How to Find Out If You're Pregnant at 3 Weeks
If you are hoping to become pregnant, you may have an exciting period of time ahead of you. You may analyze how you feel each day, looking for any sign that may indicate you have conceived. You may also eagerly await the time when you can take a pregnancy test and expect it to be accurate. The good news is there are ways to detect pregnancy just 3 weeks after your last menstrual period (LMP), or 3 weeks after conception.
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Instructions
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Detect early pregnancy.
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Decide how you will calculate your pregnancy. Doctors typically use the first day of your last menstrual period in calculating how far along you are and figuring out your estimated due date. If you take a pregnancy test 1 day after a missed period, you may be considered 4 weeks along.
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Take a home pregnancy test if you think you are pregnant and three weeks have passed since you think you may have conceived. A sensitive home pregnancy test may deliver an accurate result as early as the day after your period should have arrived--about 2 weeks after conception. If you are calculating your pregnancy based on your LMP, however, 3 weeks may be too early to get a reliable result on a home pregnancy test, as only 1 week may have passed since conception.
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Visit your doctor and ask for a blood test to detect pregnancy if it's been 3 weeks since your LMP. According to the American Pregnancy Association, blood tests may detect pregnancy as early as 7 days from the date you conceived, or approximately 3 weeks after your last menstrual period.
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Note any symptoms you have. Some women notice nausea, breast soreness, fatigue and cravings very early in pregnancy while others do not. Keep in mind, however, that such symptoms may be caused by other things, such as illness or changes in your hormone levels.
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Tips & Warnings
A missed period can be a good indicator of pregnancy, but it is not foolproof. Many things can cause your period to arrive late, including hormone fluctuations, stress and underlying medical conditions. For this reason, a missed period is not enough to confirm pregnancy.
If you decide to take a home pregnancy test, be aware of the potential for false positive and false negatives. Follow up with your doctor to confirm a positive result. If you believe you've received a false negative, test again after a couple of days have passed. The test may be faulty, or you may have tested too early.
According to WomensHealth.gov, many home pregnancy test manufacturers advertise their tests as nearly 100-percent accurate. However, they may not be sensitive enough to detect very low levels of the pregnancy hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in your urine and deliver a positive result.
