Alejandra,
My one tip for you: try not to over-analyze your symptoms until you have missed a period, as many of us can attest to (myself included), you are wanting to be pregnant, and early pregnancy symptoms are so slight that any itch, twitch, pain, cramp, discharge, discomfort will be analyzed as "am I pregnant?". It can really weigh you down with emotional exhaustion!
With that said, here is some information I hope you find helpful; you may already know this, so please feel free to ask any questions you have!
- It takes 10-14 days after ovulation to become pregnant. Many women think, "OK..I've had unprotected sex, I'm pretty sure I'm ovulating...I must be pregnant!". Actually, it takes a long process to become pregnanty, surprisingly enough. Once you ovulate (release an egg), it takes time for the sperm to travel through your cervical mucus, through your uterus, into your fallopian tubes to fertilize the egg. (You may not be ovulating at that exact moment, and sperm can be "waiting" for an egg up to 3-5 days in your body!). After fertilization, it takes time for the egg to travel through your fallopian tubes, into your uterus, to then implant into the thick uterine lining. This entire process takes 10-14 days, until you have a viable pregnancy (implantation), and thus, you will not have any pregnancy symptoms until this time.
- Guess what also happens 10-14 days after ovulation? That's right...your period! It is so difficult to distinguish early pregnancy symptoms from pre-menstrual symptoms, as they are identical (due to hormonal changes, so it makes sense), and what makes it more confusing is that both of these occur around the same time, and the only true "early pregnancy" symptom is absence of a period. Some women will notice changes (breast tenderness, sore back, acne, cramping), but will not know if it is just something different in their PMS or if it is pregnancy until the confirm pregnancy.
- Some women experience "implantation bleeding" although this is actually more like "implantation spotting"...it can be a mere spot of blood that is easily unnoticed.
- Each cycle, a woman "only" has a 20% chance of conceiving. Even knowing this statistic, it is funny how long woman have been trying to prevent pregnancy, that there is this thought that the second we are having unprotected sex that we will become pregnant. It does actually take a few months...6 months...12 months to conceive! This is also the reason not to over-analyze your symptoms each cycle, as it really could take months, and you will be exhausted each time thinking you are pregnant.
- Experts say for women with no history of reproductive issues, to have sex frequently (every-other day at most) throughout your cycle, regardless of "when" in your cycle you think you are most fertile. Your cycle can change, and it is difficult to know exactly when you are going to ovulate (even with an ovulation predictor kit...they still only "predict" ovulation). It is just not an exact science, and experts think it is better to enjoy the process and not count days, use tracking devices, etc., for most women who are just recently trying to conceive.
Those are my "tips" based on the questions we receive the most often; please let me now what other questions you have about conception (or, anything else!)
Comment Reply
Alejandra,
My one tip for you: try not to over-analyze your symptoms until you have missed a period, as many of us can attest to (myself included), you are wanting to be pregnant, and early pregnancy symptoms are so slight that any itch, twitch, pain, cramp, discharge, discomfort will be analyzed as "am I pregnant?". It can really weigh you down with emotional exhaustion!
With that said, here is some information I hope you find helpful; you may already know this, so please feel free to ask any questions you have!
- It takes 10-14 days after ovulation to become pregnant. Many women think, "OK..I've had unprotected sex, I'm pretty sure I'm ovulating...I must be pregnant!". Actually, it takes a long process to become pregnanty, surprisingly enough. Once you ovulate (release an egg), it takes time for the sperm to travel through your cervical mucus, through your uterus, into your fallopian tubes to fertilize the egg. (You may not be ovulating at that exact moment, and sperm can be "waiting" for an egg up to 3-5 days in your body!). After fertilization, it takes time for the egg to travel through your fallopian tubes, into your uterus, to then implant into the thick uterine lining. This entire process takes 10-14 days, until you have a viable pregnancy (implantation), and thus, you will not have any pregnancy symptoms until this time.
- Guess what also happens 10-14 days after ovulation? That's right...your period! It is so difficult to distinguish early pregnancy symptoms from pre-menstrual symptoms, as they are identical (due to hormonal changes, so it makes sense), and what makes it more confusing is that both of these occur around the same time, and the only true "early pregnancy" symptom is absence of a period. Some women will notice changes (breast tenderness, sore back, acne, cramping), but will not know if it is just something different in their PMS or if it is pregnancy until the confirm pregnancy.
- Some women experience "implantation bleeding" although this is actually more like "implantation spotting"...it can be a mere spot of blood that is easily unnoticed.
- Each cycle, a woman "only" has a 20% chance of conceiving. Even knowing this statistic, it is funny how long woman have been trying to prevent pregnancy, that there is this thought that the second we are having unprotected sex that we will become pregnant. It does actually take a few months...6 months...12 months to conceive! This is also the reason not to over-analyze your symptoms each cycle, as it really could take months, and you will be exhausted each time thinking you are pregnant.
- Experts say for women with no history of reproductive issues, to have sex frequently (every-other day at most) throughout your cycle, regardless of "when" in your cycle you think you are most fertile. Your cycle can change, and it is difficult to know exactly when you are going to ovulate (even with an ovulation predictor kit...they still only "predict" ovulation). It is just not an exact science, and experts think it is better to enjoy the process and not count days, use tracking devices, etc., for most women who are just recently trying to conceive.
Those are my "tips" based on the questions we receive the most often; please let me now what other questions you have about conception (or, anything else!)
January 10, 2010 - 8:59pmThis Comment
Reply