If you had sex outside your “ovulation window” (when an egg is most likely to be fertilized), it can take longer for pregnancy to be confirmed. There are special blood tests that can detect hCG sooner, however.
They’re also more accurate than urine tests. This article will cover all of your options and next steps.
Urine tests
Typically, a pregnancy test works by detecting the presence of human chorionic gonadotrophin, or hCG. It is a hormone that develops in the body after an egg is fertilized. Most home pregnancy tests and some blood pregnancy tests can detect hCG within two weeks of conception.
For this reason, it’s best to take a urine pregnancy test after you miss your period, as this will give you the most accurate results. Many experts recommend waiting until the first day of your missed period, which may fall anywhere from two to 21 days after unprotected sex.
You can also buy ovulation tests at most pharmacies that let you know when you’re ovulating. This way, you can plan your sex around when your period is due and reduce your chances of becoming pregnant.
If you choose to take a urine pregnancy test, try to do it first thing in the morning. This is when hCG is more concentrated in your urine. Likewise, don’t drink a lot of water before taking the test, as this can affect your results.
A few things can affect a pregnancy test’s accuracy, including if you’re taking certain medications or if your menstrual cycle is irregular. Additionally, it’s important to read the instructions on your test carefully. Sometimes, a faint line can appear on the test (called an evaporation line) when you’re not peeing correctly or if the test has been stored for too long.
Blood tests
If you suspect that you’re pregnant, you might want to take a pregnancy test as soon as possible to find out for sure. The most accurate time to do that is on the first day of your missed period, or two weeks after you have unprotected sex (depending on how late in your cycle you’ve had it). But what exactly does it mean to be “pregnant” and when does hCG start showing up in the body?
All pregnancy tests work by detecting the human chorionic gonadotropin, or hCG, a hormone that’s produced when a fertilized egg attaches to the uterine lining. The process of sex to pregnancy is known as fertilization, and it can take up to five days for the sperm to enter the egg and then make its way to the uterus.
For this reason, it’s typically recommended that you wait for two weeks after having unprotected sex before taking a pregnancy test. This can help ensure that sperm has had enough time to fertilize the egg and then cause a positive result on the test.
However, if you’re on a regular 28-day cycle and ovulate at the same time each month, it may be possible to get a more accurate result sooner than that. That’s because hCG can show up in the body in as little as six days after fertilization, and some home pregnancy tests can detect this hormone even earlier than that.
Home pregnancy tests
Home pregnancy tests can detect the hormone hCG (which is produced by your body when you’re pregnant), and are most accurate on the day of or the first day after you expect to start your period. However, these tests can still provide inaccurate results if you take them too early.
The reason it’s best to wait until your period is due before taking a home pregnancy test is because the results aren’t super reliable if you test too soon after unprotected sex, especially with a newer, more advanced test. The reason is that the test relies on a certain amount of hCG in your urine, and if there isn’t enough, the result will be inaccurate.
If you want to take a test earlier than your expected period, or if you suspect that your condom broke during unprotected sex, there is another option: the morning-after pill. This form of emergency contraception can be used up to five days after unprotected sex and can prevent pregnancy in most cases, but it isn’t as accurate as a home pregnancy test or blood test.
Generally, doctors recommend waiting 2 weeks after unprotected sex before testing because that’s when it takes time for the body to produce a sufficient amount of hCG. However, if you know your next period is supposed to start, or if you’re tracking your ovulation using an app, you can count back 6 days from the expected start date for a more precise estimate of the point at which you will begin to ovulate and be most likely to conceive.
Lab tests
When you want to know if you’re pregnant, you need an answer as soon as possible. Unfortunately, there is no way to tell if you’re pregnant right after unprotected sex (also known as sex without a barrier or sex with a condom that breaks or isn’t used correctly).
This is because it takes several days for sperm to fertilize an egg, and even more time for the fertilized egg to implant itself in the uterus. A pregnancy test only detects the presence of a hormone called hCG, which is produced by the body after fertilization and implantation. The hCG in urine can only be detected by the pregnancy test within about two weeks of sex, or around the time you would expect your next period to start.
Home pregnancy tests can be taken as early as the first day of your missed period, and are most reliable from then on. Some ultra-sensitive tests can be used before your missed period, and these are especially useful if you have an irregular menstrual cycle or don’t know exactly when you’re ovulating.
When you take a test, it’s important to read the instructions carefully. They will tell you how long to wait before taking the test, and the sensitivity of your test. Most at-home tests are sensitive to hCG around three to four weeks after ovulation, or about 10-14 days after you’ve had unprotected sex.