The two week wait is the time period between ovulation and the time a woman's menstrual cycle is supposed to begin. It is referred to as the two week wait when a couple is trying to conceive and therefore is anxiously anticipating the results - whether they have been successful or not during that cycle. Although home pregnancy tests have become sensitive enough to determine pregnancy even earlier than two weeks past ovulation, many women choose to wait until they have missed their period to find out if they are pregnant or not.
During the two week wait, women are frequently hyper-sensitive, attributing any sensation that seems to be out of the ordinary to the possibility that they may be pregnant. Cramping or absence thereof, sensitive breasts, sensitivity to smells, frequent urination, nausea, heartburn, headaches, and others appear in the list of symptoms that are commonly attributed to pregnancy. It is common for women to believe that they feel pregnancy symptoms well before implantation has occurred, although no hormonal changes that could cause such symptoms have taken place yet - symptoms are never actually present before 6-7 days past ovulation. Many women will not feel any changes even well past the time their period was due.
The two week wait ends when a woman has either gotten her period or gotten a definite verdict from a pregnancy test, whether positive or negative. A positive test must be followed up by a doctor as soon as possible, to ensure that the woman receives good prenatal care. A negative test, without the woman getting her period for longer than 6 weeks should also be followed up by a doctor.
