ELI5- Why aren’t pregnancies “discovered” earlier on?

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I’m not totally sure how to ask this. So most people find out they’re pregnant between 6-8 weeks. And it’s relatively common knowledge that one does not get their period while pregnant. So my question is, how do people not find out they’re pregnant until around 6 weeks if the average menstrual cycle is 4 weeks? Ovulation occurs on, I believe, day 14 in the cycle, so shouldn’t more pregnancies be discovered at 2-3 weeks when the initial next period would occur?

ETA: thank you for the responses! My confusion began with the the whole “you’re 6 weeks pregnant” when it’s more than likely 3-4 weeks of legitimate gestation due to how doctors begin the “clock” at the end of the last menstrual cycle.

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Anonymous 0 Comments

Pregnancies are counted from the date of your last menstrual period. That means that on the day you ovulate, it’s usually 2 weeks after your last period.

Sensitive pregnancy tests won’t detect you’re pregnant until about 10-14 days past ovulation, which is another two weeks. So you really have no way to know you’re even pregnant until you’re about 4 weeks in. And that’s for people with regular, 28 day cycles.

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