So you are trying to get pregnant and impatient to know if the light headache you had this morning or that little nausea sense you felt yesterday was a reliable sign or not. 

These early signs can leave you bewildered, especially if the ovulation has passed, in which case the possibility of your conception looms bigger on the horizon.

You have entered the luteal phase and have an egg ready to meet a lucky sperm!

You will get pregnant if it can successfully take the journey from the fallopian tubes to the uterus. Therefore, every early pregnancy symptom counts.  

Well, it is so, at least in theory! But how soon can you feel pregnancy symptoms after ovulation?

And how should you interpret them?

What are the pregnancy after-ovulation symptoms in days after?

More importantly, do you know the signs of pregnancy? 

 

What Happens after Ovulation?

In most cases, women notice changes in their bodies a few weeks after ovulation.

But signs such as stomach cramps, tiredness, nausea, and such can occur within 0-14 days before a missed period.

These signs are shortly referred to as days past ovulation (DPO) symptoms and are the subject of our three parts discussions.

First, we will discuss pregnancy symptoms experienced past ovulation.  

Then count them down daily and finally see how to interpret those signs before your next period or, better said, how soon can you feel pregnancy symptoms after ovulation? 

There will also be a few words on symptoms after ovulation if not pregnant. 

 

Past Ovulation Symptoms to Experience (DPO symptoms)

Couples craving to hug their babies gets excited at every little pregnancy sign noticed by future mom. Many will track pregnancy symptoms after ovulation day by day and start interpreting them as telltale signs of pregnancy.

But the reality is that no sign takes credit since the pregnancy symptoms past ovulation might be the same ones you usually experience before your menstrual cycle. 

These are common signs and may happen regardless of whether you are pregnant or not.  

But before decoding the signs, remember the effect of the human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) hormone in producing the pregnancy symptoms you are experiencing.

When the number of pregnancy hormone levels increases during the first weeks of your monthly cycle, you find more and more signs in your body.

 Some people experience Pregnancy symptoms after ovulation day by day, while others do not encounter them until weeks after conception, and the third group doesn't share them.

Let's see what these common pregnancy symptoms are?

• Spotting: bleeding or spotting is slight bleeding or spots with brighter color and less flow than what you experience in a period. 
• Nausea: is called morning sickness, although it is not necessarily limited to morning time and can occur any other time during the day.  
• Fatigue: women report feeling less energy in doing chores, and some need to go to bed earlier than usual.  
• Breast changes: breast tenderness, the feeling of uncomfortableness, or full/ swollen breasts are all caused by hormonal changes in the body. 

Furthermore, your nipples might seem darker, related to higher hormonal pigmentation. 

• Mood change: again caused by hormonal changes, this leads to various emotions like irritability, anxiety, sadness, and the like.

 The same emotions may be experienced during actual pregnancy or PMS (post menstruation syndrome). 

• Craving for food: when it happens, you might have a strong desire for foods you were indifferent to.  

 

Daily Count Down on Pregnancy Symptoms + Full Explanation

Following is a countdown of pregnancy symptoms you might experience between past ovulation and the next period. 

Take caution to consider the missed period as the most strong pregnancy sign, but if you are still interested in reading between the lines, it is good to refer to this section and review your post-ovulation symptoms.  

 

0-7 Days

This is when the probability of actual pregnancy is close to none since the fertilized egg is not attached to the uterine wall.

Yet, at this time, the production of progesterone level increase, meaning your body will change to get ready for actual pregnancy.

The hormonal secretion peaks between the 6th and 8th days after ovulation, which yields these symptoms: low-level energy, abdominal cramps, uneasy digestion (bloating/gas), breast changes, and mood fluctuation. 

 

Day 7 to 11  

This is the phase when implantation, meaning the fertilized egg located in the uterine wall, happens. 

Now that the egg has reached the uterus, we expect actual pregnancy. One of the signs of implantation is spots caused due to implantation bleeding. 

Of course, people are different in experiencing light bleeding. 

Other possible pregnancy symptoms include nausea, mood swings, headache, low back cramps, and changes in breasts. 

Notice the similarity between these symptoms as a sign of pregnancy or upcoming period. 

It is still too early to talk about pregnancy affirmation at home. 

Even the hCG hormone level is not high enough to be detected in pregnancy test. So you shall wait!

 

12 to 14 Days 

The 12 days after ovulation is the perfect time to take a pregnancy test.

After implantation and the rise of progesterone, the levels of hCG continue to rise and double every 72 hours. 

Therefore, the earliest to take a test is on the 12th day past ovulation. 

First real pregnancy symptoms start to appear at this phase. 

There are different signs like food cravings, frequent urination, dizziness, a low level of energy, and dark nipple color. 

You may not report these symptoms but still, be pregnant.  

However, if your period comes, it means no implantation has occurred and what you saw was just symptoms after ovulation when not pregnant. 

 

Conclusion

 The symptoms discussed during various phases you go through (from day 0-14 past ovulation) may point to true or false pregnancy.

You are getting excited at the slightest symptom, like any other woman trying to conceive.

You cannot wait until you receive the formal affirmation from your doctor, and in the meantime, some symptoms lure you into believing that you are pregnant. 

However, remember that the cause could be either implantation or something entirely different. 

The abdominal or low back pain you got could be either a pregnancy symptom or a sign of the upcoming period.

Yet another culprit is fertility medication. 

So the best thing is to be patient with the time and use the pregnancy test as advised above.

 Also, don't forget to wait until the 12 days past ovulation for it, as results before this time are not reliable.