2 weeks pregnant: Symptoms, advice and what to expect

2 weeks pregnant

by Stephanie Spencer |
Updated on

At two weeks pregnant, there is still no baby and technically, you're not yet pregnant. Pregnancy is measured in 40-weeks, and day one of your pregnancy begins on the first day of your last menstrual cycle, which should be this week or early next, when ovulation occurs.

If you’re trying to conceive, knowing exactly when you’re ovulating is really important, so be sure to track yours using our ovulation calculator.

There are certain symptoms you can look out for to see if you're ovulating and certain advice you should follow such as upping your baby-making time.

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Pregnancy symptoms week 2

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1) Your temperature will fall, then spike

Did you know that when you ovulate, your basal body temperature (BBT) will drop to its lowest point?

It won’t, however, stay there for long and as soon as ovulation occurs, it will shoot up half a degree.

So, although ovulation calculators give you a good idea, if you want to know exactly when you’re ovulating, buy a special thermometer and start tracking.

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2) Breast soreness or tenderness

Hormonal changes brought about by ovulation can makes your breasts feel tender or sore.

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3) Better sense of smell

Changes in your hormones at two weeks pregnant increases your ability to pick up a range of smells.

Changes to your sense of smellmay be linked to the necessary ability to pick up eligible male pheremones.

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4) Your discharge might change

If you’ve been trying to conceive for a while, you’ll have got used to monitoring your discharge and will know it’s consistency and colour will change over the month.

As you head towards the day you're ovulating, look out for thick, sticky and creamy discharge, which will increase in volume and start to look cloudy when the day arrives.

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5) Light spotting

You might notice a small amount of blood around the time of ovulation.

This happens when the follicle around the egg ruptures.

If the bleeding is heavy it could be something more severe. Let your doctor know if you experience anything unusual.

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6) Pelvic ache

During ovulation, you may feel a pain in one side of your abdomen depending on which ovary releases the egg.

The medical term for this phenomenon is 'Mittelschmerz' which means middle pain in German. 

In some cases, a small amount of vaginal bleeding or discharge may occur.

Some women experience nausea, especially if the pain is severe.

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7) Increased sex drive

During ovulation it is possible your sex drive will increase.

Your body is naturally more inclined to part in baby-making activities.

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8) Cervical changes

Some women check their cervix regularly, especially if they have been trying to concieve for a while.

If you do check, at this point it may be higher, softer and more open during ovulation.

What's happening in my body?

It sounds very complex, and in a way it is, but our menstrual cyclesreally are quite amazing.

Thanks to hormone changes, your levels of luteinising hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) rise and stimulate the production of follicles in your ovary.

These follicles are actually fluid-filled sacs containing those all-important eggs – although usually only one becomes larger than the others and produces the egg.

That follicle also begins to produce oestrogen which helps the lining of the womb become thicker to aid the ‘implantation’ of the egg.

Hopefully, in the 24 hours after the egg is released, one of the nearly 250 million [sperm]{href='https://www.motherandbaby.com/family-life/food/8-fabulous-foods-to-boost-his-sperm-count-and-increase-your-chance-of-conceiving' target='_blank' rel='noreferrer noopener'}your partner releases will manage to swim all the way from your vagina, through your cervix, and up to the fallopian tube, where it can penetrate the egg.

It might sound simple, but this is a ten-hour journey for the sperm.

Only about 400 of them will even make it and only one can burrow through the eggs outer membrane.

What happens next?

Once his sperm makes it to your egg, the sperm’s nucleus merges with the eggs and they’ll combine in the following 10 to 30 hours.

Believe it or not, this is when the sex of your baby is actually determined, as if the sperm is carrying a Y chromosome, you’ll just have conceived a boy and if it’s an X chromosome, it’ll be a girl.

What to do now...

Track your cycle: tracking your menstrual cycle means you will be able to know your fertile days and if you use an app, it will advise you on when to have intercourse.

Get an ovulation test: if you're close to ovulating, you can check that you are for sure with an ovulation test. It will measure your hormones and tell you if it's time.

Keep living a healthy life: people say that living a healthy lifestyle will help you conceive faster. Drink loads of water, eat healthily and exercise regularly.

Start taking prenatal vitamins: if you haven't already, start taking vitamins, especially folic acid. It will boost your chances, help develop your baby healthily and reduce the risk of neural tube defects.

What can I do to help my body conceive?

It might sound obvious, but this is one week where you really need to get into the rhythm of regular, baby-making fun.

Try to relax and not turn this time into another chore.

Have a read of the best sex positions to try when you’re trying to conceive and check out the foods which can boost sperm count.

Experts believe that certain sex positions allow your man’s sperm to get closer to your cervix.

The extra good news is that having an orgasm can help as the contractions draw in more sperm.

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