It's agonizing to worry endlessly about whether or not you are pregnant. Traditionally it was told that one must wait well over a month and wait some more until certain symptoms show up. However, in the last few years no one really wants to wait that long and the pregnancy tests available in the market have made things that much easier.
Pregnancy tests - how they work?
As is already common knowledge, a urine pregnancy test will require about five or ten minutes to show accurate results. You can check the indicators mentioned on the stick to know if you are pregnant or not. The instructions on the pregnancy pack will tell you the indicators for a positive, negative or invalid result.
How does a urine test confirm pregnancy?
The urine test is the most common method of detecting pregnancy. These tests basically determine the level of a hormone called human chronic gonadotropin (HCG) in the woman's urine. Medically speaking, HCG is a hormone that's secreted into the bloodstream by the placenta once a fertilized egg is implanted in the uterus. HCG is measured in mIU which is milli International units per ml (milliliter) of urine.
If the egg is implanted in the uterus, the amount of HCG in a woman's urine steadily increases post ovulation doubling in number every day. Ideally if a woman is pregnant her HCG levels will be about 25 mIU/ml at 10 days past ovulation (dpo). By a couple of weeks past ovulation, the HCG count should have multiplied to about 1oo mIU/ml. Of course, the hormone level differs from person to person but these are average levels that can be expected.
This implies that within a couple of days of missing a period, a woman can take a pregnancy test and confirm whether or not she is pregnant. Again before taking tests, it's best to check its sensitivity on the label. Most tests available in stores have a sensitivity of 50 mIU/ml. There are a few that can test with a sensitivity as low as 20 mIU/ml. Therefore these tests can be used as close as within 8 days post ovulation.
Therefore if you do take a test on the day or one day after you miss a period and the test shows negative, it needn't imply that you're not pregnant. If your periods still haven't come for over a week since taking the test, you may well take the test again. This is because the previous test may not have been sensitive enough to detect the slight variation that was present in the first few days.
Interpreting test results
Very often when the test is taken, women find that the line or mark indicating a positive is usually very faint. Do note, however faint it may be, if the line appears it generally implies that the woman is pregnant. However, to be sure, it's best to repeat the test a couple of days later. Also, take the test early in the morning, with the first urine as that has the highest concentration of HCG hormone.
In rare instances, you may encounter a false positive. This can happen if the test is past its expiration date or has been lying around in moist conditions for too long. While there's no way of knowing if the positive indication is true or false, you can ensure that you use a test that's well within its expiry dates and is stored in a cool and dry place. There is also a very slim chance of chemical pregnancy wherein you take a test fairly early and still get your periods in a few days. This means the HCG was created in the placenta but for some reason the egg stopped developing. Here you will get your periods, perhaps a few days later than usual and little heavier too.
But these are rare instances. In most cases, pregnancy tests are a safe option to find out (as early as possible) if you're pregnant or not. This means you don't need to spend endless days in speculation.
Author Resource:-
Kevin Pederson is the chief contributor of content for Medical Health Tests, an authoritative source for information on medical tests. The articles are not only informative and insightful, but they are also simple and intelligible. This makes them a reliable resource for anyone seeking information on medical tests
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