Pregnancy Test Accuracy

If you suspect that you are pregnant, it is important to get an early diagnosis not just for medical reasons but for social ones. There are a number of options available today for you to take a pregnancy test.

You could use a home pregnancy test kit or visit your family doctor, chemist or a family planning clinic. Most people use the home pregnancy test kit. The information below will help you know more about pregnancy test accuracy.

A pregnancy test is made to detect the presence of HCG hormone in the blood or urine. The female’s body produces this hormone if a fertilized ovum is attached to the uterus.

This hormone is released 6 days after conception in most women and the levels increase by the day or with pregnancy. These levels will double every two days on average.[1] A home pregnancy test is able to detect the HCG about one week after a missed period.

Pregnancy Test Accuracy: When You Should Take the Test

pregnancy testThere is a ninety-seven to ninety-nine accuracy claim for the home test kits and this is true for pregnancies which are further along.[2] For this reason, you need to wait for at least a week after missing your period to take that pregnancy test.

Depending on the type of test, the results might be simple or difficult to read. It will be easier for you to interpret the results when using a pregnancy test kit with sufficient contrast between the line or symbol and the background.

There are some brands which indicate that it’s possible to see an evaporation line if the test kit is left to sit over a certain period of time. This line could make it more difficult to interpret the test results accurately.

At this point, it is worth mentioning that you are more likely to get a false negative result when using home pregnancy tests. The test would indicated that you are not when you are in fact pregnant. On the other hand, a false positive result will indicate pregnancy when you are not.

In general, a positive result will indicate that you are pregnant. This will happen even in cases when it’s faint. If you get a false positive result, this can happen for a number of reasons, including the fact that traces of blood or protein is in your urine; you are using an expired or damaged kit; have a chemical pregnancy and more.

Overall, it is important to know whether or not you are pregnant as early as possible to take the right measures to solve any issues with your menstrual cycle and ensure that your pregnancy is successful.

Now that you know a little bit more about pregnancy test accuracy, you should take one to verify if you are going to be a mom. You can consult a doctor if you are getting mixed results from a home test kit.
Image: Pixabay

References

  1. ncbi:Urinary hCG patterns during the week following implantation. [Link]
  2. False Positive Pregnancy Test. [Link]
Spread the love

26 Comments

  1. Funke July 21, 2019
    • Daniella Hall July 31, 2019
  2. Alya June 18, 2018
    • Alison June 19, 2018
  3. Lawrencia October 17, 2017
    • Alison October 19, 2017
  4. Amanda buus September 21, 2017
    • Alison September 22, 2017
  5. Sara k June 28, 2017
    • Alison June 29, 2017
  6. Laura Grant June 15, 2017
    • Alison June 17, 2017
  7. Sandra May 23, 2017
    • Alison May 26, 2017
  8. Rachel May 17, 2017
    • Alison May 23, 2017
  9. maame March 29, 2017
    • Alison March 30, 2017
  10. ONA March 25, 2017
    • Alison March 30, 2017
  11. Sandra March 13, 2017
    • Alison March 16, 2017
  12. linda February 6, 2017
  13. Benita January 21, 2017
    • Alison January 27, 2017