Perhaps you’re doing everything you can to try to get pregnant right now, including ditching birth control, spending extra time in bed with your partner, and tracking ovulation.
You may want to know if you’re pregnant as soon as possible. Unfortunately, without taking a home pregnancy test, or getting a blood test or ultrasound, there isn’t a 100 percent certain way to tell you’re pregnant before missing your period.
Nevertheless, certain signs and symptoms could be a hint that you’re in the first weeks of pregnancy.
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How reliable are the symptoms?
Pregnancy symptoms vary for everyone. They also are easy to confuse with PMS. That’s why it’s impossible to tell whether you’re pregnant on symptoms alone.
Your best bet is to take a home pregnancy test or see a doctor if you suspect you’re pregnant and have already missed your period.
Home pregnancy tests are fairly reliable. But you may occasionally get a false-positive test. This can occur for a number of reasons, including having a chemical or ectopic pregnancy or even taking certain medications.
Follow a positive home pregnancy test with a doctor’s visit for a urine or blood test to confirm the pregnancy.
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Pregnancy symptoms vs. PMS symptoms
Pregnancy symptoms often mimic PMS symptoms. For example, fatigue, nausea, and breast tenderness can be symptoms of both pregnancy and PMS.
But if you’re pregnant, there may be some telltale signs that it’s not PMS. For example, you may experience implantation bleeding.
This is light spotting or bleeding that occurs about 10 to 14 days after conception, usually about a week before your period would usually start. This bleeding will be lighter and stop after one to three days.
Other symptoms like breast tenderness, bloating, and cramps could be symptoms of either PMS or pregnancy. Until you can take a home pregnancy test, it will be difficult to tell what is causing these symptoms.
How soon can I take a pregnancy test?
You should wait for at least one to two weeks after you have sex to take a home pregnancy test. That is the earliest the test will detect levels of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), a hormone produced during pregnancy.
If you take a test too early, it may not yet be able to detect hCG. If possible, you should wait and test the week after you miss your period.
After getting a positive home pregnancy test, see a doctor and let them know. They will be able to confirm the pregnancy and discuss the next steps in your prenatal care.
Shop for a home pregnancy test online.
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Other causes of a delayed period
If your period is delayed, it’s not always because of pregnancy. Other causes of a delayed period may include:
- chronic or high stress
- low body weight
- frequent and high-intensity exercise
- obesity
- polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
- early perimenopause
- a thyroid condition
If you’re concerned about a delayed period not caused by pregnancy, see a doctor. They can offer tests for the above conditions and treatment.
Summary
There’s no way to know for certain if you’re pregnant before missing your period other than taking a home pregnancy test.
Some women do experience symptoms such as fatigue and nausea. These could be PMS symptoms, however. If you still aren’t sure you’re pregnant after taking a home test, see a doctor. They can confirm the pregnancy with a urine or blood test and discuss the next steps in your prenatal care.