Blood Test From The Doctor
For the most accurate way to know if you’re pregnant, head to your doctor’s office to get a blood test. Blood tests are more sensitive than urine tests, since less hCG needs to be present to get a positive result.
Most women don’t undergo a blood test if their at-home test was positive, but Dr. Perez explains that it can help evaluate for a miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy . Therefore she recommends scheduling an appointment once you get a positive pregnancy test.
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What Happens During Week 1
These are the first 2 weeks of your menstrual cycle. You have your period. About 2 weeks later, the egg thats most mature is released from your ovary this is called ovulation. Ovulation may happen earlier or later, depending on the length of your menstrual cycle. The average menstrual cycle is 28 days.
After its released, your egg travels down your fallopian tube toward your uterus. If the egg meets up with a sperm, they combine. This is called fertilization. Fertilization is most likely to occur when you have unprotected vaginal sex during the 6 days leading up to and including the day of ovulation.
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How Soon You Can Take A Pregnancy Test
Step back from the supermarket shelves you should wait until the first day of a missed period before you do a pregnancy test . This is usually about two weeks after you think you conceived. So get your diary out and start counting.
Too keen to wait? Some tests are more sensitive than others and can be taken earlier . This might be four or five days before your period is due .
If you can though, its most reliable to wait for the first day of your missed period. And that way you wont get any upset from an inaccurate result.
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Changes In Cervical Mucus
Have you become a student of your cervical mucus? Then check it out now: If it becomes creamy and stays that way after ovulation, its a good sign youll have a positive pregnancy test.
As your pregnancy progresses, youll also notice increased vaginal discharge, called leukorrhea. This thin, milky-white discharge is normal and healthy, but speak to your practitioner if it appears lumpy or thick.
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How Soon Can You Find Out If Youre Pregnant
The symptoms of pregnancy explained above are the most common ones but often the signs and symptoms experienced are very mild and easily attributed to other reasons.
If you frequently experience headaches and can confidently chalk your mood swings up to, say, a social media article that just set you off, looking for stronger indicators like morning sickness and changes in discharge would be a good start.
If you do notice a cluster of symptoms, following up with a home pregnancy test is your best next move.
When Should I Call My Doctor About A New Pregnancy
If youve missed your period and gotten a positive pregnancy test, your next step will be to call your healthcare provider for your first appointment. While scheduling, your provider may ask if you have already started taking a prenatal vitamin containing folic acid. Prenatal vitamins are important in early pregnancy because they help in the development of your babys neural tube. The neural tube will become your babys brain and spine. Many healthcare providers recommend that anyone who could become pregnant take folic acid at all times.
If youre planning a pregnancy, a preconception appointment with your healthcare provider is a good place to start. A preconception appointment is especially important if you take medication for a chronic illness or have other medical conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure or lupus.
During this appointment, your provider will discuss any current medical conditions, as well as your general health before pregnancy. This appointment is meant to get you into the best place for a new pregnancy.
A note from Cleveland Clinic
Last reviewed by a Cleveland Clinic medical professional on 07/26/2022.
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Food Aversions And Sensitivity To Smell
Sensitivity to certain smells is a common symptom for pregnant women. You may also find that your tastes have changed for certain types of food.
Any of the above signs can mean youre pregnant, but there are women who conceive and experience none of them. Likewise, you can experience all ten and not be pregnant. The best way to confirm pregnancy is to schedule an appointment with a provider, preferably your gynecologist.
If you notice a few of the early pregnancy symptoms above and think you may be pregnant, wait one or two days after your missed period and take a pregnancy test. If the test is negative, wait a few more days and take another, just in case the first was a false negative. If the test is positive, schedule an appointment with your OB/GYN.
At Baptist Health, were committed to helping women through every stage of their health journeys. If youre trying to conceive or thinking about getting pregnant, read through our preconception to-do list, or if you have an upcoming OB/GYN appointment, learn how you can get the most out of your visit.
Why You Might Feel Pregnant
It can be fairly common to experience some physical symptoms as you enter into what many people call the two-week wait, the period of time between when you ovulate and when you expect your period. These symptoms can include:
- Breast soreness
- Nausea and/or changes in appetite
While all of the symptoms could be pregnancy symptoms, they can also be explained by either fluctuation in your hormones due to your menstrual cycle, or by other events in your life. These events can include illness, stress, or even something as simple as not enough sleep or too much exercise.
Some people experience premenstrual syndrome symptoms as pregnancy symptoms, whereas others do not typically have these symptoms every cycle.
When you experience a symptom that is not common to your cycle, it may be easily confused with a potential pregnancy.
To help relieve focusing on these symptoms, you can take positive steps for your physical and emotional health. Eating nutritious foods, quitting smoking, and limiting alcohol will promote your health and wellness whether or not it turns out you are pregnant.
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How To Improve The Accuracy Of Your Home Pregnancy Test
- Wait until your period is one week late
- Read the instructions carefully and follow them to the letter
- Take the urine test in the morning, with your very first urine of the day
- Dont drink large amounts of liquids before the test
- Pee into a clean cup and put the test stick into it for 15 minutes
- Store your test in a cool dry place. Extreme temperatures can damage the test.
- Check the expiration date of the test
How To Count Pregnancy Weeks
The basic formula is LMP + 280 days = EDD , and pregnancy week counting starts on the first day of your last period, starting with Week 0 and counting all the way up to Week 40 and as high as Week 42. Heres another way to think about it: one week after the first day of your last period, youre already considered one week pregnant.
But keep in mind that this formula is based on a 28-day menstrual cycle, which is just the average cycle length. Some people have shorter cycles, some people have longer cycles, and that might affect your due date.
What if you dont remember exactly when the first day of your last period was? If youre not in the habit of tracking your cycle with apps or calendars, dont worry most healthcare providers will perform an ultrasound when youre around seven to eight weeks pregnant to get an early measurement of your baby. The size helps narrow down the amount of time the embryo has been developing. This scan is often taken as the most accurate measurement of your pregnancy weeks, so dont be surprised if your provider has you jump forward or backward a week depending on the size of your baby.
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I Had Sex 3 Days After My Period Can I Get Pregnant
Yes. A woman can become pregnant if she has not protected sex for 3 days after her period. It is rare for a woman to after her period to become pregnant. Because sperm can survive in a womans reproductive tract for up to seven days, it is possible. Women with shorter periods can experience ovulation.
Check If Your Period Is Late
- Did your last period start more than four weeks ago?
- How far apart are your periods usually? .
Tip: Even if your cycle is inconsistent or longer than 32 days from one period to the next, if you are more than one week past your expected period, and you have been sexually active, there is a chance you could be pregnant.
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Checking For Hormonal Changes
Firstly What Is Perimenopause
Perimenopause is the time before menopause. Peri means around or surrounding, so this translates as the time around menopause. During this time, women typically have irregular cycles of menstruation and ovulation .
Perimenopause ends 12 months after the last menstrual period. At this point, a women would be in menopause. In other words, once youve had 12 consecutive months period-free and experienced perimenopause symptoms , you would have moved out of perimenopause and you would now be in menopause.
Your oestrogen levels fall gradually in your 40s. You will continue to ovulate and have periods, but your periods may come less often or become irregular and less predictable. Often periods may become heavier. Even if your periods are absent for a few months and then come back, you can still get pregnant during this time, as you will still be ovulating.
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How Can I Get Pregnant In 2 Days
If you had sex on Monday and ovulate on Thursday, conception could still occur days after you had sexual intercourse. While youre more likely to get pregnant if you have sex two to three days before ovulation, you can get pregnant from sex that occurs up to six days before an egg is released from the ovary.
Blood Tests To Determine Pregnancy
Another way to take a pregnancy test is by having your blood tested for human chorionic gonadotropin , which is a hormone that is produced by the body during pregnancy. This test is called a beta-hCG test or quantitative hCG blood test. An hCG blood test for pregnancy is more common if you have not had a period and dont know when your last period was, or if you have been using hormonal birth control.
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What Are The Risks Of Labor Induction If Im Not Post
Induction is often the safest option for post-term pregnancies, but it may not make sense to discuss induction until you are confident that you are truly post-term. This is because the drugs used for labor induction do carry some risks. They can cause abnormal contractions, which can adversely affect the babys oxygen intake and heart rate, and can increase the likelihood of post-birth hemorrhage and infection. Also, theres always the chance that the induction fails, in which case a c-section will likely be the next step.
In the case of true post-term cases, the benefits generally outweigh risks, but its important to be aware of this cost-benefit assessment.
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When Your Parent Becomes Enmeshed With Your Sibling: 4 Ways To Cope When Youre Left Out
Pregnancy is the number one reason for missing your period.6After you’ve missed your period, you probably conceived between one and three weeks ago unless there is something else that could be interfering with your menstrual cycle.
It can be possible to have symptoms of pregnancy even before that first missed period. Personally, I knew I was pregnant within two weeks of conceiving on each of the three occasions I’ve been pregnant.
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Signs Of Pregnancy When You Have Irregular Periods
A missed period is one of the most common ways that women know theyre pregnant. Once you conceive, your body releases hormones that basically shut down ovulation. But what if your period comes sporadically? One missed period can bring excitement or panic when youre not actually pregnant.
Watch for these other signs of pregnancy when you have irregular periods:
Keep in mind that many of these symptoms happen for other reasons. You might feel extra tired if you havent been sleeping well or you have an infection, for example. The only way to know for sure is to take a pregnancy test.
Can I Be Pregnant And Still Have A Period
Pregnant women can have some light irregular bleeding during pregnancy, but it should not be like a normal period. Some women can confuse this for their period because often it can come right around the time she was expecting her normal period.
The irregular bleeding or spotting that can occur during pregnancy is often a dark brown or a light pinkish color. It should not be enough bleeding to fill pads or tampons over a few days. If you are bleeding enough to fill pads and tampons, then this would be a good indication that you are probably not pregnant. Learn more about getting pregnant while on your period.
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How Do You Know If Youre Pregnant
While the only way to find out for sure is to visit your GP, this quiz will let you know the likelihood of pregnancy based on your current symptoms.
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If you are trying for a baby or think you might have conceived, you’ll probably be on the watch for pregnancy signs. Small changes in the way you feel both physically and emotionally can be detected as early as a week after conception and some women report ‘feeling pregnant’ long before their changing hormone levels are picked up on a test.
What Should I Do If I Think I’m Pregnant
If you think you may be pregnant, you can check using a home pregnancy test. Home pregnancy tests are easy to use and you can get them at most supermarkets and pharmacies.
If your home pregnancy test is positive, you should see your doctor to confirm your pregnancy with a blood test, and get information and advice about what comes next.
If your home pregnancy test is negative, but you still think you may be pregnant, you can see your doctor for a blood test to check whether you are pregnant.
To find a GP clinic near you that is open now, use the Service Finder tool.
While you are waiting to confirm whether you are pregnant, its a good idea to behave as you would if you were pregnant. This means you should avoid alcohol and cigarette smoke, and ensure you eat a healthy diet, including a folic acid supplement.
Learn more about the most common signs of early pregnancy.
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Pros Of Blood Testing
- Blood tests can detect pregnancy earlier than a home pregnancy test, about 6 to 8 days after ovulation, or about 7 – 12 days after possible conception .
- This could mean that you get a result as early as 9 days after possible conception, or 5 days earlier than a home pregnancy test would be able to detect .
For most women, it makes more sense to wait and do a pregnancy test at home because of its convenience and low cost, as well as the fact that you’d only find out a day or two earlier with a blood test .
For others, especially those with a high risk for miscarriage or other pregnancy complications, their doctor may recommend getting a blood test.
