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According to standard OB/GYN practices, pregnancy starts even before conception. Day 1 of pregnancy, according to the 40-week calendar that calculates a person’s due date, is the first day of her last period, when the uterine lining is shedding and any egg that may have been ovulated is expelled. Fertilization of the egg that will result in pregnancy occurs two or more weeks later, and implantation—the physiological trigger for the hormonal changes that will elicit a positive pregnancy test—another week after that.
Beyond these clinical technicalities, for many people pregnancy also starts before conception in a figurative sense. Reproductive planning can become a big part of their lives, both in the short and long term. As editor Amanda Heidt reports in this issue, academics often delay having children as they establish their career paths. And once an individual or couple decides to move forward with starting ...
