Don't worry if you don't experience any implantation bleeding at all. In fact, most people who become pregnant (about 70-75%) don't report any implantation spotting. But that means 25-30% of women do have some implantation bleeding.
Some women may not experience any bleeding with implantation, while other women may have bleeding that compares to a light period and lasts two or three days. Anything on that continuum – from no bleeding to bleeding resembling a light period – can be considered normal.
Is it possible to have no symptoms after implantation? It's possible to be pregnant after a fertilized egg has implanted in your uterus and have no symptoms at all. When implantation occurs, progesterone keeps rising, signaling your body to stop producing eggs as pregnancy has occurred.
Experiencing implantation bleeding is perfectly normal but not experiencing it is just as normal and nothing to worry about. You can still be pregnant if you didn't have implantation bleeding.
If pregnant, a urine pregnancy test is not expected to be positive until 3-4 days after the implantation (at the very earliest) is done, which is about 10 days after ovulation/fertilization and also 4 days before the next period.
About four to five days after implantation bleeding, HCG levels in the body reach detectable levels in the blood. For at-home urine pregnancy tests, it may take up to 7 days for HCG levels in the urine to reach detectable levels for testing.
Implantation can disrupt the blood vessels in the lining of your uterus — this is the blood you see during implantation bleeding. Not everyone will experience implantation bleeding. It's considered a normal part of pregnancy and isn't usually a cause for concern.
Implantation cramps feel similar to menstrual cramps, though they're usually milder. In fact, some women mistake them for premenstrual cramps. Not everyone feels implantation cramps, but if you do it may feel like a light twinge or prickling, or it may feel dull and achy.
Where do you feel implantation cramps? Most women experience implantation cramps in their lower abdomen or lower back. On occasion these cramps will be isolated to one side of the body and be felt within the lower right or lower left side of your abdomen.
It usually appears about 3 days after conception (when you have had sex). The most accurate way of confirming implantation and pregnancy is by completing a pregnancy test. This should be done after your period is delayed.
In all, the entire process usually takes 8 – 10 days, though, in some rare cases, implantation may occur as early as the sixth day, or as late as 12 days, after ovulation.
Implantation bleeding is generally light and short, just a few days' worth. It usually occurs 10-14 days after conception, or around the time of your missed period. However, vaginal bleeding has been reported anytime in the first eight weeks of pregnancy.
Symptoms at 4 weeks pregnant
Approximately 6-12 days following conception, some people experience mild vaginal spotting with or without mild cramping. This is referred to as implantation bleeding and may be mistaken for a menstrual period. Generally, this bleeding will resolve on its own.
Lower abdominal pain is normal during pregnancy and is most common between 18 and 24 weeks. Your growing uterus is pulling and straining the muscles that support it. You may feel sharp pains or just a mild pulling sensation. It often occurs when you cough, sneeze, stand up, sit down, roll over, or during sex.
Another common symptom is feeling tired or run down. Some people are surprised to feel so exhausted. Others include getting a strange taste in your mouth, having tender breasts, feeling dizzy or faint, and abdominal cramps or twinges. To some people it felt a bit like premenstrual tension at first.
The first sign of pregnancy is usually missing a period, about 2 weeks after you've conceived. This isn't always reliable and if your periods aren't regular you might not notice you've missed one. Some women have a bit of bleeding as the egg embeds. Many women also experience tender breasts.
If implantation is successful, tiny amounts of the pregnancy hormone, hCG, can start to appear in your urine from around 7 – 9 days after ovulation. It is this hormone that all home pregnancy tests detect.
HCG is increasingly produced after implantation by the syncytiotrophoblast [7]. Significant levels of HCG can already be measured in the maternal blood 10 days after fertilization.
hCG is a hormone produced by your placenta when you are pregnant. It appears shortly after the embryo attaches to the wall of the uterus. If you are pregnant, this hormone increases very rapidly. If you have a 28 day menstrual cycle, you can detect hCG in your urine 12-15 days after ovulation.
Do not test earlier than 12 – 14 days after ovulation. If you don't know when you ovulated, wait until the day your period is due. Testing too late. If you test after the first few weeks of pregnancy, something called the hook effect can create a false negative pregnancy test.
Implantation spotting does not occur until about week six of a woman's cycle and should be lighter than your usual period. However, some women notice that late implantation bleeding can be just as heavy or even heavier than their regular cycle.
When does pregnancy fatigue start? Pregnancy fatigue can start as soon as one week after conception, which means it may be an early sign of pregnancy before a test can tell you for sure. It's also common to start feeling tired any time during the first 12 weeks.
The sensation is different from person to person, but in most cases, they feel like mild cramps, usually dull and aching, or light twinges. Some people also describe feeling a prickling, tingling, or pulling sensation. The sensations may come and go or last for one to two days before disappearing.
Some women do notice signs and symptoms that implantation has occurred. Signs may include light bleeding, cramping, nausea, bloating, sore breasts, headaches, mood swings, and possibly a change in basal body temperature. But — and here's the frustrating part — many of these signs are very similar to PMS.