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Pregnancy Tests

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An Easy Read: Home Pregnancy Testing
> How Do I Interpret Results?
> How Soon Can I Test for Pregnancy?
> Test Sensitivity and Early Detection
> Pregnancy Test FAQ: Questions about Pregnancy Testing

Just a few years back, home pregnancy testing was expensive and a bit more complicated than it is now - with tests offering a fraction of the sensitivity that today's diagnostic kits boast. The good news is that pregnancy testing is easy, affordable, and accurate - with early-detection tests capable of determining pregnancy as early as 8-10 days dpo.

How do Pregnancy Tests Work?
hCG and the Detection of Pregnancy

HCG pregnancy tests determine pregnancy through the detection of the hormone hCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin) in a woman's urine. In technical terms, hCG is a glycoprotein hormone secreted by the developing placenta shortly after a fertilized egg has implanted in the uterine lining. The appearance of hCG soon after conception - and its subsequent rise in concentration during early gestational growth - make it an excellent marker for the early detection of pregnancy.

Pregnancy tests come in two common formats - tests strips and midstream tests. To use a pregnancy test strip, you fill a clean, dry container with urine and hold the test strip in the container for several seconds. With midstream tests, you simply hold the test in your stream of urine (or you can dip the absorbent end into a container of urine). Both test formats are equally reliable - but always read pregnancy test kit instructions carefully. Though they all function by the same principle, unique manufacturing specifications and instructions may apply.

Also, the way results appear among products may differ: some brands have tests lines (horizontal lines) and other tests may indicate a "plus" sign. Newer digital pregnancy test kits will even tell you, in words, if the result is positive or negative. Indeed, things have changed quite a bit, even in the last 10 years or so!

With most home pregnancy testing products, the "reaction time" of the test is five minutes. Generally, at three to five minutes, you can interpret the test results. IN some cases, a positive result will show up quickly if the hCG level is high in the urine. However, most tests require a minimum five minute interval to verify a negative result for pregnancy. Manufacturers also recommend that you should not read tests after a designated time period, as most test brands have the possibility of developing evaporation lines. If you leave the test to sit for too long, an evaporation line may develop and look like a positive result.

How do I Interpret Pregnancy Test Results?

Once the reaction time of the test is complete, color bands will appear (or fail to appear) in the test region of the strip or midstream unit. All tests have a "control" color band (or color line) that indicates whether the test is working or not. The "test" color band indicates a positive or negative result (please refer to the graphic below). Given proper testing and interpretation procedure, a faint line in the test region may be read as a positive result, though it's a good idea to verify any result with an additional test 24-48 hours later (using first morning urine).

How Early Can I Test? And When Should I Test?
Early Pregnancy Test Sensitivity

HCG is measured in thousandths of International Units, or mIU. The most sensitive pregnancy tests can detect hCG levels at as low as 20 mIU. This level of hCG is present in the urine of pregnant women at about 8 days after conception - (though conception/implantation can actually take place several days after the last recorded intercourse). Test sensitivity equates with early-detection - and the lower the number, the sooner a test can detect pregnancy.

If pregnant, the amount of hCG in your system should be around 25 mIU at 10 dpo (days past ovulation), 50 mIU at 12 dpo, 100 mIU at around two weeks dpo. Blood tests can determine pregnancy as low as between 5 to 10 mIU/hCG, though with levels of 5 mIU, a conclusive determination cannot be made without risking a "false positive" as low levels hCG can be present in the body without pregnancy.

Drugstore pregnancy tests generally detect pregnancy at 50 mIU - 100 mIU hCG, though you can find early-detection pregnancy tests on the Internet with sensitivity levels as low as 20 mIU. With all diagnostic products, take care to follow the instructions.

For earliest detection of pregnancy, use first morning urine, as this urine sample contains the most concentrated amount of hCG. If using first morning urine is not feasible, avoiding urination for several hours before using a pregnancy test.

Besides pregnancy, elevated concentrations of hCG may be found in women with trophoblastic diseases. These conditions should be ruled out in the interpretation of hCG levels to establish a diagnosis of pregnancy.

Read More About Pregnancy Tests

> Pregnancy Test FAQ: Questions about Pregnancy Testing
> Optimize: Tips for Pregnancy and Ovulation Testing
> Test Sensitivity and Early Detection
> How Early Can I Begin Testing, Faint Lines and Evaporation Lines

Test Instructions are specific to Early-Pregnancy-Tests.com products. They are re-published here as a single example of ovulation test instructions. These instructions should not be generalized to other brands.

  • Pregnancy Test Instructions

> Pregnancy Test Strips
> Pregnancy Midstream Tests

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Comments

My boyfriend and I had sex about two weeks ago. The condom ripped and of course that we didn't find out until we were done. When we saw what had happened we rushed to buy plan B or the after morning pill. That will be 2 weeks tomorrow. Most of the times I get my period either on the last days of the month or on the very first days of the month and I still haven't got it. This is the second time that I have taken plan B. The first time I took it was like about two weeks before the incident because my boyfriend came on top of me, not inside but for prevention I took Plan B (just in case). I had the side effects such as vomitting and I started bleeding, but not this time. Im really worried, so if you can please tell me if is too early to take the pregnancy test or not I will appreciated. Thanks.

Anonymous - Nov 05, 2009
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My last period started on Sept 31, 2009. My husband and I have been trying to conceive and had unprotected intercourse during my expected ovulation period. I have not started my period. I took a home pregnancy test 2 days ago in the evening and it read - NEG. Still no period so I took an at home pregnancy test this morning with first morning urine. My results were not as clear as I had hoped. I had a line in the test box and another dark blue line in the next box which would read - NEG if it was the only line visable however, there was a faint blue line behind it creating a + POS reading. The package stated that it did not matter if the one line was darKer or lighter than the other, but it was indeed very faint and hard to see. Should I assume I am pregnant or should I take another home pregnancy test? and when? Thanks for your time and advice!

Anonymous - Oct 02, 2009
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i always have my period every 25th of the month,in july i got delay in the month of august i have my period on the 15th day and after that this month of september again i am delay.but on the 26th day of this month i have my period.i never used pregnancy test,the question is am i pregnant?please answer i am confused tnx a lot and more power

Anonymous - Sep 25, 2009
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okay, so me and my boyfriend have sex on a regular basies.
Hes always used protection such a a condom, till this one day. We have only done it twice with out a condom and he claims to have not left any sperm inside. However i have always gotten my period regularly. I now havent got it and its 5 days late already. I did however, take 2 store bought pregnancy test on the 3rd & 4th day of not having it. the 3rd day results said positive, but the 4thdays results said negative.

is there a chance that i am pregnant?

Anonymous - Sep 13, 2009
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My boyfriend and I had unprotected sex for the first time 10 days ago. He was only inside of me for about 10minutes and said he felt nothing come out, before we continued with a condom. A few days later my boobs have started to hurt and get bigger and I felt a sharp pain in my ovary which lasted for about an hour and since then my ovaries have started to hurt almost constantly (which is quite normal for me as they some times hurt all through my cycle). I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome and have recently started having physio therapy to relax my pelvic flaw muscles. Do you think there is a chance I’m pregnant? Or is it to early to tell?

Anonymous - Sep 09, 2009
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I feel so confused. I know that normally a woman would not feel any symptoms of pregnancy this early (this being due to the conception not actually happening until 7-10 DPO) but this cycle has been weird for me. I am extremely tired, my breasts are tender to touch, I feel so full in the bottom of my stomach and my temps have been between 82.2 and 99.2 for almost a week. All of a sudden this morning, I wake up.. and nothing! Not a single symptom of anything at all. Not even AF symptoms. If pregnancy was occuring, could or would symptoms just disappear?

Lorie - Sep 06, 2009
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I had unprotected physical contact with my husband on 17 august 2009 n my periods was due on 24 but its delayed now for 4 days. I did a UPT at home but it shows negative. Is there any chance of me getting conceived.

Anonymous - Aug 29, 2009
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We are the newly married couple. Marriage was solmnized on 26th of January, 2008. In the Month of August, 2009, my wife fall sick due to irregularities in period. When i brought my wife to a gynocologist for check-up with the positve test report ( preg colour test ), the Doctor has physically checked up my wife by way of entering his finger inside the lower organ of woman and press the breast of wife.

My wife and myself both are ignorant of the facts previously. As such, we got very schok.

Now my question is

Is it the procedure of physical check-up of first pregnancy by a gynocologist?

Please help us by providing information and / or clarification regarding above facts happened with us.

sumanta basak - Aug 28, 2009
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Dear Sir
I had undergone an operation of F.tube for family planning three month ago...
Now this month on 26 th I had taken pills for delay of period ... for 5 days ..
after 10 days when my period got delay I taken pills for my period fotre....
but couldnot be in period
today i tested for pregnancy test
and the test came positive...
now i want to know can my test be wrong
pls advice me

mamta - Aug 15, 2009
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Google ovulation calendars. This will bring up a few questions about when your first day of your period was. Then it will ask you how long are your cycles. Most normal cycles are 28 days long. This will tell you what day you can get pregnant. If you ovulated within 48 hours of him ejaculating inside of you, you could get pregnant. Check it out.

Anonymous - Aug 01, 2009
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First Day of Last Period:
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Ovulation:
Due Date:
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Note that you are most likely to get pregnant if you time your lovemaking to occur on the days right before - and on - your ovulation date. Keep in mind that the projected ovulation date above is simply a “best guess” estimate based on your cycle date information. The most accurate way to pinpoint your most fertile time is through the use of urine-based ovulation tests or with a fertility monitor. We have partnered with Early-Pregnancy-Tests.com, the Internet’s leading supplier of preconception products since 2001, to offer low-cost, FDA-approved pregnancy and ovulation tests – with free same-day shipping.

 

Now that you’ve calculated your ovulation date using our ovulation calculator, we have a number of other helpful tools you can use to help increase your chances of conceiving.

 

  • Create your own personalized ovulation calendar! You can even provide an email address so that you receive email alerts of your most fertile days, when you can begin testing for pregnancy, and more.
     

  • Create your own personalized fertility chart! This is a highly accurate way to pinpoint your ovulation date that relies primarily on basal temperature charting. (Visit Early-Pregnancy-Tests.com for an accurate, inexpensive basal thermometer.)
     

  • Connect with others at our online community! If you have questions about trying-to-conceive – or if you just want to vent a bit – we have a wonderful, vibrant community of people who’d just love to hear from you.

Find your most fertile time.
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