Planning Your Pregnancy
"Conception" is an easy term for a fairly complicated process of human reproduction. Here's the whole explanation, beyond what the pamphlets in any pregnancy tests would try to tell you!
Two weeks after the end of her menstrual period, a woman's ovaries release a single egg, mature and ready for fertilization. This egg leaves the ovaries and travels into the fallopian tubes, where it stays waiting to be fertilized. The egg remains fertile for 24 hours, after which point it degenerates, and the woman's chance to reproduce for that month is over.
During intercourse, sperm are released, and travel up the fallopian tubes in search of the egg. If the egg is found and penetrated, the egg is fertilized, and moves from the fallopian tubes into the uterus, undergoing massive chemical and cell-level changes as it does. This is the point of conception: when the sperm fertilizes the egg.
Even women who are practicing fertility awareness or otherwise pay very close attention to their body's signals can't know for sure whether or not they're pregnant. This is why pregnancy tests were invented.
Pregnancy Tests: Science Meets Modern Convenience
While a doctor can easily do a blood or urine test to tell you if you're pregnant, at-home a pregnancy test can offer privacy and convenience, in addition to being much cheaper than a trip to the doctor.
Most pregnancy tests work by measuring levels of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) in a woman's urine. While this hormone becomes present in a woman's body as soon as her egg is fertilized, it doesn't normally reach levels detectable by pregnancy tests until three or four weeks later, when the egg has implanted itself in the endometrial lining of the uterus.
Pregnancy tests are ordinarily most accurate about one week after a missed period. Some pregnancy tests boast about giving an accurate answer within two days of a missed period (which would be approximately two weeks after conception), but no pregnancy test can guarantee accuracy, and pregnancy tests should be taken more than once, over a span of several days, for a stronger likelihood of an accurate result.
When multiple pregnancy tests show positive results, or if you just want to get an absolute answer rather than bothering with at-home pregnancy tests, you should immediately schedule an appointment with a doctor of obstetrics and gynecology (colloquially called an OB-GYN or just OB). They will be able to verify your pregnancy tests' results and advise you on how to proceed.
The Best Method of Conception
When you're trying to start a family, it's important to learn everything you can about human reproductive cycles, but there are no guarantees. Stopping the use of all forms of contraceptives is essential, and some that work on a hormonal level may have lingering effects for weeks or months. Measuring your fertility, or ovulation, is a step towards planning when you should have intercourse. Pregnancy tests can be helpful in determining whether or not you were successful. The only guaranteed method for finding out whether or not you're pregnant, however, is a visit with a doctor. Don't rely solely on pregnancy tests, intuition, or the "rhythm method" to work for you - enlist the advice and assistance of your doctor as soon as you make the decision to start a family.
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