8 DPO: Are there any pregnancy symptoms at 8 days past ovulation?

Trying for a baby can be exciting, nerve-racking, and overwhelming all at once. While it’s fun to plan for the future, waiting to find out if you’re pregnant or not every month can also be tricky to navigate. And at eight days past ovulation (DPO), your period isn’t due for another week, so you might find yourself focusing on every little twinge in the hope of spotting a pregnancy clue. 

But is it possible to experience early signs of pregnancy at 8 DPO, or do you really have to wait for a missed period to find out for sure? 

The truth is that while some people report symptoms at this stage, 8 DPO is generally too early to tell if you are pregnant. That said, 8 DPO is still an important milestone in your cycle. While you might not feel any different, implantation — when your fertilized egg attaches to your uterine lining — usually happens at around this time, signaling the official start of pregnancy. 

Let’s take a closer look at what to expect at 8 DPO, plus the best time to take a pregnancy test.

Key takeaways

• Implantation (the fertilized egg attaching to your uterine lining) usually happens around now if you’re pregnant.  
• You might start to notice early pregnancy signs, but you still need to wait until 14 DPO (the first day of your missed period) to take a pregnancy test for an accurate result.
• Pregnancy tests work by detecting the hormone hCG, which your body starts to produce following implantation. But if you test too soon, you risk getting a false negative because there might not be enough hCG in your pee to register on a home test.

8 DPO: What is happening to your body?

At 8 DPO, you’re in the luteal phase of your cycle. If you’re reading this and thinking, “What is the luteal phase?” then here’s a quick biology lesson for you. 

Your menstrual cycle can be split into two stages: 

• The follicular phase: A new menstrual cycle starts on the first day of your period. This first stage of your cycle is called your follicular phase. If your cycle lasts around 28 days, then your follicular phase usually spans from days one to 14. During this time, your estrogen levels rise, and the lining of your uterus thickens in preparation for a fertilized egg to implant. 
• The luteal phase: Between days 14 and the end of your cycle, you enter the luteal phase. This starts when one of your ovaries releases an egg, known as ovulation. Following this, your progesterone levels rise, and if your egg was fertilized by a sperm, then it may implant into the wall of your uterus, and you may become pregnant. 

So if you’re 8 DPO, this means you’re about halfway through the luteal phase, and your body is busy preparing for a potential pregnancy. 

Provided your egg has been fertilized by sperm, it’s now in the process of traveling down your uterine tubes and implanting itself into your uterine lining. If implantation does take place, your placenta then begins to form. This is a whole new organ that develops in pregnancy, and it starts to release human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) — the pregnancy hormone that at-home pregnancy tests look for in your pee to find out if you’re pregnant or not.

Can I take a pregnancy test at 8 DPO, or is it too early? 

Thinking you’re pregnant but not being entirely sure can be stressful, so it’s not surprising that you want to take a pregnancy test as early as you can. But, the truth is that 8 DPO is generally too early because, as Dr. Renita White, obstetrician and gynecologist, Georgia Obstetrics and Gynecology, Georgia, US explains, “The pregnancy hormones are not high enough yet to be secreted into your urine, so often a urine pregnancy test is not positive yet.” For an accurate result, the best time to take an at-home urinary pregnancy test is the first day of your missed period.

That said, understanding the signs and symptoms of early pregnancy and knowing what happens during this stage of your menstrual cycle can help you feel more prepared, so let’s find out more.

Pregnancy symptoms at 8 DPO

You might have heard of the luteal phase described as the “two-week wait” (TWW) because — when you’re trying to conceive — that tricky time between ovulation and when your period usually starts can feel like an eternity. And it doesn’t help that early pregnancy symptoms often mirror how you might feel in the week leading up to your period. These symptoms are sometimes described as premenstrual syndrome, or PMS for short. 

We now know that 8 DPO is still too early to take a pregnancy test. However, significant hormonal changes that take place during early pregnancy can trigger a number of changes in your body. So, if implantation has taken place, you might start to experience a few early pregnancy symptoms over the coming weeks. They include:

Cramping

If you experience period-like cramping at 8 DPO, this could be due to implantation, when your newly formed embryo attaches itself to your uterine lining. It’s really important to note that there’s little scientific evidence to suggest that cramping is a sign of implantation. However, some people say they feel it. This causes the uterus to contract, resulting in back pain and cramping.

Spotting

Bleeding can be alarming when you’re trying to conceive, but if you experience light spotting at around 8 DPO, then try not to worry. Implantation bleeding is a fairly common early pregnancy symptom. Many women mistake it for a period, but spotting often happens during implantation as a result of your fertilized egg embedding itself in your uterine lining.

Nausea

Nausea is a well-known early sign of pregnancy, although pregnancy or morning sickness doesn’t usually kick in for a few more weeks. If you also experience constipation symptoms or indigestion at 8 DPO, this could be linked to a surge in your hormones. 

Breast pain

Again, changing hormone levels following implantation can make your breasts feel extra sore around 8 DPO. Breast pain is a common early sign of pregnancy, as your breasts grow and become more sensitive while they prepare for milk production. 

Headaches

Thanks to those pesky hormones, it’s normal to experience migraines and tension headaches during the early stages of pregnancy, too. Headaches won’t harm your baby during pregnancy, but they can be uncomfortable, so try to drink plenty of water and get all of the rest you need.

Mood swings

If you are struggling with mood swings at 8 DPO that make you feel irritable and stressed out, you might assume it means your period is on the way. While changes in mood are a classic premenstrual symptom, thanks to hormonal fluctuations, they are also pretty common during early pregnancy, too.

Fatigue

Can’t keep your eyes open? Rising progesterone levels often contribute to exhaustion and fatigue in early pregnancy, so it’s normal to feel tired in the second half of the luteal phase.

8 DPO and no symptoms 

If you’re 8 DPO and you don’t feel any different, try not to worry. “Some people don’t have pregnancy symptoms by 8 DPO because the hormone levels are not high enough in the bloodstream yet,” says Dr. White. And if you are pregnant, annoyingly, there isn’t a fixed timeline for when you’ll feel it. Everyone experiences pregnancy differently. Aside from missing your period, you might not have any symptoms for several weeks, while others might have been able to tell much earlier. 

Trying to conceive can be an emotional time, so try to be kind to yourself. Doing little things to take your mind off of it and putting in place strategies to regularly take your mind off things over the two-week wait can help. You could try starting a new book or box set, committing to a daily exercise or mindfulness practice, or simply calling a friend each time your mind wanders to it.