Ovulation generally occurs between days 11 and 21 of your cycle, depending on its length (the first day of your period is day one of your cycle). During ovulation, one of the ovaries releases a mature egg, which travels to the fallopian tube. For a person to become pregnant, a sperm needs to travel to the fallopian tube and fertilize the egg. If this happens, an embryo is formed and then implants itself into the uterus.
While some people experience lots of pregnancy symptoms at 14 DPO, others experience very few or none at all. Furthermore, at 14 DPO, symptoms of pregnancy can be very similar to the ones you experience during PMS, ovulation, and while taking fertility drugs. If you are extra attentive to your body’s changes every month, you may be able to determine if your symptoms are related to pregnancy or something else.
At 14 days past ovulation, levels of the human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) hormone may be high enough to cause pregnancy symptoms. Some of the symptoms of pregnancy at 14 DPO include the following:
Mild abdominal or uterine cramping can be a sign of early pregnancy. This usually accompanies light spotting or bleeding, known as implantation bleeding. Implantation bleeding occurs after the fertilized egg implants into the uterine lining, around 10 to 14 days after conception. Implantation bleeding and cramping usually occur around the time you are about to get your period, usually a couple of days before. It generally lasts anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of days, and the flow is very light.
Fatigue is also a common pregnancy symptom at 14 DPO. The hormonal changes of early pregnancy may leave you feeling fatigued throughout the day. Sleepiness and extreme exhaustion are some of the early signs of pregnancy. During the early days of pregnancy, your levels of progesterone rise, making you tired and sleepy. Your body also starts producing more blood to support your growing fetus. This also leads to increased exhaustion and fatigue.
Another symptom of pregnancy at 14 DPO is swollen and tender breasts. During early pregnancy, hormonal changes might make your breasts sore, sensitive, tender, and heavy with darker nipples. Breast discomfort will likely reduce after a couple of weeks as your pregnant body adjusts to the hormonal changes.
Due to hormonal changes during pregnancy, you may develop cravings for certain foods around 14 DPO. You may also develop an aversion or sensitivity to certain smells or odors and a different sense of taste during the early weeks of pregnancy. These symptoms may or may not stick around throughout your pregnancy.
If you’ve been trying to conceive, you’ve probably wondered when the right time to take a urine or blood pregnancy test is. You can take the test any time during early pregnancy, but your chances of getting a false-negative result are higher on the early days. This is because your body starts producing the hormone hCG only after the fertilized egg completely implants into the uterine lining. Pregnancy tests detect this hormone, so they might not be accurate if implantation isn’t complete. Implantation usually occurs between 6 and 10 days after ovulation. After implantation, your hCG starts doubling about every 48–72 hours (you can use our online hCG calculator to track yours if you have the right information to hand.)
According to estimates, more than 90 percent of pregnant people get positive results on a pregnancy test at 14 DPO. You can also get a blood test to confirm your pregnancy as early as 11 days past ovulation. During a blood test, your health care provider will draw blood from a vein in your arm and send it to a lab for testing. A blood test at 14 DPO has an accuracy of around 99 percent because blood tests can detect lower levels of hCG.
If you get a negative result at 14 DPO, there’s a chance it could be a false negative. About eight percent of pregnant people get a false-negative pregnancy test result at 14 DPO. A false-negative pregnancy test result is when the test says you’re not pregnant, but you really are (i.e., the negative result is false). One of the most common reasons for a false-negative result is that the levels of hCG in your urine are not yet high enough to be detected. This can occur for the following reasons:
Implantation bleeding is light bleeding or spotting that occurs around 10 to 14 days after conception. It occurs after a fertilized egg implants itself in the lining of the uterus. Implantation bleeding typically occurs around the time you’re expecting your period (usually a couple of days before), making it hard to know if you’re pregnant or getting your period.
One way to tell if 14 DPO spotting is related to implantation bleeding is that implantation bleeding is usually lighter than your normal flow. You may also experience other symptoms of early pregnancy, such as light cramping, headaches, mood swings, nausea, lower backaches, and tender breasts.
The color of implantation bleeding can range from light pink to rust brown. There should be no clots in implantation bleeding, and it can last anywhere from a few hours to a few days. It isn’t a full flow, and you might only notice it when you wipe or use a panty liner. If you suspect that you’re pregnant and experience heavier bleeding, contact your health care provider.
14 DPO is a significant milestone when you’re trying to conceive. At 14 days past ovulation, your hCG is likely high enough to cause pregnancy symptoms. Some of these symptoms include mild abdominal cramping along with implantation bleeding, fatigue, tender and sore breasts, and food cravings and aversions. About 90 percent of pregnant people get positive results on pregnancy tests at 14 DPO.
Furthermore, blood tests to confirm pregnancy are around 99 percent accurate at this stage. You can get a false-negative result at 14 DPO for many reasons. If you get a negative pregnancy test but also have early symptoms of pregnancy, take another test after a few days.
Tobah, Yvonne Butler. “Implantation Bleeding: Normal in Early Pregnancy?” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 9 May 2019, www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/pregnancy-week-by-week/expert-answers/implantation-bleeding/faq-20058257.
Center for Devices and Radiological Health. “Pregnancy.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, 29 Apr. 2019,
https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/home-use-tests/pregnancy
“Symptoms of Pregnancy: What Happens First.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 11 May 2019, www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/getting-pregnant/in-depth/symptoms-of-pregnancy/art-20043853.
Department of Health & Human Services. “Pregnancy Testing.” Better Health Channel, Department of Health & Human Services, 31 Aug. 2014, www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/pregnancy-testing.
