Pregnancy or ovulation symptoms? How to tell them apart

Twinges, changes in discharge and tender breasts can all happen around ovulation, which can make it feel like something’s happening. The biggest clue is timing.

Signs of ovulation

Ovulation is when one of your ovaries releases an egg. In most people it happens around 10 to 16 days before their next period, though it’s hard to pinpoint exactly. Around this time you might notice:

Changes in discharge. It becomes thinner and stretchy, a bit like raw egg white.
Ovulation pain. A dull ache or sharp, sudden twinges on one side of your lower tummy, which can switch sides from month to month. It can last from a few minutes to a day or two.
A little spotting. Some people have a little bleeding or discharge around ovulation.
Sore breasts, bloating or mild tummy pain.
A higher sex drive, as your hormones change.

Your body temperature also rises slightly after you ovulate. Charting it can show you a pattern over a few cycles, but by the time it rises your most fertile days have usually passed.

Signs of early pregnancy

If an egg is fertilised, it implants in your womb about 6 to 12 days after ovulation. Only then does the pregnancy start making hCG, the hormone tests look for. So most early pregnancy symptoms, such as feeling sick, sore breasts, tiredness and needing to pee more often, start when you’re around 4 to 6 weeks pregnant: around the time of a missed period or after it.

Some people have light spotting or mild cramps in very early pregnancy. They’re often linked to implantation, though it isn’t certain implantation causes them. See can you feel implantation?

The timing at a glance

For a 28-day cycle:

Around day 14 (ovulation): egg-white discharge, one-sided twinges, maybe a little spotting. This happens whether or not you conceive.
The week or so before your period: sore breasts, bloating and mood changes are common as part of PMS. Some people also notice light spotting or cramps.
From when your period is due: if you’re pregnant, your period doesn’t come. Pregnancy symptoms become more likely, and a test can give you an answer.

The same symptom, different causes

Sore breasts, bloating, mild tummy pain and spotting can all happen around ovulation, before a period and in early pregnancy. That’s why the symptom itself can’t tell you much. What matters is when it happens.

If your cycle varies, or you ovulated later than you thought, everything moves later too. That includes when your period is due and when a test can pick up a pregnancy.

Can ovulation pain mean you’re pregnant?

No. Ovulation pain happens when an egg is released, before it could be fertilised. You can’t feel conception either: read can you feel conception?

Mild cramps can happen in early pregnancy. But pain low down on one side in someone who could be pregnant should always be checked, as it can be a sign of an ectopic pregnancy.

Easing ovulation pain

A warm bath or a painkiller is often all you need. If there’s any chance you could be pregnant, paracetamol is usually the first choice. Check with a pharmacist before taking anything else, such as ibuprofen.

Get an urgent GP appointment or call NHS 111 if the pain is severe and painkillers haven’t helped, it keeps coming back, or you think you might be pregnant.

When to test

Some early tests can be used from 5 days before your period is due (the packet may say ‘6 days before your missed period’), but they won’t pick up every pregnancy that early. Testing from the day your period is due is more reliable, though a negative can still be wrong if there isn’t enough hCG yet. If your period doesn’t come, test again a few days later.

Questions people ask

Can you have ovulation symptoms and be pregnant?

Yes. You ovulate in the cycle you conceive, so you can have ovulation symptoms that month. They just can’t tell you whether an egg was fertilised.

Is egg white discharge a sign of pregnancy?

It’s a sign of ovulation. In early pregnancy, discharge is usually thin, clear or milky white, and there’s often more of it. See pregnancy discharge.

How many days after ovulation do pregnancy symptoms start?

Not before implantation, which happens 6 to 12 days after ovulation. For most people, symptoms start around a missed period or later. Our day-by-day guide shows how it fits together.

Do ovulation tests help you get pregnant?

Ovulation tests look for a rise in luteinising hormone (LH) in your wee before you ovulate. They can help you spot your fertile days, but there isn’t much evidence that they improve your chances of getting pregnant.

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.