Pregnancy Calendar Week 1 to 2

Week 1

You're not pregnant yet, but this is when we start counting, for two major reasons:

First, the doctor or midwife starts counting your pregnancy from the first day of your last period, not from the date of conception. If you have a perfect 28-day cycle, you will ovulate (release an egg from your ovary) and possibly conceive during the third week of your cycle. So forget the home pregnancy test for now; you can put it, along with the ovulation detection kit, behind the box of tampons in your cabinet.

Second, and perhaps even more importantly, starting the countdown now is confusing and counterintuitive, so it's a perfect way of preparing you to "reason" with your child once she becomes a teenager. Get used to it!


Almost all women begin their periods about 14 days after they ovulate; once the egg is out of the starting gate, it's two weeks until "period time."


So why don't all women have 28-day cycles? Because not everyone ovulates at the midpoint of the cycle. One woman may ovulate 10 days after her period starts, another 16 days. Only about 10 to 15 percent of women have a textbook 28-day cycle (14 days before ovulation, 14 days after). Generally, cycles range from 18 to 40 days.


Week 2

What's Happening to My Body?


Well, even though it's technically the second week of your pregnancy, you're still not pregnant.


Even if you have a "perfect" 28-day cycle, egg and sperm haven't yet had a chance to meet because you haven't ovulated. That usually happens during Week 3, but if your cycle is shorter than 28 days, there's a chance you may ovulate this week.


Last week, you had your period and shed your uterine lining because you didn't get pregnant. This week, your uterine lining is building up again so that you'll have a place for the fertilized egg to implant itself when you conceive. If you don't conceive, you'll have your period again in two weeks. (Of course, for our purposes, we'll assume the "big meeting" will indeed take place.)


You're only fertile for about 24 hours because the ripe egg doesn't last any longer than that. Keep in mind, however, that sperm cells can survive up to 72 hours, so it's possible for you to conceive if you have intercourse late this week and ovulate early next week.