Whether you’re trying to get pregnant or not, the time between ovulation and your period can be confusing.

Some premenstrual symptoms can be similar to symptoms of pregnancy.

This can lead you to think you’re pregnant, even if you’re not.

It can also lead to convincing period symptoms even when you are pregnant.

Some women might have had convincing period symptoms but got a BFP when doing a pregnancy test.

Symptoms before BFP

First of all, what does BFP mean?

If you’re new to trying to get pregnant, you might not be familiar with some of the language used online. For example, trying to conceive is often abbreviated to TTC!

Women typically use BFP to refer to a positive pregnancy test.

In other words, it means a Big Fat Positive!

If a woman says she got a BFP, she’s saying she has a positive pregnancy test.

If you’re reading this, maybe you had one too.

Convincing period symptoms but got a BFP?

Many women think they’re pregnant and then their period starts.

Others have convincing period symptoms but got a BFP when they did a home pregnancy test.

The reason for this is the similarity in symptoms between the two.

Premenstrual symptoms can be similar to the early signs of pregnancy.

This can lead many women to be confused about whether they’re pregnant or whether they’re about to start their period.

Often, women are convinced they’re having period symptoms, but they turn out to be early pregnancy symptoms.

There’s a good reason for this similarity.

Felt like period was coming but BFP

Most women experience some or all of these symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS):

Feeling more emotional, upset or irritable
Changes to appetite, or food cravings
Having trouble sleeping
Tiredness
Bloating
Tender breasts
Cramps or lower backache
Headaches
Changes to oil levels in skin and hair
Spotting.

Early pregnancy symptoms can be:

Feeling emotional
Nausea
Breast tenderness
Tiredness
Food cravings
Changes to skin and hair
Cramps or lower backache
Spotting
Sensitive sense of smell.

Some of the symptoms of PMS and early pregnancy are similar.

For example, these are common during both:

Breast changes
Cramps
Changes to appetite, or food cravings
Increased tiredness
Mood swings.

In the next section, we’re going to look at why these symptoms overlap so much.

Thought I had PMS but I was pregnant

One hormone – progesterone – is mostly responsible for a lot of the overlap in symptoms.

When you have ovulated, the level of progesterone begins to rise.

Progesterone prepares your body for pregnancy, even if you haven’t conceived.

This is because it can take a few days for implantation to occur.

Implantation means the fertilised egg has implanted itself into the wall of the uterus. If this doesn’t happen, pregnancy hasn’t occurred and you will go on to have a period.

But your body needs to prepare, in case a fertilised egg does implant and a pregnancy occurs.

This preparation includes the production of higher levels of progesterone – just in case.

Increased progesterone is the reason for the symptoms experienced in PMS and in early pregnancy. That’s why they feel so similar.

In both cases, what you feel is the result of rising levels of progesterone.

PMS symptoms disappear before BFP

The period of time between ovulation and menstruation is called the luteal phase.

During this time a fertilised egg will implant, or the body will prepare for the next menstrual period.

After ovulation, progesterone levels begin to rise.

This reaches a peak around 10 days after ovulation.

By this time, if the woman is pregnant, implantation should have occurred.

If she’s not pregnant, progesterone levels will begin to drop.

Again, it’s difficult to tell the difference between PMS symptoms and early pregnancy symptoms.

This is because in early pregnancy, the increase in progesterone will start to cause stronger symptoms such as mood swings, food cravings and tiredness.

The change in hormones, however, can also cause the same symptoms in a woman who isn’t pregnant.

Period due but no symptoms

Are you pregnant or are you experiencing PMS?

How can you tell which is which?

Sometimes the women most convinced they’re having period symptoms are those who are actually pregnant.

They had convincing period symptoms but got a BFP.

These are the most reliable ways to tell the difference:

Charting your cycles
Taking a pregnancy test.

If you’ve been using a method of natural family planning, you might already be familiar with your cycles.

Women who use natural family planning often chart their cycles.

This can help you to be aware of when you’re ovulating.

If you’re interested in learning how to know when you ovulate, you can buy ovulation sticks from your local pharmacy.

There are also apps, websites, and books that are useful.

This information can help you – either to get pregnant or to avoid pregnancy.

If you chart your cycles, you’re likely to be familiar with the signs your body shows on certain days. This will also help you to know whether you’re experiencing period symptoms.

Using a basal thermometer makes it easier to pinpoint ovulation and to figure out when your progesterone levels should be rising or falling.

If you know when you ovulated – or can make a good guess – any slight difference in symptoms might let you know whether it’s due to pregnancy or PMS.

These symptoms are more likely if you’re pregnant:

Spotting (from implantation)
Nausea
Food aversion
Breast or nipple changes.

If you’re not pregnant, the symptoms of progesterone are likely to disappear around 10 days after ovulation.

These symptoms are:

Tiredness
Breast pain
Constipation
Food cravings
Muscle aches.

Period symptoms and pregnancy symptoms are similar.

Watch carefully for the timing of your symptoms and which symptoms you have. These are hints about whether you are experiencing period symptoms or pregnancy symptoms.

When to take a pregnancy test

Of course, the clearest way to know whether you’re experiencing symptoms of PMS or pregnancy is to take a pregnancy test.

But when is it a good time to take the test?

Different manufacturers state when a positive result can be detected by their test.

Pregnancy tests measure a hormone called Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG). This hormone is produced by the cells that will become the placenta that will nourish your growing baby.

Read more in Belly Belly’s article hCG Levels – Everything You Need To Know About hCG.

When you become pregnant, the level of this hormone begins to rise.

It rises at a different rate in each woman, depending on: