More About Pregnancy Test
Most at home early pregnancy tests allow you to read the result as soon as 2-3 minutes after taking the test, but many have time limits- meaning not to read the result after a specified length of time. The accuracy of home pregnancy tests depends on how closely you follow the instructions. If you do a home pregnancy test four to seven days after your missed period, it will be positive 95 percent of the time (assuming you are pregnant).
How an Early Pregnancy Test Works
About four days after conception, the fertilized egg begins to produce a hormone
called human chorionic gonadotropin (or hCG for short). One of the first tasks
of this hormone is to notify the ovaries that you are pregnant and no more ovulations
are needed for a long time. The signal also directs the ovary to help retain
the endometrium (the uterine lining) and prevent your menstrual period, which
would expel the newly-attached embryo from your uterus.
Human chorionic gonadutropin (hCG) can be detected first in your blood and shortly thereafter in your urine. Most tests can tell you if you’re pregnant as early as the first day of your missed period (about 14 days after conception) or even earlier. The tests were created to detect the presence of hCG in your urine. If there is hCG detected in your urine, it reacts with the chemicals on the test strip to create a “+” sign or a second line in the result window (depending on what brand of test you use). Remember, whether the makers of the test claim you can take the test any time of the day, first- morning urine always contains the highest concentration of hCG.
The major drawback with home pregnancy tests is that when done in the early days of pregnancy, sometimes it will indicate you’re not pregnant, when in fact you are. This can occur because levels of hCG are low in early pregnancy and can go undetected. For this reason, test results that indicate you are not pregnant are more often wrong than test results that indicate you are pregnant.
Home pregnancy tests are not designed to take the place of a consultation with your doctor. They should be considered screening tests only. If your test result is negative, but your period is late and you have symptoms of pregnancy, consult your health care provider. If your result is positive, make an appointment with your doctor for confirmation and a complete prenatal check-up.
Blood pregnancy tests are very accurate and can detect the presence of hCG as early as one week after conception. They can also be helpful in determining how far along you are by measuring the exact amount of hCG in your blood, since the levels tend to double about every two days in early pregnancy.
More About Pregnancy Test Work
All of the commercially available tests detect human chorionic gonadotropin or hCG, a "glycoprotein." This substance, produced by placental tissue, can be detected once the fertilized ovum is implanted in the uterine wall. A sensitive blood or urine test detects hCG as early as eight to nine days after ovulation. The plasma concentration of hCG doubles at least every two days, peaks between days 60 and 70 of pregnancy and then declines.
Home Pregnancy Test
When using a home pregnancy test you will either need to urinate in a cup and
then place a small amount of urine, using a dropper, into the testing well,
or urinate directly on a testing stick. If the urine contains hCG, it will react
with the antibody and a colored line will form. If performed according to instructions,
home pregnancy tests claim 97 percent accuracy, but one study showed a 25 percent
rate of false negatives and a significant (though smaller) number of false positives.
These were probably due to poor technique, performing the test too close to
conception or use of an outdated test.
Quantitative hCG Test
Sometimes called the Beta hCG blood test, this is done in a lab, measures the
amount of hCG in your blood, detecting even very small levels.
Qualitative hCG Test
This blood test, also performed in a lab, measures the presence or absence
of hCG in your blood, giving you a simple yes or no answer.
Whether testing urine or blood, there can be a variance in what is considered to be a positive pregnancy test. Though levels for positive can be set at 5, 10 or 25 units, a level under 5 is always considered negative.
Information About Pregnancy Test What is Pregnancy Sign ?
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