Immediately after conception, the fertilized egg (now a zygote) starts rapid cell division as it travels down the fallopian tube towards the uterus, transforming into a ball of cells called a blastocyst over 4-5 days, before implanting into the uterine lining, a process that signals the body to produce pregnancy hormones and halts the menstrual cycle.
Some women won't feel any symptoms and go on to have healthy pregnancies – consider yourself one of the lucky ones!
You may notice signs that you've ovulated, such as changes in your cervical mucus or basal body temperature. However, most people don't feel fertilization. You may feel a dull ache or experience light spotting several days after conception. This could be from the fertilized egg implanting in your uterus.
The first 72 hours after conception
Once an egg is fertilized, it becomes a single-celled embryo called a zygote. Over the next few days, the embryo's cells begin to divide and multiply. However, you aren't likely to sense or feel these momentous developments. Most people won't feel symptoms 72 hours after conception.
Cramping or bloating
In early pregnancy, some people have symptoms similar to those experienced during a period, such as cramping and bloating. Cramping due to pregnancy is usually mild and may happen around the same time as implantation bleeding (light spotting).
You may feel your body making changes before you know you're pregnant or you may not notice any symptoms at all. Symptoms of early pregnancy include a missed period, needing to pee more often, tender breasts, feeling tired and morning sickness.
If you're pregnant, your cervix will remain higher in the vagina, in a position that's similar to when you ovulate. How it feels to the touch will also change in early pregnancy. This is due to increased blood flow, which makes the cervix feel softer, like the surface of lips.
DPO — or days past ovulation — is the number of days since you ovulated. So, if you're 3 DPO, one of your ovaries released an egg roughly three days ago. While some people report symptoms within a week of conception, 3 DPO is generally too early to tell if you are pregnant, because you aren't — yet.
Many 1 DPO symptoms correspond with the changing hormone levels your body experiences right after ovulation. At 1 DPO, you're entering your luteal phase and progesterone increases. Increases in progesterone can correspond with symptoms like mood swings, headaches, fatigue, cramping.
The next 48 to 72 hours are important, although a woman might not realise that conception has occurred. Most women at this point will not have any visible symptoms. However, slight body changes may begin as hormonal changes start preparing the uterine lining for implantation.
You can take a home pregnancy test as early as eight days past ovulation (dpo), although waiting until 12 to 14 dpo yields more accurate results. If you're unsure when you ovulated, it's best to wait until the day your period is due or a few days after it's late.
Usually, the sperm reaches the egg within 15 to 45 minutes of ejaculation. However, the process could be much longer than that if you haven't ovulated yet by the time you have sex, because sperm can live inside a reproductive tract and wait for an egg for up to five days.
What Are Positive Signs of Implantation?
In fact, the window of fertility is much wider than this—about 6 days each cycle. This is because sperm can live in a woman's body for as long as 5 days, while an egg can survive for about 12 to 24 hours after ovulation. So you can have sex up to 5 days before ovulation or 1 day after and still get pregnant.
If breast pain resolves itself once ovulation is complete, this likely indicates that it is related to your normal hormonal patterns. However, if it continues to last in the weeks following ovulation and into your next cycle, this could indicate early pregnancy.
Getting pregnant after ovulation is possible, but is limited to the 12-24 hours after your egg has been released. Cervical mucus helps sperm live up to 5 days in a woman's body, and it takes around 6 hours for active sperm to reach the fallopian tubes.
Women who experience implantation cramps have described them as a prickling, pulling or tingling feeling. You can also differentiate between the two based on timing. Typically, implantation (and any associated cramping), occurs: Six to 12 days after ovulation (the same time when you'd expect to get your period)
When you feel ovulation pain, is it too late to conceive? Not necessarily! Ovulation pain means your body is gearing up to, or is in the process of, releasing an egg. You may still be within the fertile window, especially if sperm is already present (remember; sperm can live up to 5 days inside the reproductive tract).
Medical studies have also revealed that the detrusor muscle in the bladder, which effectively helps to push urine from the bladder and through the urethra, becomes more active after ovulation.
Missed or lighter period
If you have a regular monthly menstrual cycle, the earliest and most reliable sign of pregnancy is a missed period. In the first few weeks of pregnancy you may have a bleed similar to a very light period, with some spotting or only losing a little blood. This is called implantation bleeding.
Tender breasts in early pregnancy
Your breasts may become larger and feel tender, just as they might do before your period. They may also tingle. The veins may be more visible, and the nipples may darken and stand out. Your breasts may also feel heavier.
"Before ovulation, the cervix gets higher and higher in the vagina and is soft, high, open and wet (show). About 24-48 hours after ovulation, the cervix adopts a lower position in the vagina and become firmer. "
Increased volume: Early pregnancy discharge is often more abundant than premenstrual discharge as the body ramps up estrogen production to support the thickening of the uterine lining. Thinner, watery consistency: Unlike the thick discharge before a period, pregnancy discharge is usually thinner and more watery.