What is the Two Week Wait?

The two week wait is the time between when you ovulate and the day your period is due. It’s roughly fourteen days, but it can feel like a lot longer. Here’s what’s actually going on in your body over that time, so you can understand your symptoms better.

Days 1 to 4 after ovulation

Your egg is travelling down the fallopian tube. If it’s been fertilised, it’s already dividing, but hasn’t attached to your uterus. You won’t feel anything from it, whatever you read online. You can’t reliably tell whether fertilisation has happened from twinges or other symptoms this early.

Days 5 to 7 after ovulation

The embryo ball of cells reaches your uterus and starts looking for a place to settle. Implantation is when it embeds in the lining of your uterus. This usually happens somewhere between days 6 and 12. Some people get a little spotting or cramping when it does, some get nothing at all, and both are normal.

Days 8 to 10 after ovulation

If implantation (your embryo has attached to your uterus) has happened, your body starts making hCG, the hormone that pregnancy tests detect. It doubles roughly every two days, which is why timing matters. Some early detection pregnancy tests may show as pregnant, but it really varies from woman to woman as to how high your hCG is.

Days 11 to 14 after ovulation (the end of the two week wait!)

Your hCG climbs. This is when most home pregnancy tests can pick it up, and it’s why testing early can give you a negative that turns positive two days later.

A few honest things about the symptoms. Sore breasts, tiredness, and cramping in the two week wait are caused by progesterone, which is high whether or not you’re pregnant.

That’s the frustrating bit: the same hormone produces the same feelings either way. If you’re tracking, the more useful question is whether your period is late, not whether you feel different. Also, if you are undergoing IVF you are given progesterone to take, this can often give you the pregnancy symptoms, but you aren’t actually pregnant 🙁

If you take a pregnancy test and get a faint line you can’t read, test the following day again with your first wee of the day.

A darker positive line isn’t a reliable way to assess how a pregnancy is progressing. If you’re bleeding and unsure whether it’s implantation or your period, see our guide on that here.

And if you’re testing repeatedly in one cycle, know that the tests aren’t the thing to change. Hoopsy’s 2-pack is 99%+ accurate from the day your period is due.

Take care of yourself in these two weeks. They’re genuinely hard.