When you’re intentionally trying to get pregnant, the weeks between your last period and your potentially missed period can feel downright torturous. Not a day goes by when an unfamiliar twinge doesn’t interrupt whatever you’re doing so you can obsess on what it could mean.
Life feels like it’s on pause during those weeks. You may wonder if you should avoid that super-hot bath. Or pass on another cup of coffee. Because you could be pregnant, everything else feels like it should wait.
Really, it can be an isolating experience. Hope and fear swirl and swell up inside you, and as much as you’re bursting to talk about it, you may feel scared to say out loud how much you want it. It’s no wonder then that during the weeks between periods, you become the lead detective of your own body with the hope of figuring out your pregnancy status before that missed period.
How soon can pregnancy be detected?
The most accurate way to tell if you’re pregnant is by taking a test the first day after your missed period (if you’re trying to conceive, you know exactly when that period should start). In terms of how early you can tell if you are pregnant, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), aka the pregnancy hormone, can be detected in your urine about 10 days after you conceive, whereas a period starts at about 14 days after ovulation. Still, there’s a chance you’ll get a false-negative if levels aren’t high enough to be detected yet.
Most OTC pregnancy tests are as reliable as urine samples taken at the doctor’s office when they’re used after you’ve already missed your period. Many also claim they work a few days before then. So if you can’t bear the wait, go for it. But if you get a negative result, remember to try again after you miss your period to be sure.
What are the earliest signs of pregnancy?
The most reliable early pregnancy sign? Missing your period! Otherwise, early pregnancy symptoms vary from person to person. Some may experience nausea (aka morning sickness) and food aversions right away, while others are met with breast tenderness and fatigue. Some may run to the bathroom with the urge to pee more often since frequent urination in early pregnancy is common, and some may not feel much different at all.
How soon do pregnancy symptoms start?
How early pregnancy symptoms start depends on the pregnant person. Pregnancy symptoms can begin as early as a week after conception, but most people notice them around the four- to six-week mark. That means depending on the length of your cycle, you can have pregnancy symptoms before a missed period. Fatigue, breast changes (nipple color and size and breast fullness) as well as nausea are usually the most common early pregnancy signs. Which makes things frustratingly unclear since those are menstrual cycle-related symptoms, too! The difference between PMS and pregnancy symptoms can be a fine line, or totally null.
What does implantation bleeding look like? What does implantation cramping feel like?
Pregnancy implantation is when a fertilized egg (the sperm and egg met, yay!) attaches to the uterus lining (the beginnings of pregnancy, yay!). Implantation can happen anywhere from 6-12 days after fertilization. Let’s say you have a 28-day cycle and ovulate on day 14. This means you could experience implantation right before when you’d typically experience PMS.
Implantation can cause light bleeding or spotting (light brown or pink) and cramping. Sounds similar to PMS, right? That’s because it annoyingly is. Implantation cramps are usually felt in the lower abdomen or the lower back and may be more “prickly” and mild than period cramps. But that’s not to say people don’t confuse the two. And some don’t experience implantation bleeding or cramping at all.
How can you tell the difference between early pregnancy and period symptoms?
The most straightforward way to know whether or not you’re pregnant or about to start your period is to take a pregnancy test.
That said, you do know your body best. You likely know what feels normal, and what feels off. But when you’re trying to get pregnant, high hopes can lead to crushing lows. So it’s usually most productive to take a test than to speculate. We get it, though. Before a test can give you an accurate answer, you want to analyze. Take it from those who’ve been there. Try to distract yourself with anything fun, and spend that time doing everything but getting too lost in your thoughts.
How can I check if I’m pregnant without a pregnancy test?
There are a few other ways to determine if you’re pregnant besides an OTC pregnancy test. You can make an appointment with your provider to give a urine sample in the office. Similar to OTC tests, a chemical strip will measure hCG levels with results in one to two minutes.
Or, you can give a blood sample to test for hCG. Blood tests are about 99% accurate and can detect lower levels of hCG than urine tests. These can be more expensive and time consuming, though.
Depending on where you are with your trying-to-conceive journey, and what you’ve experienced in the past, an at-home pregnancy test, urine sample and blood test are all options to check if you’re pregnant.
How soon should you see a doctor if you are pregnant?
When that test reads positive, it’s relatable to feel eager for a doctor to confirm things and check on the progress of your growing fetus. And you should call your provider with the news right away!
Typically, providers will have you come in at about eight weeks after the first day of your last period for an ultrasound to confirm your pregnancy. That first prenatal appointment can also be as early as six weeks, or as late as 12. It depends on your past experiences, desires and your provider’s recommendations.
Choosing a provider for your pregnancy
With the anticipation and flurry of activity that starts soon after a positive test, it’s a great idea to have an established provider before you start trying to conceive. We value the opportunity to help at every stage of a person’s life, whether that’s the teen years or menopausal ones.
Deeply knowing and already trusting a provider after years of care can be a huge relief as you enter such a major phase of your life. And it means one less thing for you to do, or worry about, once you’re pregnant. So if you’re trying to conceive, or even years away from being ready, you can find your provider now. WHA has certified nurse-midwives and OBGYN physicians eager to help you through your pregnancy—and everything that comes before it.
But if you’ve been a patient at a different practice, have never been to WHA or started your prenatal care elsewhere, we would still love to see you. You can make an appointment with us to establish prenatal care at any point. Being pregnant is challenging and long; having a provider who shares your values, especially around labor and delivery, is worth finding. Make an appointment to find yours.