Step 3 of 6 · The two-week wait
Step 3: The two-week wait
Day by day after ovulation: what is happening, what symptoms can and can’t tell you, and the first day a test can.
Implantation happens 6 to 12 days after ovulation, most often on days 8 to 10, and pregnancy hormone (hCG) only appears after it. The most sensitive tests can turn positive 10 to 12 days past ovulation in some pregnancies; testing from the day of your missed period is more reliable.
Testing
Chemical Pregnancy: What It Is and What Happens Next
A kind, factual guide to chemical pregnancy: what it means, how common it is, signs, why it happens, when to seek care and trying again when you are ready.
How Many Days After Ovulation Can You Take a Pregnancy Test?
How many days after ovulation you can test: hCG by day past ovulation, which test sensitivity works on which DPO, and when a negative result is reliable.
Will an Ovulation Test Be Positive If You’re Pregnant?
Can an ovulation test detect pregnancy? Why hCG can turn an LH strip positive, why that is unreliable, other causes of a late positive, and what to use instead.
Implantation
How Long Does Implantation Bleeding Last?
How long implantation bleeding lasts, what the research shows about spotting duration in early pregnancy, and when bleeding has gone on too long.
Will a Pregnancy Test Be Positive During Implantation Bleeding?
Will a pregnancy test be positive during implantation bleeding? Usually not yet. How hCG rises after implantation, which tests detect it first and when to test.
Implantation Bleeding: What It Is, When It Happens and What It Means
What implantation bleeding is, how common it really is, when it happens, what it looks like, how it differs from a period and when to test or call a doctor.
What Does Implantation Bleeding Look Like?
What implantation bleeding looks like: color, amount and texture, how it compares with a period and with other early bleeding, and when it needs a doctor.
When Does Implantation Bleeding Occur?
When implantation bleeding can happen, counted in days past ovulation and weeks of pregnancy, with what the timing studies show and when to test.
Day by day
Tools
Calculators for this step
How the wait works
After ovulation, a fertilized egg travels down the fallopian tube for several days before it implants in the uterus. In the study that measured this with daily urine samples, implantation happened 6 to 12 days after ovulation, most often on days 8, 9 or 10.1 Only after implantation does the embryo start making hCG, the hormone pregnancy tests detect, so a test cannot be positive before that.
Day by day
Our DPO by day pages cover every day from 1 DPO to 14 DPO: what is happening, what is a real symptom and what is not, and the share of pregnancies a test can detect that day. Not sure where you are? Use the DPO calculator.
Implantation bleeding
Light spotting around the time of implantation is common and searched for more than any other topic in this step. Start with implantation bleeding, then when it happens, what it looks like and whether a test will be positive.
When to test
The answer depends on your test's sensitivity: read how many days after ovulation you can test. If this cycle doesn't work out, the next step is to track smarter: see the Try hub.
The wait is often the hardest part. Coping with the two-week wait has practical, evidence-based ideas.
This page is educational and is not medical advice. Talk to a clinician about your own situation, and seek urgent care for heavy bleeding, severe pain or fainting.
Sources
- 1Time of implantation of the conceptus and loss of pregnancy. New England Journal of Medicine. Wilcox AJ, Baird DD, Weinberg CR, 1999. 189 conceptions with daily urine samples