At how many weeks do you start feeling pregnancy symptoms

You received a positive pregnancy test, and now you're waiting for the telltale signs you're expecting. So when do you start having pregnancy symptoms like nausea, vomiting, bloating, constipation, and fatigue?

As it turns out, every person is different, says Marra Francis, M.D., an OB-GYN in Woodlands, Texas, and an author of the Mommy MD Guides. Some never experience the typical early signs of pregnancy, while others feel immediate changes in their body. And you can't use previous pregnancies as a guide either; symptoms might appear at different points in every gestation, adds Dr. Francis.

To give you a basic guideline, we rounded up nine common early pregnancy symptoms and their typical start time. Remember to take this estimated schedule with a grain of salt, though, and ask your doctor about any concerns.

Breast Tenderness

Thanks to an increase in estrogen and progesterone, your breasts may feel sore, sensitive, and tender in early pregnancy. This symptom usually starts about one or two weeks after conception—even before you miss your period!

Spotting and Cramping

Some people experience twinging cramps when the fertilized egg implants into the lining of the uterus. You might also notice light pink or brown spotting that lasts a day or so. These signs of implantation appear six to 12 days after conception, and many people mistake them for PMS.

Fatigue

Rising levels of the hormone progesterone, as well as your body's effort to support the pregnancy, may result in fatigue. Loss of energy appears as early as one week after conception. It often goes away in the second trimester but rears its head again as you approach delivery.

Mood Swings

Fatigue might partially contribute to another annoying pregnancy symptom: mood swings that start around week five. Unfortunately for many expectant parents, unstable emotions usually last through the first trimester.

Bloating

Do your pants feel tighter than normal? Blame pregnancy hormones for this abdominal bloating, which often appears soon after conception. Early pregnancy bloating often reminds people of PMS.

Morning Sickness

Up to 85% of pregnant people deal with the nausea and vomiting associated with morning sickness. Food aversions and heightened sense of smell may exacerbate symptoms, but eating small meals and other home remedies can help. Morning sickness starts between six and eight weeks into pregnancy. It peaks around week eight or nine, and it usually disappears by week 16.

Frequent Urination

Around four to six weeks after conception, some people feel a strong, frequent urge to urinate. Blame the pregnancy hormone hCG, your growing uterus, and extra blood flow. This symptom often reappears in the third trimester when your baby presses on your uterus.

Headaches

Increased blood volume might cause crippling tension headaches during pregnancy. Staying hydrated can keep this head-pounding symptom at bay.

Constipation

Pregnancy hormones slow down your digestive tract, triggering constipation around the second to third month of gestation. Control constipation by staying hydrated, incorporating fiber into your diet, and exercising regularly.

While some pregnancy symptoms start very early, most of the time, you won't notice anything right away. Anything that happens immediately after having sex, like spotting, increased discharge, or feeling tired or nauseated, is usually unrelated to pregnancy.

Other than a missed period, pregnancy symptoms tend to really kick in around week five or six of pregnancy. One 2018 study of 458 pregnant people found that 72% detected their pregnancy by the sixth week after their last menstrual period.

Symptoms, such as breast tenderness and morning sickness, tend to develop abruptly. Typically this happens about two weeks from when you missed your last period (six weeks since you actually had a period). Occasionally you will hear of someone who has symptoms right around their first missed period, but this timing is less common.

When Do Early Pregnancy Symptoms Start?

Regardless of your feelings about a possible pregnancy, it can be easy to ascribe any sensations you're having to potential pregnancy symptoms. However, keep in mind that premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms and those of early pregnancy can be very similar—and pregnancy symptoms most often don't occur until after you've missed a period not before.

Having symptoms a day or two after having sex is usually not a sign of pregnancy. Here are some things to consider as you try to determine if you're pregnant.

Am I Pregnant? Real Women Share Their Early Signs

Nausea

Nausea immediately after sex is something you may question as a sign of pregnancy. However, your body doesn't have enough time to react to produce that symptom due to a pregnancy resulting from recent intercourse.

For most pregnant people, pregnancy-related nausea begins two to eight weeks following conception. So, if you are having pregnancy-related nausea, you became pregnant weeks before.

Pregnancy Test

A pregnancy test is the best way to tell if you are pregnant or not. However, you must wait until you miss your period to get the most accurate results from a urine pregnancy test.

This can be a home pregnancy test or a pregnancy test from your doctor, midwife, or health department. A blood test (quantitative beta HCG) might show positive results as early as one week after ovulation.

Basal Body Temperature Charting

Basal body temperature (BBT) can predict and suggest ovulation. This only works if you have been taking your temperature in the days prior to ovulation. Temperature elevation (approximately 0.5 to 1 degree F) begins one or two days after ovulation and persists for several days.

Temperature elevation identifies prior ovulation; it does not diagnose pregnancy.

Why You Might Feel Pregnant

It can be fairly common to experience some physical symptoms as you enter into what many people call the two-week wait, the period of time between when you ovulate and when you expect your period. These symptoms can include:

• Breast soreness
• Feeling bloated
• Frequent urination
• Headaches
  
• Mood swings
  
• Nausea and/or changes in appetite
  

While all of the symptoms could be pregnancy symptoms, they can also be explained by either fluctuation in your hormones due to your menstrual cycle, or by other events in your life. These events can include illness, stress, or even something as simple as not enough sleep or too much exercise.

Some people experience premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms as pregnancy symptoms, whereas others do not typically have these symptoms every cycle.

When you experience a symptom that is not common to your cycle, it may be easily confused with a potential pregnancy.

To help relieve focusing on these symptoms, you can take positive steps for your physical and emotional health. Eating nutritious foods, quitting smoking, and limiting alcohol will promote your health and wellness whether or not it turns out you are pregnant.

When Pregnancy Is Unintentional

If you had unprotected sex or a contraceptive failure and fear you could get pregnant, emergency contraception is an option. Commonly called the "morning-after pill," medications are available over-the-counter (without a prescription) that can prevent pregnancy if taken within five days of having unprotected sex.

The sooner you take these medications, the more effective they are in preventing unintended pregnancy. These medications do not cause an abortion, but rather prevent a pregnancy from being established.

A Word From Verywell

Fears or hopes of getting pregnant can be an emotional roller coaster. You won't know for sure whether you are pregnant until a couple of weeks have passed since the potential conception. To help relieve focusing on symptoms, you can take positive steps for your physical and emotional health. Eating nutritious foods, quitting smoking, and limiting or avoiding alcohol will help promote your health and wellness whether or not it turns out you are pregnant.

By Robin Elise Weiss, PhD, MPH
Robin Elise Weiss, PhD, MPH is a professor, author, childbirth and postpartum educator, certified doula, and lactation counselor.

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