The thirteenth day after ovulation (13 DPO), and the test is negative? It’s not necessary to unequivocally assume that “it didn’t work again”, and to be upset in advance. At such a short time, not all tests to determine the concentration of the hCG hormone in the urine will show an accurate result.
From what day to consider the delay of menstruation?
Many errors in the early diagnosis of pregnancy occur only because women do not know how to calculate the menstrual cycle. Be sure to have a special calendar. It regularly marks the days when menstruation begins and ends. Several months of working with a regular paper calendar or a special application for a smartphone will allow you to study the features of your menstrual cycle well. This is important to determine when ovulation and delay occur.
The duration of the normal cycle is on average 28-30 days. Frequency is an individual indicator. Therefore, in every woman, menstruation can be both short (3 days) and long (7 days).
Menstruation can begin a little earlier or later, and this is not a cause for concern. The moment of the onset of menstruation directly depends on external and internal factors: hormonal failure, stress, a change in climate or time zones, malnutrition, women's diseases, and, of course, pregnancy.
To understand whether this is a delay, or if the cycle is a bit rebuilt, you need to refer to the calendar. It marks the end date of the last menstruation. From this day you need to count the usual duration of the cycle. For women with irregular periods, another option has been developed. Here the longest and shortest cycles are added up, and then the resulting figure is divided into two. For accuracy, you can calculate the arithmetic average of the last three to six menstrual cycles. By the way, all this is done by the mobile application on its own.
In the same way, the day of ovulation is determined. However, with an irregular cycle, understanding this issue will be more difficult. If the number of days between menstruation is approximately the same, then it is enough to subtract 12-14 days from this figure. This will be the approximate day of ovulation. Sometimes the exit of the egg from the follicle may occur closer to the end of the last menstruation or to the beginning of the next. With an irregular cycle, ovulation can only be determined using special tests.
Why you should not believe the results before the delay?
When will the test show pregnancy, if any? Most special strips can be used from the first day of delay. However, you should know that there may be a negative test for 13 DPO. This is not surprising, since with a cycle lasting 28 days, it falls just on the last. That is, in fact, there is no delay yet. The concentration of hCG might not yet reach the required minimum for the test to “respond” to it.
The strips have a sensitivity of 20-25 mIU / ml. Prior to the delay, only expensive and high-quality pregnancy tests can recognize an interesting position. Seven to ten days after the alleged conception, strips with a sensitivity of 10 mIU / ml can determine whether a woman will become a mother in the next nine months.
Will the test show pregnancy on the 13th day after ovulation (DPO)? After all, almost two weeks have passed, and it seems that this time is enough to determine an interesting situation. In fact, this is a very small period of time. When there is no delay in menstruation (including 13 DPOs), a negative test should not be taken seriously. To get a reliable result, it is better to wait a few more days.
Pregnancy tests for home use respond to the hCG hormone, which begins to be produced only after the embryo is attached. Implantation in 18% of cases occurs at 8 DPO, in 36% - at the ninth, and in 27% - at the tenth. On the remaining days from 3 to 12 after ovulation, the probability of implantation is less than 10%. After attachment, the fetal egg should begin to produce hCG - a specific pregnancy hormone (chorionic gonadotropin). In order for the test to accurately determine pregnancy, the level of hCG must reach at least 20 mIU / ml.
Ghost Strip
A negative test for 13 DPO can be with a completed pregnancy. It’s just that the level of hCG hormone is still insufficient for the reagent to react and clearly show the second strip. But at the same time, some women see a pale line on the tests. Such a result also cannot be considered reliable. The test must be repeated after a couple of days.
The “ghost” line is also called the evaporation line, when the colored trace was, but after a while became completely invisible. The phantom has the same width and length as the control sample. It is painted in blue, pink or lilac, but is paler, barely noticeable. In some ways, the “ghost” resembles a smoky footprint where there should be a brightly colored second strip.
Negative test for 13 DPO: is there any hope?
Since there is no delay on this day, such a result does not mean that there is no pregnancy. Of course, it’s hard not to worry when there have already been several unsuccessful attempts to conceive a child. Still have to wait. To worry less, it is recommended to distract. The results of numerous studies prove that in a woman who is stressed, the chances of successful conception are reduced by 12%.
In the first two weeks after implantation, the hCG level doubles every 1-2 days. If the fetal egg entered the uterus on the fourth day after ovulation, then at 13 DPO the level of hCG will be only 2 mIU / l. At 5 DPO, this figure will increase to 4, at the sixth - up to 8, on the seventh - up to 16, and on the eighth - up to 32. An ultrasensitive test will show pregnancy one week after ovulation. Normal on the eighth day. But this is only if the woman knows exactly the day of ovulation, determining it not according to the schedule or tests, but by ultrasound. After all, the probability of attachment to the third - fifth DPO is only 0.68%. Yes, and producing an hCG fetal egg can at different rates.
If we take the average data, everything will go even slower. For example, implantation occurred on the eighth day after conception, and hCG increases 2 times every two days. Therefore, at 9 DPO, the hormone concentration will be only 2 mIU / ml, at 11 DPO - 4, at 13 DPO - 8, and 15 DPO - 16. On the first day of delay, even a high-quality sensitive test will show only a weak second strip. But on the third day it will be possible to admire the bright and clear line.
It happens that pregnancy develops even more slowly. It's quite normal. Conception for 10 DPO occurs in 27% of cases. Then hCG “grows” to 16 mIU / ml only on the third day of delay, or by 17 DPO.
How else can you find out if a pregnancy has occurred?
When will the test show pregnancy? It is possible to reliably find out whether an interesting situation caused the delay, only on the third or fifth day of the delay. At this point, the level of hCG will reach the necessary minimum even if implantation is late, and the embryo is in no hurry to synthesize the hormone. If you can’t wait to find out if there is a pregnancy, you can do a blood test to detect hCG in the clinic. Blood is donated from a vein in the morning on an empty stomach. The laboratory will also determine the exact gestational age.
Drug support
With some diseases or unsuccessful attempts to become pregnant, the doctor may prescribe a medication. For example, Dufaston. And here at 13 DPO the test is negative. To cancel "Duphaston" in this case or not? Before making a decision, the doctor will send to the laboratory for a blood test. Further actions will depend on its outcome. If the pregnancy is confirmed, then Duphaston is usually not canceled for some more time. If conception did not take place in this cycle, then the medication should be abandoned.