Trusting in Home Pregnancy Tests
Many women long to take home pregnancy tests and see the
undeniably pregnant signs that signal success. As much as they
look forward to it they also are wracked with nervousness. They
are also filled with questions about taking home pregnancy
tests. Can they trust the results? When should they take the
test? How should they take the test for best results?
Let us answer these home pregnancy test questions one at a
time.
When do I take a home pregnancy test?
There are many claims on the various home pregnancy tests
about how accurate they are or how early they can be taken. No
matter what the claims for best results it is better to wait
until your period is late by one week. Waiting will ensure that
there are adequate amounts of the pregnancy hormone so as to
avoid any false negatives.
What are the different types of pregnancy
tests?
Even though there are different types of pregnancy tests
they all basically operate on the same basic principal.
The dip the stick in the urine tests
The dip the end of the test strip in the middle of your
stream test
Tests with two pink lines for a positive or tests with a
plus sign for a positive and tests with the word “pregnant” on
it.
Certain of these tests are more user friendly and others are
easier to read.
Some tests require sticking the end of a stick into your
urine stream, mid stream, others ask that you dip the end into
a small cup filled part way with urine. Some tests are sticks
incased in plastic and others are thin strips. Some tests
require that you use urine that is concentrated such as the
first time you urinate in the morning after waking other say
that as long as you follow instructions it shouldn't matter
what time of day you take it or how many times you urinate
before you take the test.
How is it that these tests are able to detect that
you are pregnant?
When pregnant, your body begins to produce a hormone called
"chorionic gonadotropin (HCG). This hormone increases in
quantity during the early weeks of pregnancy. Blood tests done
in doctor offices and laboratories are usually more sensitive
than these home pregnancy tests.
All women taking home pregnancy tests want to know how
accurate they are so that they can know if the results can be
trusted. Most hpts claim to be 99% accurate. According to
research results hpts do not always accurately detect an early
pregnancy (false negatives). Typically these tests are viewed
to be accurate if taken one week after a missed period.
If you get a positive result on your hpt can the result be
wrong? It is very rare for a positive hpt to be wrong, although
a false positive can rarely occur if you have traces of blood
or protein in your urine also various prescription drugs
including diuretics and promethazine can give a false positive
test result. It is also possible for a woman to get a false
positive result from using an expired or damaged test.
|