No matter how many typical early pregnancy signs and symptoms you have, you cannot make a pregnancy diagnosis until the pregnancy test is positive. So the answer to the question of "what is a pregnancy?" is that the beta hCG pregnancy test must be positive to make the pregnancy diagnosis.

Just because you missed your period or have tender breasts are tender that does mean that you are pregnant.

The following are pregnancy signs and symptoms, but only a positive pregnancy test answers what is pregnancy:

  • Missed period
  • Breast changes and tenderness
  • Nausea with or without vomiting
  • Tiredness
  • Dizziness
  • Frequent urination

Nausea generally affects pregnant women during the first three to four months of the pregnancy. Tiredness tends to be more acute during the first and last three months.

How do I know if I am pregnant?

If you suspect you are pregnant, then you have several options towards finding out:

  1. Do a home pregnancy test
  2. See your doctor.
  3. Do a blood pregnancy test

Pregnancy is usually diagnosed early on by detecting the presence of HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) in the woman's blood or urine. That is what the pregnancy test checks for. So if the home pregnancy test is positive then this usually means that you are pregnant. Many women prefer to see thgeir doctor to confirm the pregnancy diagnosis.

What is pregnancy? 

Pregnancy is when the egg of a woman has been fertilized by a sperm of a man and has implanted into the uterine lining. It is at that point that the pregnancy test becomes positive.

The egg has 23 chromosomes and each sperm has 23 chromosomes, including one of two types of sex chromosomes - X chromosome or Y chromosome. A sperm with an X chromosome that fertilizes an egg will produce a girl, while a Y chromosome sperm will produce a boy. Each egg also has 23 chromosomes. 46 chromosomes are required to make a human. The fusion of sperm and egg makes 46.