Your body does a lot of crazy things when you’re pregnant. You’ll notice a few symptoms, and one of them might be bright yellow urine. The thing is, bright yellow urine can be a symptom of pregnancy.
However, it can also be a symptom of other things too. We’re going to cover the basics of both to make sure you’re not taking one test after another because you had bright yellow pee.
In this article
What The Science Says About Bright Yellow Pee And Pregnancy
While there are plenty of articles online that bright yellow urine is an early sign of pregnancy, I could not find scientific data to back up those claims.
I also found plenty of articles claiming that this is a myth, an old wives tale, or flat-out false information. So, if the only symptom you’re having is bright yellow urine, and your pregnancy tests are negative, it’s time to breathe a sigh of relief.
What Causes Bright Yellow Urine?
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While we’re not going to debate the claims that this can be a symptom of early pregnancy, it’s important to consider that bright yellow urine can stem from several things aside from pregnancy.
Mild Dehydration Causes Bright Yellow Pee
Our body uses urine as a way to remove waste. Specifically, it uses it to remove dead red blood cells. This produces Urobilin, which is what gives urine that yellow color.
When we’re properly hydrated, our urine winds up being slightly diluted. The slight dilution results in a pale yellow color.
However, mild dehydration means that it’s not diluted, which can cause a bright yellow color. This is simply because the Urobilin is more concentrated in your urine.
A common cause of mild dehydration is working out or participating in a lot of physical activity, and not drinking enough water. This can also make it easier to pull a muscle.
When it’s hot outside, you’ll get dehydrated easier. Make sure to drink plenty of water to stay properly hydrated.
Food Dye Can Change Urine Color
Natural foods that have a lot of pigment, such as beets, can change the color of your urine. They can also change the color of your stool! Processed foods are known for having a lot of dyes inside of them, too.
These dyes can, and often do change the color of your pee. If you notice a sudden change, take a good look at your diet to determine if that could be the cause.
Medications Can Change Urine Color
Certain medications can make your urine change color. For example, I was given multiple medications when I had a kidney stone. One of them was to treat a urinary tract infection.
It was supposed to help with the pain and discomfort from the kidney stones. A common side effect they warned me about, and that I experienced, was bright orange pee. If I had not been forewarned about this, I would have been concerned.
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Extra Vitamins Can Cause Neon Pee
When we have too many vitamins in our body, they aren’t stored for later use. Instead, our body disposes of the things that we do not need. Vitamins often come out in our urine. Certain ones are known for causing neon or bright yellow urine.
Vitamin C is a common culprit, especially during flu season when most people up to their intake. Supplements and multivitamins often contain plenty of vitamin C. Citrus fruits, tomatoes, and broccoli are all packed with vitamin C.
B vitamins and neon urine seem to go hand in hand. If you take a vitamin with plenty of vitamin B, drink energy drinks that have an excess of vitamin B, or utilize meal replacement shakes this could be the reason behind the change.
Your body gets rid of the extra vitamin B through your urine. Beta carotene, which the body transforms into vitamin A, can also cause brightly colored urine. It’s found in a lot of yellow and orange foods, like squash and sweet potatoes.
Urinary Tract Infection
A urinary tract infection can cause a frequent need to urinate, pain, and bright yellow pee. If you notice these symptoms, contact your doctor. This is especially important if there is a chance that you can be pregnant. A UTI can cause pre-term labor.
Urine Color During Pregnancy
If none of the above apply, and it’s too soon to take a pregnancy test, you’re still wondering if there’s a chance you’re pregnant.
While there are plenty of claims that state that this is a myth, there are other claims that state that this is a common symptom of pregnancy.
So, we’re going to look at what could be causing that change to help you determine whether a pregnancy is, in fact, the case.
Diet Change During Pregnancy Causes Urine To Change
When we find out we’re pregnant, we want the best for our baby. This often results in us doing a complete overhaul of our diet.
We start eating more fruits and vegetables that are packed with the vitamins and nutrients our baby will need. However, many of those fruits and vegetables can change the color of urine.
Prenatal Vitamins
It’s important to start taking prenatal vitamins asap when you’re pregnant.
If you’re trying to conceive, it’s typically recommended that you start taking them or at least a multivitamin so you’re already full of the necessary nutrients when you do get pregnant. Those vitamins can give you bright yellow pee.
HCG Does Not Cause A Change In Urine Color
This is known as the pregnancy hormone. When you take a pregnancy test, the pregnancy test detects levels of this hormone. It should be noted that this has nothing to do with the color of your urine.
There Are Always Exceptions
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Although all of the evidence points to bright yellow urine not being a symptom of pregnancy, there are always exceptions. There are plenty of questions on forums from pregnant women trying to determine what has caused this.
Typically, it’s blown off as too much vitamin B due to prenatal vitamins, but these women insist they were taking vitamins before they got pregnant. So, although this isn’t typically the case, you might be the exception.
In Conclusion
Take a pregnancy test for verification. If you keep getting a negative test result, you’re more than likely not pregnant.
Although bright yellow urine might happen to some women when they are pregnant, that alone is not enough to declare that you’re pregnant.
