9 DPO: What is it and what’s happening in your body?

9 days post ovulation is an important milestone in the two-week wait. If conception took place, 9 DPO is the time when a fertilized egg has either already embedded itself into the uterine lining or is in the process of implantation.

The most common 9 DPO symptoms include:

• Fatigue
• Cramping and backache
• Breast tenderness
• Spotting

While all these symptoms could be early pregnancy signals, they can also occur naturally due to hormonal shifts before your period. Thus, they shouldn’t be considered as guaranteed symptoms of pregnancy. It’s always recommended to take a pregnancy test to be confident.

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If you are trying to get pregnant, chances are that you are already tracking your ovulation and counting down the days between it and your next period. This time is commonly referred to as a “two-week wait” (TWW), and it can be incredibly emotionally intense. The TWW is the time it takes for fertilization and implantation to happen in order to give an official start to pregnancy. Many women experience it as a rollercoaster of hope and fear that can feel like an eternity. And that’s why it’s natural to wonder what happens in your body these days.

In this article, we’ll tell you about an important milestone in the two-week wait – 9 DPO. We’ll give you a definition, detail the common symptoms, and provide answers to the most common questions to help make your TWW journey less stressful.

What Does 9DPO Mean?

There is another term commonly associated with the two-week wait – DPO. This abbreviation stands for “days post ovulation,” and it’s used to track the days between your ovulation and the next period to understand the changes that take place in your body and notice pregnancy symptoms early on.

So, what is 9 DPO? It means 9 days post ovulation. It’s the second half of the two-week wait and almost the end of the luteal phase of your menstrual cycle. In a 28-day cycle, 9 DPO should be approximately the 23rd day of the cycle.

What’s Happening in the Body at 9 Days Post Ovulation?

If conception didn’t happen, at 9 days post ovulation, progesterone and estrogen levels start going down, preparing your body for the next period. It’s common for women to experience PMS symptoms around this time.

If conception did happen, by 9 DPO, the fertilized egg should already have traveled down the fallopian tube and reached the uterus for implantation. Although implantation can occur anywhere between 6 and 12 days after you ovulate, the majority of women experience it between 8-10 DPO. That is, 9 DPO is usually a time when your body is either in the process of implantation or already has an egg attached to the uterine lining.

If the egg has already attached, another thing that might be happening in your body at 9 DPO is a hormonal shift. After implantation occurs, your body will trigger an increased production of progesterone and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) to support early pregnancy. 

Common 9 DPO Symptoms

In the early stage of your TWW, such as 4 DPO or 6 DPO, you will not likely experience any tangible early pregnancy symptoms. At this time, the egg (if it’s fertilized) still travels to the uterus to implant, so pregnancy has not officially started. However, 9 DPO is different.

9 days post ovulation is an important milestone in your two-week wait. 84% of women experience implantation of the fertilized egg between 8 and 10 DPO. Respectively, this is the time around which your pregnancy might officially start, which means that you may start noticing early signs.

Let’s look at the most common 9 DPO symptoms:

Fatigue

The most common early pregnancy sign that you may notice at 9 DPO is fatigue. If the implantation has already happened, your body is now working hard to support early pregnancy. Additionally, the rising levels of progesterone can cause brain fog and exhaustion. Thus, it’s normal to feel tired and more sleepy than usual. However, it’s also important to remember that fatigue is a common symptom before a period. 

Cramping and Backache

Cramping and backache are also common at this point in your cycle. On the one hand, these symptoms might be a part of PMS. Hormonal changes that occur before your period can cause uterine contractions, which result in cramping. On the other hand, 9 DPO cramping and backache can be caused by implantation. There is still little scientific evidence to suggest that implantation itself causes cramps, but many women report having this symptom.

Breast Tenderness

Hormonal shifts frequently affect fluid retention and blood flow. This can make your breasts feel heavy and more tender than usual. This could be an early pregnancy sign. However, sore breasts are also common before your period.

Spotting

If you notice light spotting 9DPO that’s different from your period, this might be one of the most prominent signs of early pregnancy at this time. Spotting is one of the most common 9DPO implantation symptoms, caused by a fertilized egg embedding itself in the lining of your uterus. Since implantation spotting usually occurs closer to your period, it’s easy to mistake it. However, as a rule, you can distinguish them by a few characteristics. Namely, implantation bleeding is much lighter, lasts from several hours to 2–3 days, and has a different color. Sometimes, spotting 9DPO can be heavier, similar to the start or end of your period, but typically not as heavy as a period itself.

Cervical Changes: Can Changes in Discharge Indicate a Pregnancy?

As you now see, there are a few possible 9DPO implantation symptoms that could signal an early pregnancy. Still, the majority of these symptoms, such as cramping, breast tenderness, and fatigue, could also indicate that your period is coming. With this in mind, it’s still quite hard to tell whether you are 9 DPO PMS or pregnant.

Another way to answer this question is to look at the changes in your vaginal discharge. Here are a few common characteristics of 9 DPO discharge if pregnant:

• Increased discharge volume. Often, women have a low to moderate amount of discharge before their period. An increased volume of discharge could be caused by rising estrogen levels and indicate early pregnancy.
• Changes in consistency. Typically, around the time of your next period, your normal discharge is opaque and thick. An increased amount of cervical mucus can make your discharge more sticky or creamy.
• Spotting. Finally, experiencing light (pink or brown in color) spotting that doesn’t look like your period and ends faster could be one of the main 9 DPO symptoms ending in BFP (big fat positive).

Important: Even if you notice these changes in discharge and/or other implantation symptoms, such as cramping or spotting. Remember that these are not always definitive signs of early pregnancy. These symptoms could also result from PMS and natural hormonal shifts occurring before your period. Thus, the best way to know if you are pregnant is to stock up on patience and wait until you can take a pregnancy test.

Is 9 DPO Too Early to Test?

So, 9 DPO is a time when an egg may have already implanted and marked the official start of pregnancy. From this point, your body will instantly start producing hCG to support embryo development. But does this mean that you can immediately do a 9DPO pregnancy test?

Although implantation marks the start of pregnancy, hCG levels take time to build up in your body in order to be detected by pregnancy tests. Doing a 9DPO pregnancy test is generally quite early and can result in a false result. It’s usually recommended to wait and do a test after the first day of a missed period.

FAQ

Spotting at 9 DPO PMS or pregnant?

Since implantation usually takes place between 8-10 DPO, spotting at 9 DPO could be caused by it and thus indicate early pregnancy. Keep in mind: Although it’s common to experience some implantation symptoms, it’s also normal not to have them at all. Furthermore, there are many other possible causes of spotting and cramping 9DPO that may not be related to implantation, so these signs shouldn’t be treated as a guarantee of pregnancy. Only a timely pregnancy test can give you the answer.

How to distinguish if cramping 9DPO indicates pregnancy or PMS?

Implantation and period cramps are quite similar and can be easily confused. Most often, 1-2 days before their period, women report more intense cramps, whereas implantation cramps are often milder and take place a little earlier.

Is 9 DPO too early to test?

Generally, yes. Although the desire to know if you’re pregnant or not early is well understood, it’s recommended to test after you miss your period. If you test too early, your body may still not have enough hCG to be detected by a test, and this can lead to false results.

Conclusion

9 DPO is in the second half of the two-week wait and is an important milestone. This is the time around which the majority of women experience implantation, which means that it could be the official start of your pregnancy.

At this time, it’s not uncommon to experience symptoms like fatigue, cramping, backache, breast tenderness, and implantation bleeding. These symptoms could be your early signs of pregnancy. However, they don’t guarantee it by 100%. So, it’s important to stay patient and wait until you miss your period to do a pregnancy test. It’s also important to note that every pregnancy is different, and it’s normal not to feel any difference at 9 DPO, which is also not a guarantee that you are not pregnant.

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