by Sarah E. Sanuth

Created on: August 03, 2008

You have just recently suspected that you are pregnant and have headed off to the drug store to purchase a home pregnancy test. You take the test and wait for the results. It's positive.

But when did I get pregnant? How long have I been pregnant?

Well the first thing that you need to know in order to even get around a bout answer is to know your cycle. When was your last menstrual cycle and are they usually normal?

Some women keep logs of when they get their cycle and when it ends. This is a good idea to keep especially if you are not on birth control.

If you have one of these logs, refer to it.

When should you have received the next cycle, when were you due?

From the date that you were supposed to have the next cycle, count back two weeks. This will give you an estimate date of when it is possible that you conceived.

However, there is no way to determine an exact date unless you have withheld from intercourse except for one day of the month. Even just having sex on one day of the month can mean that you could have conceived within the 72 hour period after the intercourse had taken place. Conception doesn't happen the instant you have intercourse. Sperm is alive inside of the body for up to 72 hours and it can take up to that long before it reaches the egg.

Not everything in the body runs a smooth as a specific number of days but rather an estimate of days.

Once you have come up with this estimate date, there is a possibility of becoming pregnant somewhere the week before or the week after.

When the doctor will come up with a due date is dependent upon the information that you provide them on how you cycle has operated. The doctors will now give you an "exact" due date. However, this date is not set in stone and is rather just an estimate because there is no way to determine the exact date in which you conceived.

These dates are usually based upon the "plus or minus two weeks theory." So once you have come up with a possible conception date, unless you are certain of a day in which you had intercourse, you could have conceived anywhere in that two weeks in the middle of your cycle.

There is a blood test in which monitors the amount of the hormone that is released during pregnancy that can give you a better estimate of how long you have been pregnant, bring your closing to a conception date. The hormone that is released is low at first, rises and then drops again. Depending on the level present and the suspected amount of time you have been pregnant, will give you a closer timeline of conception.

Many people don't' need to know or care exactly when they got pregnant. As long as you are with only one partner, there is no need for an exact date. As long as the baby is strong and healthy should be the only thing that matters.

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