While there are many signs of early pregnancy, the most obvious and easy indicator is a missed period. By the time you miss your period, you are only about 2 weeks pregnant. The problem is that many women do not know when their last period started or their periods are not regular. So how do you know if you are 2 weeks pregnant, 4 weeks pregnant or more? This question needs to be answered first before we can begin to discuss what to expect in early pregnancy.

To understand how advanced your pregnancy is and what to expect at 2 weeks pregnant, you must first understand how fertilization takes place. Then you will know how to calculate your due date. Most women ovulate on a 28-day cycle. So for the sake of simplicity, we will say that this cycle begins on the first day of your period. What this really means is that your body released an egg, but it couldn’t be fertilized by a sperm before the sperm or egg died. Therefore, the uterus must start over to prepare a new egg for release and slowly re-line the uterus during the next cycle. But first, it will take 5 to 7 days for what is known as your period.

So, on day 1 of your cycle, or period, you will go through about 5 to 7 days of inconvenient expulsion from the body of an overripe egg and the mucous membrane that lines the uterus. From about day 10 to day 15, ovulation takes place. This is when the body releases hormones from various glands, making the perfect time for sperm to fertilize the egg. However, the unfertilized egg cannot survive more than 24 hours. Sperm have a half-life of about 48 hours within the female tract. Ideally, the sperm should be waiting for the egg to arrive. So if the sperm begins its journey more than 48 hours before the egg reaches the oviduct, the sperm’s lifespan will expire. But, if the journey begins more than about 22 hours after the egg reaches the egg, the life of the egg will end and a new period will begin again. Therefore, there is only about a 72 hour period each month during which a woman’s egg can be fertilized and is considered fertile.

Assuming that a woman’s egg was fertilized around day 15 of the cycle, the egg will move along the oviduct and finally implant itself in the wall of the uterus around day 24. Here it will remain for the next 260 days of pregnancy. This is the day when the embryonic heart starts a slow, irregular beat, which will soften to a systematic rhythm in about another week. The actual date of conception would be the 15th, the day fertilization took place. This means that from the date of conception to the date you first miss your period is 13 to 15 days. You are now 2 weeks pregnant. Even so, doctors will continue to calculate your due date from the first day of your last menstrual cycle. So when they say that you are 2 months pregnant, you will actually only be around 6 weeks pregnant.

You now know exactly when you are 2 weeks pregnant, but how do you know exactly what to expect at 2 weeks pregnant? You’ve probably wondered what to expect early in your pregnancy, but are you ready to find out what to do next? Considering the many obstacles to getting pregnant, it seems like the hard part is over. In fact, in a recent study of women who wanted a pregnancy, only 33 percent were able to get pregnant in the first month, 60 percent at three months, and 75 percent within six months. But actually getting pregnant was the easy part compared to the changes that will take place in your body over the next year.

One of the first changes in what to expect in early pregnancy is that food will not taste the same. Along with changes in the taste of food are common morning sickness, even if you are only 2 weeks pregnant. Also, it will most likely increase your appetite or cravings for specific foods. This can lead to unwanted weight gain in early pregnancy.

Other symptoms and what to expect in the first two weeks of pregnancy include swelling, minor aches and pains, and even possible cramps during pregnancy. These occur quite frequently in the calf of the leg as a “Charlie horse” type cramp and are the result of a low calcium level. Very early pregnancy symptoms are difficult to detect unless you are very in tune with your body. So don’t be discouraged if you don’t notice it when you are 2 weeks pregnant. Be patient and time will tell.