Pregnancy Test
Home Pregnancy Tests
These days it is very easy to test at home whether you are pregnant or not by using home pregnancy test kits. All pregnancy tests work by detecting a certain hormone in the urine or blood that is only there when a woman is pregnant. This hormone is called human chorionic gonadotropin hCG. It is also called the pregnancy hormone.
hCG is made when a fertilized egg implants in the uterus. This usually happens about six days after the egg and sperm merge. But studies show that in up to 10 percent of women, implantation does not occur until much later, after the first day of the missed period. The amount of hCG rapidly builds up in your body with each passing day you are pregnant.
Home pregnancy tests detect hCG in your urine if you are pregnant. You can either buy a kit and do it yourself, or visit a health professional to have a test done.
Are there different types of pregnancy tests?
Yes. There are two types of pregnancy tests. One tests the blood for the pregnancy hormone, hCG. You need to see a doctor to have a blood test. The other checks the urine for the hCG hormone. You can do a urine test at a doctor’s office or at home with a home pregnancy test (HPT).
These days, many women first use an HPT to find out if they are pregnant. HPTs are inexpensive, private, and easy to use. HPTs also are highly accurate if used correctly and at the right time. HPTs will be able to tell if you’re pregnant about one week after a missed period.
Doctors use two types of blood tests to check for pregnancy. Blood tests can pick up hCG earlier in a pregnancy than urine tests can. Blood tests can tell if you are pregnant about six to eight days after you ovulate (or release an egg from an ovary).
A quantitative blood test (or the beta hCG test) measures the exact amount of hCG in your blood. So it can find even tiny amounts of hCG. This makes it very accurate. A qualitative hCG blood test just checks to see if the pregnancy hormone is present or not. So this test gives a yes or no answer. The qualitative hCG blood test is about as accurate as a urine test.
How does a home pregnancy test work?
Home pregnancy tests have absorbent sticks or cards that test your urine. There are two main types of test kit – one which is a stick that you hold in your urine flow whilst sitting on the toilet (this is called a midstream urine test), or one where you collect some urine in a small container and then dip the tester in.
The tester detects human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG – a hormone of pregnancy) in your urine if you are pregnant. When a woman becomes pregnant the placenta will start producing hCG within 6 – 10 days of conception. The level of this hormone increases rapidly, doubling every 1 to 2 days until it peaks after about 10 to 12 weeks.
Most kits need you to hold the stick in the urine for 5 – 10 seconds, and will give you the result within one to two minutes.Once the time has passed, you should inspect the “result window.” If a line or plus symbol appears, you are pregnant. It does not matter how faint the line is. A line, whether bold or faint, means the result is positive. New digital tests show the words “pregnant” or “not pregnant.”
Most tests also have a “control indicator” in the result window. This line or symbol shows whether the test is working properly. If the control indicator does not appear, the test is not working properly. You should not rely on any results from a HPT that may be faulty.
Most brands tell users to repeat the test in a few days, no matter what the results. One negative result (especially soon after a missed period) does not always mean you’re not pregnant. All HPTs come with written instructions. Most tests also have toll-free phone numbers to call in case of questions about use or results.
How early can I test to see whether I am pregnant?
Most home pregnancy test kits can be used from the day that your period is due. Some tests, however, can detect a pregnancy starting from 4 days before your period is due.
Each kit can detect different levels of hCG in your urine – most commonly the kits begin detecting hCG at 25 mIu/mL. A few kits can detect hCG as low as 15 mIu/mL and is effective from up to four days before your period is due.
The levels of hCG in your urine are highest first thing in the morning when you go to the toilet after waking up. However, the modern test kits are now so sensitive that they are able to detect hCG at any time of the day. Just remember not to drink lots of fluid before taking the test – this will dilute the amount of hCG in your urine.
Remember that a negative test does not always mean that you are not pregnant – you may just have conducted the test too early, i.e. before there was enough hCG in your urine. If your period does not arrive within the next 7 days, repeat the test – it is for this reason that tests are often purchased as packs of two.
A positive test, however, is 99% accurate (but be aware that a false positive could be caused by a recent miscarriage or fertility drugs).
Home Pregnancy Test Results
When you use a pregnancy test kit there are a variety of results that you can get. Here’s an overview of the various possibilities:
Negative pregnancy test result
The test is telling you that you are not pregnant. If you are pretty sure you are pregnant due to the symptoms you are experiencing, then it is possible that you have got a false negative pregnancy test result
False negative pregnancy test result
This occurs when you are pregnant, but your hCG levels are still too low to be detected by the test. It is best to take the test again in a few days to a week’s time.
Positive pregnancy test result
The test kit is telling you that you are pregnant. You may be feeling confused by this result – for instance, you may have had what you thought was your period (but was actually spotting or an implantation bleed) and you are actually pregnant.
Or, the test kit may be wrong.
False positive pregnancy result
There are occasions when you may get a false positive result – these include times when you have had a recent miscarriage and there is still hCG in your blood, or when you have recently been on fertility drugs.
If you are really worried and your symptoms don’t seem to match your test results, then you can go to a health professional, and have a blood test done.