For most of us pregnancy is a dream come true. We had been waiting to see those red lines on the tester. But the mysterious few days before you get a positive result can be sometimes overwhelming. We need to think of the foods that we eat, focus on the routine that we have daily. All this would depend on whether the results are positive or not and we cannot wait to know about it. There are a few facts that need to be understood before we could conclude whether the test was a success or not. Facts like how long have you waited to take the test post no arrival of the periods? Do you know the right method to do the test? How long are you into the pregnancy? And the most important question what is the accuracy of home pregnancy tests? Let’s discuss each of them and help you get an answer.
Why take a pregnancy test at home?
Pregnancy test is a method to confirm the pregnancy at the ease of your home with just a few simple steps to be followed. It measures the amount of a particular hormone in your urine and gives you the results instantly. You do not have to wait till the time the doctor confirms your pregnancy through blood results or sonography. The hormone that the test checks is called human chorionic gonadotropin or HCG hormone. It is produced in the body only when the fertilised egg gets implanted in the uterus. It is a very sure shot and safe way to know the result of pregnancy. Also, if someone is going through unplanned pregnancy and has missed the periods this home pregnancy test could help them clear their dilemma of whether the missed periods of due to pregnancy or not. These pregnancy tests for home are not very costly too, they are very pocket friendly when you compare them with the blood work and ultrasound that has to be done at a hospital. For all the above reasons it’s very wise for any woman to choose a home pregnancy kit to test the pregnancy for herself.
What is the best way to get accurate results in a home pregnancy test?
The ideal time for taking a pregnancy test is around one week after you have missed the periods. It’s take about over a week or so to form an embryo and get implanted in the uterus. The accuracy of home pregnancy tests depends on the level of hCG in the blood stream. If you are very early into the pregnancy the levels might be quite low and the pregnancy kit wouldn’t be able to detect it. So if after taking the test one week post delay in periods it hasn’t worked for you wait for another week or so before you take the another test. The home pregnancy tests available in the market today have proven to be almost 99% accurate. Thus, all depends on the timing of taking the test and the method that you follow.
How to take a home pregnancy test?
- There are various home pregnancy tests available in the market. Pick and choose any one as all of them follow the same method of testing.
- Once you have got hold of the test, read the instructions given very carefully. Many pregnancy kits at home recommend the user to use the first pee in the morning. As this pee is supposed to be concentrated with HCG because there wouldn’t have been much drinking of water or peeing during the night which would dilute the pee.
- Many tests pockets have in their package a testing strip and a small dropper kind of device to pour the urine on the tester. There are other testing kits which need you to dip the tester in the urine. So it is very important to know the way the tester that you have bought works. Once you have confirmed that method go ahead with the process
- The results wouldn’t appear immediately after you have poured the urine on the tester. You would have to wait for a couple of minutes or so. So just wait patiently as mentioned on the pocket. Also, read carefully how many drops of urine has to be put on the tester. If the amount is more or less it would also lead to negative tests. So be very careful with that.
- After all the this is done you just have to wait for the results. Two ref lines means a positive pregnancy test. And one red line means an error or a negative pregnancy test.
In what circumstances do you get a false positive or false negative test ?
As mentioned above the tests available in the market today are 99% reliable but one needs to know the right method and time to use it. But besides this fact we also must remember that these tests could show a false positive or false negative in some cases let’s see what are those –
- If you have been on infertility treatment and the pills are causing the production of hCG hormone in your body this could lead to a false positive test results.
- If you have diluted the urine while collecting it in the container and then tested the urine it might give you false negative results.
- If it’s a very early stage of the pregnancy and the levels of hCG are very low the test might come out to be false negative again.
So as mentioned above timing and method is all that matters. And even if you are sure in your guts that you are pregnant and the results do not show it just give it some time. May be your little one isn’t ready to reveal itself yet. There are many reliable pregnancy tests available from different pharma companies prega news, velocit pregnancy kit, I can one step pregnancy kit. All of them have quite a good review among the user and do not require any expertise to use the test. So if you wish to get a positive result cross your fingers and let your stress free. All the best !!