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What Are The Early Signs Of Pregnancy?
Hello, I am 22 years old. I had a baby 10 months ago and had not had the return of my period until today. I thought I was pregnant again because I was having hot flashes, moodiness, morning sickness, throwing up, headaches...and baby seemed to not like the taste of my milk and became fussier when nursing. I took a pregnancy test about 4 days ago and I had a faint second line and thought I was pregnant. Now that I started my period, does this mean it was a false positive or should I even be concerned? I notice I bleed heavier when nursing and have uterine contraction-tight in stomach.
Wed, 12 Aug 2015
Hello, and I hope I can help you today.
It is normal to have your period delayed if you are breastfeeding your baby. When it does finally come back it normally will be more symptomatic, heavier and crampier than usual, and it is true that nursing stimulates uterine contractions. However, that does not explain your positive pregnancy test. I would advice you to repeat the test and if it is still positive you may have conceived and be having a miscarriage instead of your period. In that case, you should see an OB doctor for evaluation.
It is advisable to use contraception if you don't want to be pregnant even while you are breastfeeding because ovulation can come back after 3-4 months even if you are not getting your period.
So in summary- there is no way to know if the test was a false positive or if you are pregnant without repeating the test. If the test is negative now, it was either a false-positive, or you may have had a very early miscarriage, which is commonly called a chemical pregnancy, where the pregnancy never implanted and was lost with your period. For this reason, I generally advise my patients to wait until they miss a period to do a pregnancy test to avoid confusion in these situations.
I hope repeating the test clarifies the situation for you, and that I was able to answer your question and my advice was helpful.
Best regards, Dr. Brown
It is normal to have your period delayed if you are breastfeeding your baby. When it does finally come back it normally will be more symptomatic, heavier and crampier than usual, and it is true that nursing stimulates uterine contractions. However, that does not explain your positive pregnancy test. I would advice you to repeat the test and if it is still positive you may have conceived and be having a miscarriage instead of your period. In that case, you should see an OB doctor for evaluation.
It is advisable to use contraception if you don't want to be pregnant even while you are breastfeeding because ovulation can come back after 3-4 months even if you are not getting your period.
So in summary- there is no way to know if the test was a false positive or if you are pregnant without repeating the test. If the test is negative now, it was either a false-positive, or you may have had a very early miscarriage, which is commonly called a chemical pregnancy, where the pregnancy never implanted and was lost with your period. For this reason, I generally advise my patients to wait until they miss a period to do a pregnancy test to avoid confusion in these situations.
I hope repeating the test clarifies the situation for you, and that I was able to answer your question and my advice was helpful.
Best regards, Dr. Brown
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