Am I Pregnant?

[meg772]

Me and my boyfriend had sex on June 24th and June 27th. Both times we did the pull out method. I dont know if its all in my head, but I've been feeling different. I just have this weird feeling in my stomach and I almost "know" that I am pregnant. I am only 18. I don't really pay attention to when my period comes, but I think its supposed to be this week sometime. Is it too early to tell? I took a pregnancy test this morning and it came out negative, I am going to test again next week if my period doesn't come.

[Jaimee]

Welcome to MDC!!   

Well that isn't a lot of information to go on so we'll have to really guess.  If you're due for AF this week (let's say Thursday) and you have an average length luteal phase of 12-14 days then you may have ovulated around June 23-25.  So unprotected sex on the 24th could result in a pregnancy.  If AF isn't due until closer to Sunday then you may have ovulated around June 26-28 so unprotected sex on the 27th could result in a pregnancy.  This is all speculation of course because when you ovulate can easily change each cycle based on what is happening in your life.  Things like stress, illness, injury, travel, strenuous exercise, poor diet, etc. can all delay ovulation and therefore delay your period.  

Do you recall any fertile cervical fluid around either of the times you had unprotected sex?  Creamy or eggwhite consistency?  This could help pinpoint your ovulation day a bit better.  

HPT's are 99% accurate around the time of your missed period, but some are more sensitive than others and much depends on when the embryo implants.  Let's hypothesize the latest you could have O'd in order to catch the egg would be 5 days after you DTD the second time, that's July 2nd.  That would put you at only 3 days past ovulation (DPO) today- not far enough along to get an accurate result on an HPT.  Some women get an accurate result at 9 or 10 DPO, but many need to wait until 12-14 DPO (or even a little past).  So I would say that there is an excellent chance that by July 14-16th you'll have your answer: either AF will show or you'll get a positive pregnancy test.

If it turns out you're not pregnant and you really don't want to be at this time I highly recommend looking into a different, much more reliable form of birth control.  I also recommend reading Taking Charge of Your Fertility- an excellent book about our reproductive cycles that will teach you stuff you never knew about your body.  It can also teach you how to chart you cycles using your morning temperature and cervical fluid.  This way you'll know when you are fertile, when you ovulate, how long your luteal phase is, when to expect your period, if you're pregnant, and if there is anything of concern.  You can log your information on a free site like www.fertilityfriend.com and share you charts with us here on this forum so we can give you tips and help you decipher anything confusing.  But please do NOT rely on fertility friend to AVOID pregnancy.  Definitely figure out a birth control option that is going to work for you like condoms, contraceptive film, etc.

Good luck and keep us posted!

[meg772]

Thank you so much, this has been really helpful. I started spotting (just brown) on July 5th and July 6th, and today (July 7th) I had cramps and red spotting. I don't think its my period because this has never happened before. I usually have heavy bleeding for five days when im on my period. 

Also I took 3 tests and they all were negative.

[Jaimee]

Periods can definitely vary in heaviness and length, again depending on what has gone on with your health that cycle.  You could be experiencing hormonal bleeding, which happens when your hormones are fluctuating more than usual, usually delaying O and/or causing random breakthrough bleeding when progesterone dips.  Alternatively you could be experiencing implantation bleeding.  Implantation occurs between 6 and 12 DPO.  If you O'd late implantation bleeding could have happened around the dates you describe.  And lastly, you could be getting spotting of pregnancy, which is not uncommon around the time of your missed period. 

Now, since your HPT's are negative still, the latter is the least likely, but certainly not impossible.  Implantation spotting is not that common, but it certainly does happen for some women.  If it was implantation you might only be around 9 DPO (or a bit later)... again too early for a lot of women to get accurate results.  I would continue to wait it out for another 3-5 days and test again.  If it was bleeding related to pregnancy you should get a positive result by then.  If it was your period then things should proceed as normal for your next cycle (and I highly recommend charting!!!).  If it was hormonal bleeding you may get some more bleeding off and on until your hormones regulate.  Keep an eye on your cervical fluid.  If you see creamy or eggwhite then you are likely fertile again and might finally O.  If you want to prevent pregnancy, definitely try a different birth control method. 

Again good luck and keep us posted!