterone and the sheer metabolic work of building a placenta.

• frequent urination

  Needing to wee more often is one of the earliest pregnancy signs, driven by increased blood flow to the kidneys and hormonal changes.

• constipation

  Constipation affects up to 4 in 10 pregnant women, because progesterone relaxes the muscles of the gut and slows digestion right down.

• heartburn

  Heartburn — a burning feeling rising from the stomach towards the throat — affects up to 8 in 10 women at some point in pregnancy, most often in the second and third trimesters.

• back pain

  Lower back pain affects up to two thirds of pregnant women, usually from mid-pregnancy onwards, as the growing bump shifts your centre of gravity and the hormone relaxin loosens supporting ligaments.

• leg cramps

  Sudden, painful calf cramps — usually at night — affect around half of pregnant women, most often in the second and third trimesters.

• swelling (oedema)

  Gradual swelling of the feet, ankles, and fingers — oedema — is normal in later pregnancy, caused by extra fluid and the uterus slowing blood return from the legs.

• braxton hicks contractions

  Braxton Hicks are irregular 'practice' tightenings of the uterus that can start from mid-pregnancy and become more noticeable in the third trimester.

• pelvic girdle pain

  Pelvic girdle pain (PGP) is pain around the pelvic joints — the pubic bone at the front, or the sacroiliac joints at the back — affecting around 1 in 5 pregnant women.

• sciatica

  Sciatica in pregnancy is pain that shoots from the lower back or buttock down the back of one leg, caused by irritation of the sciatic nerve.

• insomnia

  Insomnia affects most women at some point in pregnancy — hormones disrupt sleep architecture in the first trimester, and physical discomfort, loo trips, and an active baby fragment it in the third.

• shortness of breath

  Mild breathlessness affects up to 7 in 10 pregnant women — progesterone drives you to breathe more deeply from early pregnancy, and later the growing uterus presses the diaphragm upwards.

• itchy skin

  Mild itching is common in pregnancy as skin stretches over the bump and hormones make it drier.

• linea nigra

  The linea nigra is a dark vertical line that appears down the middle of the belly, usually in the second trimester, caused by pregnancy hormones stimulating extra pigment in skin that was always there.

• lightning crotch

  Lightning crotch is the informal name for sudden, sharp, electric jolts of pain in the pelvis, vagina, or rectum in late pregnancy — usually caused by the baby's head pressing on nerves in the pelvis.

• bleeding gums

  Swollen, tender gums that bleed when brushing affect the majority of pregnant women — pregnancy hormones increase blood flow to the gums and amplify their reaction to plaque.

• nosebleeds

  Nosebleeds affect around 1 in 5 pregnant women — pregnancy hormones expand the delicate blood vessels lining the nose while your total blood volume rises by half.

• discharge changes

  More vaginal discharge than usual is normal throughout pregnancy — healthy discharge is clear or milky white, mild-smelling, and increases as pregnancy progresses.

• haemorrhoids (piles)

  Haemorrhoids — swollen veins around the back passage, also called piles — affect up to 4 in 10 pregnant women, most often in the third trimester.

• carpal tunnel syndrome

  Carpal tunnel syndrome — tingling, numbness, and aching in the fingers and hand — affects up to a third of pregnant women, usually in the third trimester.

• restless legs syndrome

  Restless legs syndrome — a crawling, fidgety urge to move the legs, worst in the evening and at night — affects around 1 in 5 pregnant women, peaking in the third trimester.

• mucus plug

  The mucus plug is a thick seal of jelly-like mucus that blocks the cervix throughout pregnancy, and losing it — the 'show' — means the cervix is beginning to soften and open.