How Soon Can You Check If Your Pregnant

Early Symptoms Of Pregnancy

These are some of the symptoms you might experience within your first six weeks after conception,2 and organised roughly by when you might expect to experience them.

There have been many other rarer and less common early symptoms reported as well so keep an eye out for any unusual or unexpected changes.

Another confusing factor when trying to determine if you are pregnant is that all of the symptoms of pregnancy can be symptoms of other conditions.

So detecting the very early signs of pregnancy without a test can be tricky, especially if it is your first pregnancy.

Once you are on to pregnancy two, three, or four, you will more than likely recognize the signs quite quickly. Testing, however, should always be your first course of action, and is especially helpful to confirm your symptoms.

There are several early signs that can tell you that you may be pregnant. The most obvious is missing your period or having light spotting instead of a proper period.

Some Tips On Pregnancy Testing At Home

Because early pregnancy symptoms can be confused with other illnesses or conditions, I would always recommend buying yourself a test. These are very accurate from the point that your period is due, and will take the guesswork out of knowing if you are pregnant or not.

For those who have missed a period and got a negative pregnancy test result, follow the link to learn about the most common reasons behind this.

If you keep getting negative results but are experiencing pregnancy symptoms, listen to your body and make a doctor’s appointment!

What Are The Signs And Symptoms When You’re 3 Weeks Pregnant

When youâre 1 week âpregnant,â you havenât conceived yet, and so thereâs not much going on. That can change by the time youâre three weeks pregnant. Your belly can be a hive of activity, though you may not be able to tell.

• If the sperm and egg find each other, theyâll join up in a fallopian tube to create a single cell called a zygote in a process called fertilization.

• The zygote carries chromosomes from the mother and father and sets the first building blocks of your future babyâs genetic makeup.

• The zygote then moves down the fallopian tube and toward the uterus as it starts dividing into a larger group of cells.

Although thereâs more activity in your third week of pregnancy, will you feel anything? Probably not. However, read on to learn a bit more about those typical early symptoms of pregnancy and when you might notice them.

You May Like: What Can I Do For Headaches While Pregnant

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.

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.

Recommended Reading: How To Use Clearblue Pregnancy Test

Pregnancy Testing For An Early And Accurate Result

A pregnancy test measures levels of human chorionic gonadotropin in your blood or urine. hCG starts to be produced after implantation in the walls of the uterus.

Implantation can occur as early as 7 days after conception.

The placenta begins to develop and produces increasing amounts of hCG.

There are no dierences between ethnicities with regard to urinary hCG increase. However, levels of serum hCG in early pregnancy following assisted reproductive technology have been seen to be slightly lower in women with a higher pre-pregnancy body mass index.

If you need early detection of pregnancy, a blood pregnancy test done at the doctors oice can detect low levels of hCG and measure the actual quantity of hCG in the body.

A blood pregnancy test can be accurate six to eight days after ovulation. A urine test is usually accurate about 14-21 days after ovulation.

What Should I Do If I Get A Positive Pregnancy Test

From the What to Expect editorial team and Heidi Murkoff, author of What to Expect When You’re Expecting. What to Expect follows strict reporting guidelines and uses only credible sources, such as peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions and highly respected health organizations. Learn how we keep our content accurate and up-to-date by reading our medical review and editorial policy.

Read Also: What To Use For Stretch Marks While Pregnant

How Soon Can You Tell If Youre Pregnant 24 Really Early Signs

So you think you may be pregnant? But how early can you tell if you really are?

Honestly, its hard to pinpoint exactly how soon you can tell if youre pregnant because each one of us is unique.

Some women get a 6th sense about it straight away , while others dont know until months down the line.

Most of us will fall somewhere in the middle of these two extremes and well start to get an inkling we may be pregnant within 2-4 weeks of conception.

Pregnancy symptoms are usually very mild in the first couple of weeks making them hard to detect without a blood or urine test. Usually, the first sign is a late period. But what other early signs and symptoms will give you a clue to whether youre pregnant or not?

And how early can you take a pregnancy test to find out for sure?

How reliable are urine pregnancy tests, what can you do to make sure you get an accurate result and what might cause a false positive?

What about super early symptoms, like before implantation? Is that even possible?

We answer all your questions below.

What Is Phantom Hcg

Phantom hCG is a false positive pregnancy blood test.

In these cases, the blood test for hCG cross-reacts with non-pregnancy related proteins in the blood called heterophile antibodies.

“When this occurs, it can actually have serious consequences unless your physician is aware of this false positive risk,” says Dr. Mark Trolice. “What are the risks? Ectopic pregnancy, where an embryo implants outside the uterus. This is a potentially life-threatening event but is often conservatively treated using an injection of the chemotherapy agent, methotrexate.”

But if the blood test for hCG is a false positive, and there is, in fact, no ectopic pregnancy, the woman may be needlessly exposed to repeated injections of methotrexate with risks of serious side effects from this medicine.

Another condition that can lead to a false positive, says Dr. Trolice, is gestation trophoblastic disease, or cancer of pregnancy tissue. In this scenario, persistent low levels of phantom hCG can be misinterpreted for this disease resulting in aggressive but unnecessary medical intervention. How to avoid over-treating a false positive hCG test? The urine pregnancy test, because heterophile antibodies are not present in urine.

You May Like: Can You Get Pregnant At The Age Of 14

How Is A Glucose Tolerance Test Performed

You may be asked to only drink water on the day the glucose tolerance test is given. Although the specific details of each procedure may vary, a typical glucose tolerance test includes the following steps:

• An initial fasting sample of blood will be drawn from your vein.

• You will be given a special glucose solution to drink.

• Blood will be drawn at various times over the course of several hours to measure the glucose levels in your body.

You May Like: Is Kinesio Tape Safe For Pregnancy

How Early Can I Take A Pregnancy Test

How early you are able to take a pregnancy test will depend on the type of test that you use. All pregnancy tests measure the amount of the pregnancy hormone, human chorionic gonadotrophin in your body. This hormone is produced when the egg is fertilized and attaches to the uterine wall, usually six days after fertilization.

Some tests are more sensitive than others and can detect very low levels of hCG in your body. The more sensitive tests could detect hCG as early as four days before your missed period. The sensitivity of a pregnancy test can be found on the packaging and is measured in mIU/ml . Sensitivity can range from 10mIU/ml to 40mIU/ml. The lower the number, the more sensitive the test is and, in turn, will detect pregnancy sooner.

Different Types of Tests

There are two main types of pregnancy tests, urine test and blood test. Both tests detect the amount of hCG in the body.

Urine Test

Urine tests can be purchased at the grocery store or pharmacy and done in the privacy of your home. Results are most accurate when the test is performed when your period is due, or about 2 weeks after you ovulate. However, some can detect pregnancy as early as 4 days before your missed period.

If you get a positive result, you will want to make an appointment with your doctor to have a blood test done to confirm the pregnancy and begin prenatal care.

Blood Test

You May Like: What Is Safe To Take For Allergies While Pregnant

Whats Next If The Results Are Positive

Your next steps depend on two things: whether youre pregnant and whether or not you planned to get pregnant.

If your test results are positive and youve been planning to have a baby, take another test to make sure youre pregnant. Then, see your doctor before you reach the 8-week mark. You can ask them about prenatal care options or specialists who can help guide you through your pregnancy. Ask your doctor about any changes you need to make to your lifestyle, medications, or diet to keep yourself and your baby healthy for the next nine months.

If your test results are positive but you didnt plan to get pregnant, ask your doctor about available options, including:

• carrying the pregnancy to term for adoption
• what to do if you want to continue your pregnancy

You can also receive help from a clinic or health center that specializes in reproductive health and child care, like Planned Parenthood.

How To Tell If A Test Is Not Needed

Some people experience menstrual irregularities, breast changes, and other pregnancy-type symptoms without being pregnant. These can happen for a variety of reasons.

Possible biological factors include hormonal changes due to another health condition. Psychological and social factors can sometimes play a role.

In rare cases, a person can have pseudocyesis, sometimes called false pregnancy, where they firmly believe themselves to be pregnant and have signs of pregnancy without being pregnant. This condition is not well understood and can happen for various reasons.

Anyone who has signs of pregnancy but is unlikely to be pregnant, for example, because of menopause, should seek medical advice. They may have a health condition that needs medical treatment.

Also Check: How To Test If You Re Pregnant

You Were Pregnant: Early Pregnancy Loss

A faint positive line can also be a sign of a very early miscarriage, sometimes called a chemical pregnancy, which occurs within the first 12 weeks of a pregnancy, often much earlier.

If you take a home pregnancy test after a miscarriage, your test may reveal a faint positive line. This is because your body may have residual pregnancy hormone in its system, although youre no longer expecting.

You may experience bleeding that resembles your menstrual cycle and light cramping. Bleeding can occur around the time when you expect your next period, so you may never know of the early miscarriage.

But if you take a home pregnancy test while bleeding and the results show a faint positive line, you may have had a pregnancy loss.

Theres no specific treatment, but you can talk with your doctor if you suspect a miscarriage.

Early pregnancy losses are not uncommon and occur in about 50 to 75 percent of all miscarriages. These miscarriages are often due to abnormalities in a fertilized egg.

The good news is that women who have had a very early pregnancy loss dont necessarily have problems conceiving at a later time. Many women eventually have healthy babies.

When Is It Too Early To Test For Pregnancy

If you take a pregnancy test before you have missed your period, you increase your chances of getting a false negative result. This means the test will read negative when you actually are pregnant, so experts recommend waiting until you have already missed your period to prevent false-negative test results.

Recommended Reading: How To Feel If Your Pregnant Or Not

Will You Notice Any Pregnancy Symptoms During Weeks 1 2 Or 3

During weeks one, two, or three, you may not even suspect youâre pregnant and you might not notice any pregnancy symptoms at all, as itâs still very early. Donât worryâthis is common .Missing a period is often the first clue that you may be pregnant, and around the time you miss a periodâor a little laterâyou may start noticing those very early pregnancy symptoms. One common early pregnancy symptom is implantation bleeding, which is light spotting that occurs when the tiny ball of cells attaches to the uterine lining. Not everyone experiences it, but this light bleeding is normal and can sometimes be mistaken for menstrual blood. It usually happens 10 to 14 days after conception.Other signs of pregnancy in the first month can include

• frequent urination.

Morning sickness is another common symptom of early pregnancy, but it usually crops up between weeks 4 and 9.Now that you know these early signs of pregnancy, take our quiz to test your knowledge!

Cramping And Spotting During Early Pregnancy

From weeks 1 to4, everything is still happening on a cellular level. The fertilized egg creates a blastocyst that will develop into the fetuss organs and body parts.

About 10 to 14 days after conception, the blastocyst will implant in the endometrium, which is the lining of the uterus. This can cause implantation bleeding, which may be mistaken for a light period. It does not occur for everyone. If it does occur, it will usually happen around the time you expect your period.

Here are some signs of implantation bleeding:

• Color. The color of each episode may be pink, red, or brown.
• Bleeding. Implantation bleeding is usually much less than your usual period. Its often described as light bleeding that never turns into a flow or enough to need a tampon.
• Pain. Pain is usually milder than your usual menstrual pain. It may involve some cramping. It can be moderate or severe, but its most often mild.
• Episodes. Implantation bleeding is likely to last less than 3 days and does not require treatment. It can sometimes last only a few hours.

Read Also: How Soon Can You Get Pregnant After Getting Off Depo

Pregnancy Tests That Your Doctor May Do

Your GP will probably do a urine pregnancy test to detect whether you are pregnant.

It is always a good idea to bring a sample of urine to the GP surgery with you if you think you may be pregnant. This will mean your appointment is not delayed.

It will also avoid the ‘stage fright’ that can occur when you are trying to pee and you know someone is waiting on you.

The pregnancy testing kit that your GP will use is like the kits that you can buy over the counter.

What If The Result Is Positive

A positive result generally means that you are pregnant. You should make an appointment to see your GP to confirm the pregnancy and to sign up for antenatal care.

If you are not sure you want to be pregnant it is good idea to make an appointment with your GP to discuss your options.

Your GP will listen and will not judge you.

Free advice may also be available from a family planning clinic.

Sometimes counselling can help you to work through your feelings about the pregnancy. It may help you make a decision on what is the right choice for you.

www.myoptions.ie has details of the support services available to you.

You May Like: How To Handle Depression While Pregnant

How Early Can You Tell If Youre Pregnant

Again, youll need to take a pregnancy test at the right time to confirm your hopes or suspicions. But when it comes to the first symptoms of pregnancy, everyone is different. Some people start to notice changes within a week after conception. Others might not notice anything until they miss their period.

How Accurate Are At

When used according to the directions, a home pregnancy test can be almost 99% accuratePregnancy tests. Office on Women’s Health. Accessed 7/20/2022. . If you receive a positive result on a home pregnancy test, you should contact your doctor to confirm that you are pregnant and find out what to do next.

Recommended Reading: When Is It The Best Time To Get Pregnant

Pregnancy Tests Performed By A Doctor

Nurses, doctors or specialists confirm a pregnancy with either urine or blood tests. The urine tests are similar to the home ones.

The blood tests for pregnancy are more sensitive and accurate than urine tests. They can detect whether the hormone is present in your blood and how much hCG there is.

Testing the level of hCG and the rate at which it increases is one way your doctor can tell if your pregnancy is normal. For example, an extremely high hCG level may be a sign you are expecting twins or have some disorder.