Pregnancy signs at two weeks (2024)

Tender breasts, nausea, fatigue, and food cravings can all be signs that you're in the early stages of pregnancy. While the pregnancy may still be too early to show up as a positive pregnancy test, your body is already changing, and these early symptoms could be its way of letting you know that you're pregnant.

One of the earliest symptoms of pregnancy can often be sore or tingling breasts (Bastian & Brown 2023, NHS 2022b, Healthline 2019). One or both breasts may feel heavy, tender, lumpy and extra sensitive to touch (Healthline 2019, Murray & Hendley 2020). Some people also notice a tingling sensation in their breasts or nipples (NHS 2022b, Healthline 2019). This can happen within a week or two of conceiving (Healthline 2019).

You may also notice that the veins in your breasts are more visible than before (Bastian & Brown 2023, NHS 2022b, Healthline 2019). Your nipples may get darker and stand out more (Bastian & Brown 2023, NHS 2022b, Healthline 2019), and you may spot tiny bumps on your areolas (the darker area of skin around your nipples) (Healthline 2019).

These early changes and sensations in your breasts happen because pregnancy hormones are starting to prepare your body for breastfeeding, stimulating the glands that will later produce milk to feed your baby (Healthline 2019). Blood flow to your breasts also increases, and you may soon notice that your usual bra is starting to feel tight and uncomfortable (Healthline 2019, Murray & Hendley 2020).

We've all heard about pregnancy cravings. But this early in pregnancy, you may also notice changes to your appetite, such as going off foods you previously loved or craving specific foods (Bastian & Brown 2023, NHS 2022b).

Early pregnancy hormones can also affect your sense of smell and taste. You may find yourself suddenly wanting to eat foods you've never enjoyed much before (NHS 2022b). Or you may find that foods or drinks you previously loved just don't have the same appeal – particularly tea, coffee or fatty foods (NHS 2022b).

Morning sickness can start two weeks after you’ve conceived, when you’re four weeks pregnant. It’s more common for it to start when you’re about five or six weeks pregnant, though (Bastian & Brown 2023, Murray & Hendley 2020, NHS 2022b, NICE 2021).

Despite the name, you may feel nauseous – with or without vomiting – at any time of the day or night (NHS 2022b, NICE 2021). Morning sickness usually starts to ease early in the second trimester (NICE 2021), although about one woman in five still feels sick into their third trimester (NICE 2021).

Another common symptom in early pregnancy is the need to pee more often (Bastian & Brown 2023, MNT 2021, NHS 2022b). This can happen from the first few weeks after conception (MNT 2021), and may have you running to the loo all day, or making more frequent trips at night (MNT 2021, NHS 2022b).

In the early weeks, this is thought to happen because of the pregnancy hormones progesterone and human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) (MNT 2021). One of the ways these hormones help to prepare your body for pregnancy is by increasing the volume of blood in your body to support your growing baby (MNT 2021). And more fluid in the body means more trips to the bathroom (MNT 2021).

It’s possible that if you’re particularly in tune with your usual menstrual cycle, you will notice changes to your vagin*l discharge at this early stage (Bastian & Brown 2023, NHS 2021, NHS 2022b).

It’s common to have more vagin*l discharge in pregnancy (Bastian & Brown 2023, NHS 2021, NHS 2022b, Murray & Hendley 2020). It’s usually harmless and not that different from the discharge that you had before you were pregnant. It will normally be clear or white in colour and may be thick and sticky or slippery and wet, but it shouldn't smell bad (NHS 2021).

The amount of discharge increases to help prevent infections from travelling up your vagin* to your womb (NHS 2021, Murray & Hendley 2020). Don’t rinse out your vagin* (douching) (NHS 2021), as this may irritate your skin and upset the natural, healthy balance of bacteria.

You may notice a slight pink or brown-coloured stain in your knickers or on the toilet paper when you wipe. It’s common to have some spotting or light bleeding at around the time you would have had your period (Bastian & Brown 2023, NHS 2022b), or a few weeks later (Hasan et al. 2010).

This light bleeding in early pregnancy is often known as implantation bleeding (NHS 2022b), because many experts think it might be caused by the fertilised egg implanting in your womb. However, not all experts agree that bleeding is caused by implantation, so we need more research to discover why it’s so common in early pregnancy (Hasan et al. 2010).

If you have bleeding that seems unusual, or you have any concerns, see your GP to be on the safe side. Bleeding that’s heavier than spotting or that is accompanied by pain, may be a sign of something more serious, such as miscarriage or an ectopic pregnancy (Bastian & Brown 2023). An ectopic pregnancy is when the embryo implants outside the womb; it needs immediate treatment.

You may feel tired right from the early stages of pregnancy, as your body prepares to support your growing baby. You’ll probably find this lasts until you’re about 12 weeks pregnant (Bastian & Brown 2023, NHS 2022b).

Though fatigue is not a sure-fire symptom on its own, it’s a very common early pregnancy symptom (Bastian & Brown 2023, NHS 2022b), and often goes hand in hand with morning sickness (NICE 2021).

Learn more about tiredness in pregnancy and what to do about it.

It may sound obvious, but a missed period is generally considered to be the most reliable early sign of pregnancy (Bastian & Brown 2023, NHS 2022b).

These may not be as common as the symptoms above or may not show up quite as early, but they can still be associated with pregnancy in the first trimester. If you notice several of these symptoms, it could be worth taking a pregnancy test:

After you've conceived, it typically takes a few weeks for pregnancy hormones to build up in your body and start causing symptoms (Bastian & Brown 2023, NHS 2022b). It’s possible that you may experience pregnancy symptoms as early as two weeks after conception. However, it's more likely that you won't feel anything for a while longer.

It may be two weeks since you conceived, but your doctor will calculate that you’re four weeks pregnant. They’ll count your pregnancy from the first day of your last period (Bastian & Brown 2023). There’s no way of knowing for sure the exact date that the embryo implanted in your womb (uterus), which is when you conceived (Bastian & Brown 2023).

Every pregnancy is different, so it’s hard to predict if you’ll notice changes in your body, especially just two weeks after conception (NHS 2022b). Some women may notice all the symptoms above, while one in 10 might not experience any symptoms at all in the early weeks (Bastian & Brown 2023, NHS 2022b).

At two weeks after conception, it may be. The more sensitive home pregnancy tests claim to detect low levels of pregnancy hormones even before your period is due (NHS 2012a).

However, in general, you’ll get the most accurate result from your pregnancy test if you use it no earlier than the first day of your missed period (NHS 2012a).