Can you feel implantation?

Some people do notice something around the time a fertilised egg implants: usually light spotting or mild, period-like cramps. But many people feel nothing at all, and there’s no reliable way to know it’s implantation rather than your period getting ready to start.

When does implantation happen?

About 6 to 12 days after ovulation, most often 8 to 10 days. In a 28-day cycle, that’s roughly days 20 to 26, a few days before your period is due. Our day-by-day guide shows where it fits.

What people say they notice

Light spotting. A small amount of blood, often called implantation bleeding. See implantation bleeding.
Mild cramps or twinges. A dull ache or pulling feeling low in the tummy, a bit like period pains. See implantation cramps.
A ‘dip’ in temperature. Some people who chart their temperature look for a one-day drop around this time. There’s no good evidence that it’s a reliable sign of pregnancy.

Researchers haven’t confirmed that implantation itself causes any of these. Mild cramps and light spotting are common in early pregnancy generally, and in the days before a period.

What you won’t feel yet

Sore breasts, tiredness, needing to wee more and feeling sick are caused by rising pregnancy hormones, and they usually start around the time of a missed period or later, not at implantation itself. If you notice them a few days before your period is due, they’re just as likely to be pre-period symptoms.

Why it’s so hard to tell

Implantation happens at the same point in your cycle as normal pre-period changes, and hormones cause similar feelings whether or not you’re pregnant. Feeling nothing doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened, and feeling twinges doesn’t mean it has.

After an embryo transfer

If you’ve had IVF, the embryo is already 2 to 5 days old when it’s transferred, so implantation usually starts within a few days. The progesterone many clinics prescribe can cause sore breasts, tummy discomfort and spotting on its own, which makes symptoms even harder to read. Test on the date your clinic gives you rather than going by how you feel.

When to test

Most pregnancy tests are designed to be used from the day your period is due. Test makers say they’re over 99% accurate from then, though that figure comes from lab testing. A positive result is almost certainly right, but a negative result is less reliable.

Some early tests can be used from 5 days before your period is due (the packet may call this ‘6 days before your missed period’), and some people do get a positive that early. One leading brand says that in lab testing, its most sensitive test picked up 78% of pregnancies at that point, and more the closer you get to your period.

A negative result can be wrong if there isn’t enough hCG yet, even on the day your period is due. Everyone ovulates and implants at a slightly different time, and one study found that on the day women expected their period, about 1 in 10 pregnancies hadn’t implanted yet, so no test could have found them. If you get a negative result and your period doesn’t come, wait a few days and test again. If it’s still negative and your period hasn’t arrived, speak to your GP.

Questions people ask

How long after implantation can I get a positive test?

hCG starts once implantation happens and roughly doubles every couple of days, so it usually takes a few days to reach a level a home test can detect. That’s why testing from the day your period is due is most reliable.

Can implantation happen without any symptoms?

Yes, most people don’t notice anything at all.

Can implantation happen late?

In the main study, pregnancies that continued implanted between 6 and 12 days after ovulation. If you ovulated later than you thought, everything moves later too, including when a test turns positive.

Does implantation hurt?

It shouldn’t. Mild twinges are all most people describe. Severe or one-sided pain needs checking, as below.

When to get help

Mild cramps that ease with rest are usually nothing to worry about. But if you’re pregnant, or think you could be, get urgent advice from your maternity unit, an early pregnancy unit or NHS 111 if you have:

any bleeding or spotting, even if it’s light
tummy pain that’s severe, on one side, or hasn’t eased after resting for 30 to 60 minutes
pain in the tip of your shoulder

Call 999 if you have bleeding along with severe tummy pain, pain in your shoulder, or feeling sick, faint or dizzy, or if the bleeding is heavy (soaking a pad soon after putting it on). Also call 999 if you have sudden, sharp and intense tummy pain and you feel very dizzy or faint, feel sick or look very pale. These can be signs of an ectopic pregnancy or a miscarriage that need treating straight away.