For hopeful parents who are eager to start a family, the waiting duration may seem forever and would want to know any way of checking whether pregnant or not as soon as possible. You might wonder what is happening in your body right now, what happens when you are pregnant everyday till you can take the pregnancy test or how would you know if you are not pregnant after ovulation.
In the following content we would tell you the possible symptoms if you are not pregnant and the early signs and symptoms of pregnancy. We would explain what happens day to day in your body during the two weeks wait if you successfully conceive.
What if you’re not pregnant?
The two weeks wait until you can take the pregnancy test can be notoriously frustrating and you can’t really figure out what emotion you’re going through at the moment. Every woman is different, every body is different and every body reacts differently to the changes so a single sign can’t really indicate the presence or absence of a pregnancy. The best way of confirmation is taking the test.
What happens in your body?
Now what happens in your body when you’re not pregnant? Every month, the menstrual cycle prepares your body for a possible pregnancy and if no fertilization occurs, the uterus lining prepared and the egg sheds and is removed via periods during the menstrual phase. Note that your PMS (pre-menstrual syndrome) are similar to that of early pregnancy which can make it hard for you to make a judgement. The difference could vary person to person but generally, are not very clear.
Symptoms if not pregnant:
Now what could be the symptoms if you’re not pregnant? Well, there are two symptoms that you can observe if you’re not pregnant, these are breast pain and cramping. Some other possible causes can be stress and hormonal imbalances.
Breast pain:
Breast tenderness and swelling can occur after you ovulate due to the fluctuation of the hormones, estrogen and progesterone. During the second half of your menstrual cycle, there’s a surge in estrogen and progesterone, estrogen which enlarges the breasts where progesterone is responsible for the swelling of milk glands, this results in your breasts feeling sore and painful.
As you get close to your period, you would have noticed that your breasts feel fuller, heavier and painful. Since these changes occur due to the change in hormones, the swelling goes down and your breasts go back to normal as the hormones become stable.
Cramps:
You would know about your PMS, and its pretty normal for women to experience cramps right before their periods start. Since cramping also occurs during the implantation of the embryo, it can also cause a confusion whether you’re experiencing implantation cramping or pre-menstrual cramps. Let us differentiate it a bit, where pre-menstrual cramping originate in the uterus and can range from mild to severe, implantation cramping is less intense and milder.
If you’re thinking about the occurrence of implantation bleeding, note that the implantation bleeding may or may not occur.
Hormonal fluctuations:
Since many hormonal changes occur throughout the cycle, some people exhibit changes more in response to the hormonal fluctuations resulting in noticeable signs and symptoms. Depending upon the changes you can take a guess that you might not be pregnant.
Stress:
We all know that stress can affect us emotionally as well as physically and your body does exhibit symptoms for it. Apart from the fatigue, mood swings and headaches, stress can potentially cause long term issues. Since mood swings are also a sign of early pregnancy, it can often be confused for it. Remember that even though stress may not cause infertility but it has the ability affect to affect your fertility. There are many ways that can help you cope with your stress and decrease the chances of associated problems.
What happens in your body during the two weeks when you conceive?
Let us explain the changes in days during the two weeks wait post ovulation, when you conceive before you get confirmed pregnancy by a test.
Day 1-6:
When the egg is fertilized during the ovulatory period, multiplication of the fertilized cell takes place for the next 5-7 days until it is ready for implantation. The cluster of cells multiplied is called as the blastocyst and during the first 1-6 days post fertilization, you may observe the following symptoms:
- Headaches
- Fatigue
- Breast tenderness
- Mood swings
- Lower abdominal cramps
Keep in mind that the symptoms may be similar to that of PMS.
Day 7-11:
Now is the turn for the developed embryo to implant itself in the uterus lining, where progesterone maintains the uterus lining, it also prevents the uterus contractions and prepares a nurturing environment for the coming baby. You may be able to notice implantation bleeding during this time and the bleeding may occur as slight spotting in lighter shade than your period blood. This type of bleeding only lasts a few hours and implantation bleeding basically occurs due to the damage of few blood vessels when the embryo tries to embed itself in the lining.
We suggest that you do not rely only on this as the bleeding can also be a sign of a miscarriage. It is better to consult a doctor if you observe spotting. You might be able to observe the following signs during these days:
- Breast tenderness
- Mood swings
- Nausea
- Lower backaches
Day 12-14:
Although the production of hCG hormone begins as the embryo implants itself in the uterus wall but it takes about 2-3 days to be enough to be detected by the pregnancy test. hCG is a hormone produced by the placenta when an embryo embeds itself in the uterus lining and can be detected by a pregnancy test when in certain concentration. Don’t be too quick to take a test, the higher the concentration, the more accurate the results would be.
Now, when enough pregnancy hormones are produced, the signs and symptoms of pregnancy become more prominent. These are as follows:
- Breast changes: your breast size would increase accompanied by pain, soreness and sensitivity. Note that your nipples have become darker, would tingle and even feel itchy.
- GIT changes: you can feel like having cramps, being bloated or constipated, diarrhea, water retention and increased hunger.
- Metallic taste and cravings: heard of pregnancy cravings, right? Now is the best time to indulge in your cravings and eat whatever whether you crave spicy or sweet, however, be sure to balance the diet. When you’re pregnant your cravings increase for various kinds of foods and you may feel metallic taste in whatever you eat.
- Nausea and vomiting: more commonly called as the morning sickness, you can experience some nausea and vomiting which would occur throughout the first trimester. Although called as morning sickness, it can happen at any time of the day and your sensitivity for smell may also increases which acts as a contributing factor for feeling nauseated.
- Headaches: you can feel some headaches or muscle pain or fatigued which is quite common.
- Frequent urination: the pregnancy hormones increase the blood flow to the pelvic region, including the kidneys which causes frequent urination, that means frequent trips to the bathroom throughout the day and the night.
- Change is temperature: as the heart rate changes, blood pressure changes, the body temperature changes as well. To carry the nutrients throughout the body and the baby, more blood is pumped which causes changes in all three, the temperature, heart rate and blood pressure.
The Bottomline:
The symptoms of early pregnancy and PMS resemble quite a lot but you can help by noticing the slight differences. Do not make judgements so early and it is better to wait for the right time to take a pregnancy test. You can wait for 2 weeks after your ovulation period but ideally, you should wait until you miss your first period to take the test.
Symptoms of early pregnancy relate to those of when you’re not pregnant post ovulation and are basically the pre-menstrual symptoms caused due to the fluctuations in hormones. As soon as your pregnancy test comes out positive, visit your doctor for proper advice and guidelines to make it through a safe and healthy pregnancy.
