Are you holding your breath hoping for those two magical lines to appear on that pregnancy test? The journey to parenthood is filled with excitement and a million questions. But don't worry, I've got your back in today's video. I'm going to answer some of your most common questions regarding conception, such as, how long after sex does pregnancy occur? When should I take a pregnancy test? And much more. Hello, I'm Dr. Faceman and I'm excited to journey into the microscopic world with you as we discuss exactly what happens during conception and beyond. We are going to take a look at the steps of conception, which include ovulation, fertilization, and implantation. Yes, making a baby as much more complicated than sperm meat's egg. In fact, a common myth is that pregnancy occurs immediately after sex. However, this is not the case. The creation of life involves very specific steps that take time. In fact, it can take up to two weeks to confirm pregnancy, which is often why this period is to refer to as the two week weight. Let's take a closer look at each of these steps to better understand the timeline. Steps of conception. The first stage of conception is called ovulation. The ovulation is triggered by a surge in luteinizing hormones, which causes a mature egg to release from an ovary. This typically occurs 12 to 14 days before the next period. Once an egg is released from the ovary, it is swept into the fallopian tube. There are hair-like projections on the walls of the fallopian tube, called silia. They help move the egg through the fallopian tube and into the uterus. The egg can only be fertilized by sperm for up to 24 hours after ovulation. If an egg is not fertilized during this time, then it will disintegrate and be shed during the menstrual period. Knowing when you ovulate is a key factor in increasing your chances of becoming pregnant. There is a small window or time during each cycle in which you can get pregnant. This is called your fertile window, and it consists of four days before ovulation, the day of ovulation, and the day after ovulation. However, determining your fertile window and your ovulation day can sometimes be difficult. Period tracking apps and cervical mucus tracking can be unreliable. This is why the inedal fertility monitor is unique. It measures estrogen, luteinizing hormone, LH, and follicle stimulating hormone, FSH, to track the fertile window. And PDG, a progesterum metabolite to confirm ovulation. Using both the inedal fertility monitor and inedal app makes it easy to track a confirmed ovulation. So you can ensure sperm gets their right place at their right time. Heads up if you use the coupon code, myenedal15, you can get a 15% discount on your inedal purchase. If you're trying to conceive, you don't want to miss out on this discount opportunity. This brings me to the next step of conception, called fertilization. Fertilization is the process of the sperm using with the egg to form what is known as a zygote. While the egg can be fertilized for up to 24 hours, once released from the ovary, the sperm can survive in the female reproductive tract for up to five days. So you can have sexual inocourse in the days leading up to ovulation and still have a good chance of becoming pregnant. Once sperm enters the female reproductive tract, it faces a long and difficult journey to reach the fallopian tube. A single ejaculation contains up to 300 million sperm, which are all on a mission to fertilize the egg. However, many of those core sperm will not make it past the cervix, and many will die upon entering the reproductive tract. Interestingly, only about 250 sperm will reach the fallopian tube in hopes of fertilizing the egg. Once these remaining sperm reach the fallopian tube, the unfertilized egg sends signals to the sperm to alter their behavior. Research has shown that the unfertilized egg actually utilizes molecules known as chemo-attractants to choose which sperm will ultimately fertilize the egg. That chosen sperm will penetrate the egg and the protective layer that surrounds the egg called the Zona Polucida. This layer becomes impermeable so it cannot be penetrated by any other sperm. The egg and the single sperm fuse to form the beginning of life called a Zygote. This single-celled organism now contains genetic material from both the sperm and the egg. From here, the Zygote transforms and undergoes multiple divisions as it makes its way to the uterus. The cell division that occurs is called mitosis. It travels for about four days before it reaches the uterus. At around the fifth day, the Zygote forms into a blastasis. At this stage of growth, the embryo has reached 50 to 150 cells and is preparing to be implanted into the endometrial lining of the uterus. The last stage of conception is implantation. Implantation can occur once the embryo has traveled to its final destination, the uterus. Implantation is the process of the embryo attaching to the wall of the uterus, which is called the endometrial lining or endometrial. The ideal time for implantation is around six to twelve days after ovulation. This is called the window of implantation. If attempts of implantation occur after this window, there is an increased risk of a miscarriage. To be prepared for the window of implantation, the uterus undergoes a process called desidualization. This is achieved by high levels of progesterone and estrogen. You can kind of think of this process as the uterus is preparing itself to be a healthy foundation for the embryo to implant and then grow and develop. On six to seven days after ovulation, the embryo sheds its protective layer and hatches. This allows the embryo to embed itself into the endometrium. Typically, by day ten, the embryo will attach itself to the uterine wall and complete the process of implantation. Once implantation occurs, pregnancy hormones start to rise. This is also when the embryo starts producing human-chorionic gonadotrophin, or HCG, which is the hormone responsible for a positive pregnancy test. Some women may experience symptoms during implantation such as implantation bleeding, cramps, underbreths, nausea, and headaches. Perhaps this is a little preview of some of the many symptoms that will be experienced throughout pregnancy. However, some women will not experience any symptoms at all. So how long after sex does implantation occur? The amount of time it takes for implantation to occur after sex can be up to two weeks. The most common timeframe is around eight to ten days post-obulation or DPO. The exact amount of time, however, will depend on when you had sex and when you ovulated. So let's do a little fertility map. Here's an equation that breaks down how long it takes to become pregnant after sex. Sperm travel plus fertilization plus implantation equals total time to get pregnant. The first part of the equation is sperm travel. Once the sperm enters the vaginal canal, it can take about 15 to 45 minutes for the enter the fluopian tube. The next part of the equation is fertilization. The amount of time it takes for a sperm to fertilize an egg will depend on if ovulation has already occurred. If there's already a mature egg in the fluopian tube, the sperm can fertilize quickly within minutes. However, if there's no egg in the fluopian tube, then the sperm can hang around for up to five days for ovulation to occur. The final part of the equation is implantation. Implantation most commonly occurs eight to ten days after ovulation. So you add up all of that to get a total time it takes to get pregnant after having sex. It can range from six to 17 days. A lot of this will depend on how close to ovulation you have intercourse. How long should I wait before taking a pregnancy test? And now that you understand the timing of conception and implantation, you may be wondering how long you should wait before you take a pregnancy test. For the most accurate result, it's best to wait until the day after your misperiod to take a pregnancy test. It can be incredibly difficult to wait this long when you are biting your nails to find out if you are pregnant. I get it. If the anticipation is killing you, there are very sensitive pregnancy tests on the market that claim they can detect the HCGS early as ten days post ovulation. But remember, you may not receive a big fat positive confirmation. This early on, if implantation has not occurred yet. The average timeline for implantation is six to twelve days post ovulation. So don't fret. If you get a negative result, you can take a pregnancy test again after a couple days to ensure HCGS levels have had plenty of time to rise. So what happens when you become pregnant? What are some of the early signs and symptoms of pregnancy? For women, the first sign of pregnancy is a late period which is considered five or more days late. There's a wide variety of other symptoms that accompany pregnancy. In fact, this topic deserves its own video. We are planning to create a video all about the signs and symptoms of pregnancy. So please be sure to comment below so we can address all your questions in the next upcoming video. Thank you so much for going on this adventure with me today. Hopefully you found this information educational and useful. There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to fertility and reproductive health. But it's worth learning about so you can feel empowered in your body and in your try and take and see journey. If you enjoyed the information in this video and want to learn even more about implantation, please check out this video for Dr. Shahar Zad explains everything you need to know about implantation. If you like learning about fertility and reproductive health, please consider liking the video and subscribing to the channel. Also, head on over to Instagram and follow at a new fertility for more fun and educational content like this. I'll see you on the next one.