Delayed Period: Possible Pregnancy After Condom Use?

Question
my boyfriend and i were concerned that i may be pregnant even though he pulled out and even though we had sex right after my period. my period began march 2 and ended march 8 (in the morning). we had sex on the 8 and 9 and both times he pulled out. we had sex again around 15-16. well we waited for my period to come which is regular but April 2nd came around and no period. we had sex April 5 and 6 and both times he ejaculated in me. i have cramps that come and go and before several times i felt i was going to get my period but never did. now i only have cramps and i feel bloated. i woke up and almost threw up twice but I'm not sure if that could be because i may be pregnant or from something else. like i said, my period hasn't come and yet. i took two hpts but both were negative. i thought maybe I'm taking it too early now because we just had sex and he did ejaculate in me two or three times (separate nights). Is it highly possible i could be pregnant?

Answer
Dear Amanda,

If your LMP was 3/2 and you have regular 28 day cycles, you likely would have ovulated on/around 3/16. So, if the sexual encounters on 3/15 and 3/16 were unprotected, you would have been at high risk for pregnancy.

The symptoms you describe are hormonal in nature and can also be related to hormone fluctuations within your cycle. That is why it so difficult to "diagnose" a pregnancy based on symptoms alone.

Although some tests claim accuracy on the first day of a missed period, I usually suggest that women wait until the week after a missed or spotty period before testing for pregnancy. This tends to minimize the incidence of false negative results and also avoids wasting money on a test for a simple delay of a period by a few days. When/if you test make sure to use 1st morning urine to get a concentrated sample for the most accurate results. I would suggest waiting another 5-7 days and testing again. If those results are negative, you can either wait for the next cycle to see if your periods resume or have your doctor's office do a quantitative blood pregnancy test (serum beta hCG). That test will give an actual amount of hCG in your bloodstream rather than just a positive/negative result. Any amount of 25 mIU/ml or more would be considered positive for pregnancy.

I hope this has helped you and answered your question. I wish you well.

Brenda