Pregnancy Test

Pregnancy Tests: the Basics

Pregnancy tests are administered in order to reliably determine if a woman has successfully conceived. Usually, these tests are used to confirm pregnancy if symptoms which are closely associated with conception are present, such as fatigue, tender and swollen breasts, or a missed period.

How pregnancy tests work

While there are symptoms which may give clues as to a woman’s pregnancy, these hints are in no way very reliable, since pregnancy signs vary between individuals, and they may be indications of causes other than conception. For this reason, a pregnancy test is conducted to ensure if the symptoms are indicative of conception. 

There are several ways of conducting the test; the more accurate method is by analyzing a sample of the patient’s blood by a doctor, either to determine an early diagnosis, or to concur with the results of a home pregnancy test. However, the more popular and accessible means of testing for pregnancy is through a self-administered home pregnancy test kit. 

Home pregnancy tests work by detecting the presence of the hormone known as human Chorionic Gonadotropin in the bloodstream, which is created by the woman’s placenta after ten days of egg fertilization. The amount of this hormone doubles within two-day periods, during the initial sixty days of a woman’s pregnancy. 

The presence of this hormone in urine may indicate a positive result. Many women find this method of determining pregnancy more appealing since it can be done upon the person’s own discretion, providing results in minutes, and within the privacy and convenience of the home. The kit may be in the form of a short stick with a test strip inside. It has two portals on either end, one for the urine drops which you hold in under your urine (it may also come with a dropper, so you can perform the test without any mess). 

There are also kits in the form of a cup where you collect a sample of urine, and a similar testing strip built into the cup detects any changes in the composition. Test strips change color which may indicate the presence of hCG, and a positive or negative pregnancy, depending on the kit instructions. Another kind of testing device which uses roughly the same process involves mixing the urine sample with certain powders or solutions, resulting in a chemical reaction which may be evaluated with the aid of a chart. 

Conditions before using a Pregnancy Test

Home pregnancy tests have an accuracy rate of up to 99%, although the test should be conducted several times for better verification, or supported by a clinical analysis for confirmation.  The testing should be done at an appropriate time; if it is performed too early after suspected conception, the result may end up as a false negative. 

The accuracy rate of the test is also dependent on the woman’s period of ovulation, and not on the date of the recent sexual union, since sperm can survive for five days within the fallopian tubes after the contact, anticipating an ovulation. Possible implantation of the fertilized egg may take as long as an additional twelve days; in this case the home pregnancy test is unable to reliably tell positive conception within seventeen days after the sexual contact.

 Some test kits require a significantly high presence level of hCG for a positive result, so the body needs up to four days of additional leeway to produce the amount of hCG needed for confirmation of potential pregnancy. With these considered, the most appropriate time to conduct a test is after at least three weeks of the sexual contact, or more favorably during the period when the woman expects her next monthly menstruation. 

Take note that home pregnancy kits are only useful if you have enough hCG levels in your blood. A level which is fewer than 25 to 50 mIU/mL will result in a negative test, but this does not necessarily mean that you are not pregnant. If the woman has an irregular menstrual cycle, this can also become a significant factor, since egg ovulation may occur at unpredictable intervals within a menstrual period, more so if it occurs in irregular patterns.

 An unexpected early or delayed period is caused by multiple factors; this affects all women, whether they have a regular cycle or not. Anticipating a possible ovulation with the help of ovulation predictor kits, or through normal methods of gauging fertility with cervical mucus and basal body temperature observation, are more reliable means of determining when to conduct a test.

Pregnancy kit availability and additions

Home pregnancy tests are easily available without prescription, and in most drug stores; the kit is available in numerous different brands, but the effectiveness of the kit varies insignificantly between them though, so that going with any brand will do. 

The price also is set within a certain amount, and because the kits are relatively simple in concept, in the materials used and in the product design, they are very affordable even if several kits are purchased for repeated use. In order to get results as accurate as possible from the kit, it is advised that the instructions on the label be followed closely. Usually the kit comes with detailed information on how to administer the test. 

This includes the purpose and the limitations of the test. If the kit comes with a test strip with two bands, the urine sample should react with the chemical on the strip precisely as indicted on the label of the kit to accurately determine a positive, negative, or an error test result. The kit shows details on where and how to put in the urine sample.

 Make sure that the urine sample is placed in the slot where it is supposed to go, in order to acquire an accurate result. Advice on when and how to administer the test is also provided, which includes the timing suggestions for the sample test. The result may be interpreted differently between test kit brands and types, so be sure that the instructions on how to evaluate the test is carefully followed through. 

Conditions which may hinder accurate results are provided, in case the interpretation is particularly misleading, and may be the cause of conditions other than pregnancy.  Whether the test turns out to be positive or negative, it is necessary to confirm the result either with a repeat test or with a visit to a doctor.

How to ensure an Accurate Result

The home pregnancy test kit must have the manufacturer’s contact details, to entertain possible customer inquiries. Make sure that the kit you purchase is regulated and approved by your local food and drug assessment authorities; if it does not comply with regulations, chances are you won’t have the accurate results that you were aiming for.

 Before opening the package, check the kit’s expiration period and see to it that the storage conditions indicated on the label have been observed, ensuring you of the quality of the product. It is also important that you carefully follow all the instructions to the dot, as home pregnancy tests usually differ in their specific requirements, concerning the timing of the test, the sample amounts needed, and the materials which are used as complement to the test. 

Although home pregnancy tests are reliably accurate in providing results, you may receive an inaccurate positive or negative outcome, either through a major mishandling of the kit in the course of the test, or because you are too early on in your cycle to produce the hCG levels needed for an accurate result. If you are delayed in your cycle and you want to know as early as possible about the possibility of conception, you can try the test after seven or ten days of the missed period. If the result turns out to be negative, stall for a few days; you’re period may arrive at about this time. 

If after this margin you still won’t menstruate, perform the test a second time. If the result remains negative and your cycle does not revert to its normal pattern, then it is time to seek the professional help of a health care provider. If in case the test turns out to be positive, this does not immediately ensure a successful conception. 

Error in Test Results

See to it that you have followed closely all the instructions first. A lot of pregnancy test kits provide a certain post-test time frame, wherein the more accurate results can be obtained. Most test strips show signs of evaporation lines after the usual three to five minutes of grace period or reaction time interval, messing up with the results, and is independent of any possible conception. 

Also, if you have received an intravenous hCG shot beforehand as part of an infertility treatment, there is a high chance that you will have a positive result on the test, notwithstanding your real pregnancy state. If you are having infertility treatments, opt for drugs which do not include hCG. There are also some diseases which could be possessed by the conceiving woman prior to the testing, and may result in a fake positive pregnancy result, such as lung cancer, choriocarcinomas, malignant testicular germ cells, Iga insufficiencies, gestational trophoblastic neoplasms, heterophile antibodies, and gestational trophoblastic diseases. 

These conditions are sort of extreme-case scenarios; otherwise, as long as the instructions on the kit’s package are observed, a false positive result is considerably uncommon. The outcome of the home pregnancy test should in no way be considered as the official result, whether you test positive or otherwise, it is highly advisable that you consult your doctor or ob-gyn in order to determine your real pregnancy status.

 Clinical pregnancy tests are very accurate to the point that they can assess the rough age of the possibly developing fetus, and determine any abnormal conditions which may raise your blood’s hCG levels (such cases could mean the possibility of a miscarriage, an ectopic conception, or a pregnancy state wherein the fertilized egg is implanted within the fallopian tube, instead of on the surface of the uterine wall; or a molar pregnancy, which involves more than a single fetus).