Navigating the Two-Week Wait

The “two-week wait” — or TWW if you’re frequenting fertility discussion boards — refers to the time between ovulation and the expected date of your period. It’s a time in which you are … waiting to find out if you are pregnant. 

Depending on where you are in your fertility journey, these weeks can range from neutral to exciting to very stressful. In particular, if you’ve been trying for a while or you are undergoing fertility treatments, this period is often one of high stress. If you’re new to trying to conceive, it could be more exciting, or you may not be paying much attention at all.

Regardless of the emotional valence, people often have a lot of questions about this period. When does it start and end? What can I do (most specifically and commonly: can I have a drink?). And, finally, how early can I take a pregnancy test — is this really a two-week wait, or maybe more like nine days?  

What does the data say?

When does the two-week wait start and end?

The menstrual cycle has two distinct phases: the follicular phase, which is the first half, and the luteal phase, which is the second half. The first half of the cycle is your period, and then the ramp-up to ovulation. On average (this varies across people), the follicular and luteal phases are each 14 days. The first phase ends at ovulation.

If you’re trying to conceive, you’ll be aiming to time the arrival of sperm to the timing of ovulation. In order to conceive, the sperm needs to be waiting when you ovulate, meaning that sex after ovulation cannot lead to conception.

The two-week wait therefore starts at this point of ovulation and ends at the date of your expected period. At that point, if you are pregnant, you will not get your period. 

Note: The 28-day cycle with two 14-day halves is an average. Some women have longer or shorter cycles, or longer or shorter luteal phases. If you’re tracking your cycles, you’ll have a sense of this. 

What can I do (and not do) during the two-week wait?

The two-week wait is tricky, because you might be pregnant. But you might not be. If you’re actively trying to conceive, you’re probably thinking about whether your behavior during this period impacts the chance of pregnancy or, if you do get pregnant, whether it impacts the baby.

Generally good news: For the most part, what you do during this period does not impact your chance of pregnancy or your baby if you do conceive. 

Alcohol

Heavy drinking during pregnancy is dangerous because it kills fetal cells, and that cell death can cause birth defects (I am not going to discuss lighter drinking here, but there is more on that in this article and in Expecting Better). During the two-week wait, though, the embryonic cells are undifferentiated, meaning any cell can become anything. For this reason, heavy drinking during this period is not associated with birth defects. 

However, heavy or binge drinking may impact fertility. It is hard to know how much. At least one study, in Denmark, has shown that low to moderate drinking did not impact fertility in a cohort of women undergoing IUI or IVF, but this study didn’t include heavier drinkers. 

Overall, since it is not good for your non-pregnant health to binge drink, it should be avoided anyway. But if you do want to have a drink or two, it’s fine; and if you binge drank during this period and do find yourself pregnant, you shouldn’t worry.

Caffeine

Moderate caffeine consumption (up to three or four cups a day) is fine during pregnancy, and also during this two-week wait period.

Exercise

Studies have shown exercise to be beneficial during pregnancy in general. And studies of women undergoing fertility treatments actually show a positive correlation between physical activity and conception. So keeping to your exercise routine is good. (A note: If you’re undergoing IVF, you’ll often be told not to exercise during ovarian stimulation, due to a risk of ovarian torsion. However, this is a different period than what we are talking about here.) 

Sex

There is no reason to avoid sex during this period (or later in pregnancy). 

Food

I’ve argued before that most of the restrictions we put on diet for pregnant people are unnecessary, and the same is true here. 

But what about foods that might increase the chance of conception? Sorry, I cannot help you. There are surely correlations between a “healthy diet” and the chance of conception, but, as with everything nutrition, it’s hard to see causality here. Bottom line: eat as you normally would. 

Illness

Evidence from COVID and IVF pregnancies suggests that illness during the two-week wait doesn’t impact conception. This is just one illness, but it seems plausible that the impacts would translate to other similar illnesses. Overall, illness during this period isn’t something to worry about.

Putting this all together: Basically, live your life. 

Am I pregnant?

Modern pregnancy tests have considerably shortened the two-week wait. Some tests can now detect pregnancy as early as four or five days after ovulation, which would make the wait only 9 or 10 days. Without being alarmist, it is important to note that some of these very early detections will be chemical pregnancies, which might never have been detected at all without the more advanced pregnancy tests.    

If you do choose to test early, do it first thing in the morning (when your pee is most concentrated), and remember that the hormone these tests detect rises over time. So a negative test on day 9 may not mean anything. Also note, these early-detection tests are pricey. If you can wait until you miss your period, hormone levels should be high enough that even a much cheaper test will work. 

In addition to testing, women will sometimes look for early symptoms of pregnancy. These are a mixed bag; many early pregnancy symptoms are very similar to PMS. You can certainly track them, but they aren’t necessarily definitive. 

The bottom line

• The “two-week wait” is an average that is determined by the length of your cycle — for some people it could be longer or shorter. It starts at the point of ovulation and ends at the date of your expected period. At that time, if you are pregnant, you will not get your period. 
• During this wait, you don’t have to make any changes in your lifestyle. Heavy or binge drinking may impact fertility, but it is hard to know how much. 
• Some pregnancy tests can now detect pregnancy as early as four or five days after ovulation. If you choose to test early, do it first thing in the morning, and remember that the hormone these tests detect rises over time.

We recognize that readers of ParentData identify in different ways — read more about our approach to gender-inclusive language here.

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