Women's Health Community

This was posted in response to a nice question on "Could I be Pregnant?" board as to whether or not women can have pregnancy symptoms a week (or less) after ovulation.

The short answer is--No, they cannot. This is a really long response, so pardon me for the length as I explain more fully. When you ovulate, the sperm and egg just gon't get right together. Getting fertilized can take as long as Three to Five days after having intercourse. Once the egg is fertilized, it does not immediately implant. Instead, it changes chemically (to avoid other sperm joining in), and prepares for its trip. It has to pass through the fallopian tube to your uterus. Once in your uterus, it seeks a place to implant into your uterine lining. Side Note: This explains why you cannot have a True Period and be pregnant. When having a period, your body gets rid of that lining which would kill the developing fetus (miscarriage). Once implanted, changes take place that start raising hormone levels. This whole trip from ovulation to fertilization to implantation and raising hormone levels, etc. can take weeks. So while rarely a woman may have symptoms at four weeks, most women do not until six weeks pregnant or more. Some women never have symptoms. Check out the Egg to Embryo Slideshow for more information. Before Home Pregnancy Tests, women typically didn't see their doctor until they were 2-3 months pregnant because a pregnancy cannot be palpated (felt) until 10-12 weeks along. Palpation was the only way they had of confirming a pregnancy. Some women did not know they were pregnant until quickening (fetal movement) at 16-22 weeks. These women did not have the advantage women have today of testing so early, so they waited far longer to find out. Side Note: No one can feel fetal movement at 6 or 8 weeks, despite what you see posted. They are feeling gas because the embryo doesn't even become a fetus until it hits the eight week mark. There are no limbs to move around and it is the size of a BB pellet. Until 12 weeks, the fetus cannot even move around on its own. Check out the Fetal Development Timeline for more information on what happens each week. Statistically, a woman has ONLY a 20% chance of being pregnant each month, but almost 100% of the women who post here are having symptoms. Many of them will have other things like PMS, hormone imbalances, thyroid problems, the flu, etc. causing their symptoms. Some women have phantom/false pregnancies where they can go all the way up to having labor pains, but not really be pregnant--that is how powerful our minds are. That doesn't mean there is anything bad or wrong about women thinking they are having Pregnancy Symptoms before their body even knows it is pregnant. It is like if someone tells you they have lice and you feel your head itching. You are suddenly focused on any possible changes, and you may notice things you've never noticed before. Many women are also in a heightened state of awareness, either in excitement (trying to conceive!), or from fear (condom broke!). The good news is that after a year of trying, 85% of the women who wanted to be pregnant, will be! Best wishes and baby dust to all who want it, Byroney