Questions in the Maternal and Child Health Forum have been answered by doctors from Henry Ford Health System.

Question Title: COULD YOU PLEASE ANSWER AN IMPLANTATION BLEEDING & HOME PREGNANCT TEST QUESTION

Forum: The Maternal and Child Health Forum
Topic: Pregnancy - Abnormal


How many days from the day I had sex can I take a pregnancy test and it be accurate?

I had sex on February 7th and had a heavy period on Feb. 15-19 (it was exactly on time but much heavier than usual). WOULD I have had this period on February 14 if I had gotten pregnant on February 7th? Do you stop having periods that soon or could the bleeding have been implantation bleeding? I did bleed heavy the first three days and then it tapered off to a light brown, a little pink and then little by little nothing on the 5th day of my "period", February 19.

Also, how many days do I have to wait to take a pregnancy test? It has been 21 days since the day I think there's a chance I conceived, is it safe to take the test now and count on reliability? Should I take a test or do you think I am safe?

Thanks in advance for your answers and all the time you put into this board!

Dear Brenda:
The day you had sex has no relationship to the day you take a pregnancy test. The home pregnancy test becomes reliably positive 17 days following ovulation and 3 days beyond the missed menstrual period.
Day 1 is the first day of menstrual flow (real bleeding, not spotting).
Day 14 is the day of ovulation.
Day 28 is the day that the next menstrual flow should begin.
Day 31 from the last menstrual flow is the day a pregnancy test is reliable.
These dates all assume that you have a perfect 28 day cycle.

If you have a 25 day cycle, ovulation likely occurs 11 days from the last bleeding. If you have a 35 day cycle, ovulation likely occurs 21 days from the last bleeding. You guess the day of ovulation by subtracting 14 days from the number of days from the beginning of one menstrual period until the beginning of the following menstrual period.

The best days to become pregnant are the day of ovulation and the two days immediately before ovulation. The day after ovulation, some ladies become pregnant. On any other day of the menstrual cycle, pregnancy is unlikely to happen.

Keywords: ovulation, menstrual cycle length, best days to become pregnant.

This information is provided for medical education and is not a consultation. If you have specific questions, please speak with your healthcare provider.


 

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