When you are trying to get pregnant, every day seems like a brand-new opportunity: will this be the day you get the positive test or start to show pregnancy symptoms? You might scour the internet for hints on how soon after conception you will start to feel breast tenderness, irritability or any number of other symptoms that might signal pregnancy.

When Does Conception Occur?

Knowing when you conceived can help you decide when to take a pregnancy test. The date of conception is based on your period. For most women, they can count back about fourteen days from the day their period is supposed to start; that mid-way point in the cycle is usually when they conceived.

Most women can’t be entirely sure of when they conceived, however. The only way to get a good idea is to use ovulation tests. These tests will give you a positive result during the 24-48 hour window when you are ovulating.

How Soon After Conception Do You Have Pregnancy Symptoms?

Once the egg is fertilized, it hasn’t implanted just yet. It still has to move down the fallopian tube and implant in your uterus, which can take about a week. Once that happens, you might notice some spotting. This is perfectly normal. You might also notice spotting during the day or so when your period usually would have started. Again, this is normal.

You will likely notice the first signs within 14 days of conception (about the time you are about to have your period). However, it depends upon the woman and how sensitive she is to physical changes. Some women might feel as though they are having symptoms immediately after conception, but that could also be wishful thinking; symptoms often don’t show up until about the time you miss your period.

Signs of Pregnancy

How soon after conception you start to notice pregnancy symptoms varies from woman to woman, but typically the first sign is the light spotting. Other symptoms might include breast tenderness, an increase in vaginal discharge, and serious fatigue. You might also notice low blood sugar, low blood pressure (which might lead to feeling faint), and even the typical nausea that many pregnant women feel in the beginning.

Because of the fact that most women aren’t sure exactly when they conceived, doctors will count the pregnancy from the date of first date of the last period. This means that even if you are sure you got pregnant two weeks ago, your doctor will consider your pregnancy four weeks along.

What Others Say

Here’s what some women noticed when it came to pregnancy symptoms:

“I started feeling symptoms within days of the condom slipping off during sex. Apparently my little fertilized egg was already sending out hormones. I took a pregnancy test the day before my period was supposed to start and it was positive!”

“I didn’t feel a single thing different, and then I realized that my period was two weeks late! I took a test and it immediately showed positive. I had no symptoms at all, and I must have been at least a full month pregnant at that point.”

“I actually started feeling nausea the day after we did the deed. My husband said it was all in my head, but he was a believer when the test came back positive three weeks later!”

“I think it’s an old wives tale. I have been pregnant four times, and each time I didn’t know until the test came back, and even then I didn’t start having symptoms until weeks later. Everybody is different, but I think that if you are worried about it, you will start ‘feeling’ symptoms that aren’t really there…it’s just nerves.”

How Soon After Conception Do You Test Positive?

The time it takes a test to show positive depends upon the levels of pregnancy hormone in your urine. For some women, this hormone begins to show up on pregnancy tests about eight days after conception, though for most women it takes a bit longer – usually up to two weeks.

Technically, you should take pregnancy test after you have missed your period; however, many women are eager to take the test as soon as possible. The result depends upon how much pregnancy hormone your body has created since fertilization.

However, if you do get a negative test, don’t assume you aren’t pregnant. You can’t be certain that you aren’t pregnant until you have started your period.

What Others Say

Here’s what some women had to say about how soon after conception a test shows positive:

“I found out eight days afterward. I used a very sensitive test that said it could tell within six days before the missed period, and sure enough, it did!”

“Ten days after conception is way too early to be sure. It’s possible that a test would be a false positive if you see something like that before at least fourteen days. Fourteen days for most women is when their period is supposed to start anyway. There’s a reason those tests say to wait until you should have started your period!”

“I started testing eight days after conception, and it was negative…negative…and negative some more! It wasn’t until fifteen days after conception that it showed positive. So I guess my body hadn’t produced enough hormone until then.”