Whether you get pregnant after having sex will depend on your ovulation cycle. If you’re ovulating, conception typically happens within 24 hours of the egg being released.
You may wonder how long it takes to actually conceive after having sex. The short answer is that the egg and sperm can meet within minutes to up to 12 hours after ejaculation.
Here’s more about how reproduction works, as well as how to time things and possibly up your odds of getting pregnant.
Fertilization occurs when the egg and sperm meet in the fallopian tube. In order for this to happen, a person must be in her fertile window. This means nearing or reaching ovulation — the moment each menstrual cycle when an egg is released from the ovary.
An egg can only be fertilized between 12 and 24 hours from when it is released. After that, it starts to break down, hormones shift, and eventually, a period starts the next cycle.
Sperm can live up to 5 days in the reproductive tract. Sex without any barrier methods within about 5 days of ovulation may leave enough sperm waiting and ready to fertilize. In other words, you may conceive after having sex nearly a week before ovulation.
On the flip side, conception can occur very soon after having sex as well. Experts say that the sperm can navigate the uterus and fallopian tubes to reach the egg as soon as 30 minutes after ejaculation.
After fertilization, the new zygote travels down the fallopian tube and goes through tremendous changes. It develops into a morula and then a blastocyst. Once it reaches the blastocyst stage, it’s ready to implant in the uterine lining and continue growing into an embryo.
Implantation is essential for pregnancy. Without it, the blastocyst will break down and be expelled with the rest of the uterine lining during your period.
As for timing, implantation usually happens between days 6 and 10 days after fertilization. Symptoms you may experience are mild and include things like cramping and light spotting. Some people may notice no symptoms at all, however.
Once the implanted embryo starts producing hormones (which is right away), pregnancy symptoms may begin.
The earliest symptoms include:
- Missed menstrual period: If your period is late, you may be pregnant. The hormones produced by the growing embryo signal the brain to retain the uterine lining.
- Changes in your breasts: Your breasts may feel tender or swollen to the touch due to hormone changes.
- Morning sickness: While this symptom generally begins a month or so after implantation, it may start sooner for some people. You may experience nausea with or without vomiting.
- Frequent bathroom trips: Your kidneys go into overdrive during pregnancy because they are tasked with processing extra fluids due to blood volume increases. This means increased urination.
- Tiredness: You may feel fatigued in early pregnancy. Hormones, again, are at play here. In particular, the hormone progesterone can make you particularly exhausted.
If you experience these symptoms or otherwise think you might be pregnant, it’s a good idea to take a home pregnancy test.
Home pregnancy tests look for human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) in your urine. This is produced after the egg implants, but not at detectable levels until 6 to 14 days after fertilization. Your most reliable results will be starting on the day of your missed period, since all cycles are unique.
Follow all instructions and follow up with your doctor if you have a positive result or if you have a negative result but your period does not start.
In some cases, you may want to go in and have a blood draw, which can detect lower levels of the pregnancy hormone hCG.
If you’re trying to get pregnant, don’t be discouraged if it doesn’t happen right away. Most couples who regularly have sex get pregnant within 1 year of trying.
If you’re over age 35, consider seeing your doctor if you’ve been trying for 6 months or longer — or if you otherwise have any other concerns about your reproductive health.
