When the woman has ovulated, one of her ovaries has released an egg. The egg can be fertilized if it meets a sperm before it reaches the uterus within 1-2 days. (read more about ovulation here)
When the man ejaculates in a woman, the sperm cells will move with the help of the tail and find their way towards the cervix and further through the uterus to the fallopian tubes. For every 1,000 sperm that empties into the vagina, only a few will reach the approximately 15 centimeters to the fallopian tubes. But those that make it can survive for up to 5-6 days. If the woman ovulates during this period, she can become pregnant if one of the sperm reaches the egg and penetrates it. When the sperm has reached the egg, a membrane is released around the egg that prevents other sperm from also reaching the egg. The fertilized egg will then continue its 2-7 day journey down to the uterus. On its way to the uterus, the egg first divides into two cells 24 hours after fertilization, and then the cells continue to divide at 10-12 hour intervals, forming a so-called embryo, which is the precursor to a fetus.
The female body is already prepared for pregnancy before ovulation
Even before ovulation, the woman's body has prepared for pregnancy by producing large amounts of progesterone, which means that the uterine lining forms a secretion that can provide nutrition for the egg. In addition, during this period the woman also secretes oestrogen, which prepares the uterine wall so that it becomes easier for the fertilized egg to attach. This will usually happen approximately 7 days after ovulation, and if the egg succeeds in getting stuck, the woman is pregnant. The female body will continue to produce progesterone for 12 weeks, after which the placenta takes over the function of nourishing the fetus.
When can pregnancy be measured with a pregnancy test?
When a pregnancy test can determine whether the woman is pregnant or not, it is because it measures whether the pregnancy hormone Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) is present. HCG is produced by the fertilized egg and later by the placenta. And now comes the joker, because if the fertilized egg moves quickly through the fallopian tube and gets stuck, then the woman will also quickly form HCG in such a large amount that it can be measured. If she uses a very sensitive test, in that case it will already be positive 6 days after ovulation. See our selection of early pregnancy tests here: Tidlige Graviditetstests – Gravidtid
But even if the test is negative, the woman can still be pregnant, because there is a big difference between how long it takes the egg to settle and how quickly she produces HCG. Therefore, several weeks may pass before the test becomes positive. However, a rule of thumb is that the test should be positive on the day when the woman should have her period. But no rule without exceptions, and there are cases where the test only shows positive some time after the period should have come. The woman can therefore continue to test every or every other day until the test is either positive or she gets her period
See our large selection of pregnancy tests here: Graviditetstests – Gravidtid