Using An At-Home Pregnancy Test
If you need to use a home pregnancy test, make sure you understand how they work first as this can affect how and when you use it, to get the most accurate results. After conception the fertilized egg has a journey to the uterus to make. During the journey the woman is not technically pregnant. When the embryo implants itself into the uterus wall the placenta starts making human Chorionic Gonadotropin, hCG. It is this pregnancy hormone that triggers symptoms of nausea, fatigue, food cravings or sickness. Tests look for hCG in your urine.
Ideally it is recommended a woman waits until after a missed period, but there are some tests that are more sensitive and say they can give you results earlier. Clearblue Easy and Early Response are two such brands. HCG levels are between 5 and 50mIU 3 weeks after conception so you need a sensitive test that says it can detect low levels of hCG. The lowest a test goes is 20mIU so if you are less it will give you a negative reading even though you are pregnant.
Remember that even though you may have conceived you are not actually pregnant until that embryo reaches the uterus which takes 6-12 days. For any kind of accuracy you need to wait at least 12 days after conception before you even think of testing. Also know that if you have received fertility treatment you can get a false positive.
Home Pregnancy tests vary in how results are displayed but all test the same thing. If you are worried about getting confused over lines, the digital ones may be for you. They start at around $8 going up to $20. Unless using a sensitive test, try to wait till after your missed period. Some other pointers are:
Morning testing is best when the urine has not been diluted. The best urine needs to have been in the bladder for a minimum of 4 hours. Read and follow the instructions precisely. Some will have you put a stick in your urine stream, others might have you urinate in a cup and put the stick in it. Results normally appear after 1 to 3 minutes. After that the test is invalid, so don't recheck after 5 minutes and think your results have changed. If unsure or getting mixed results visit a doctor for a blood test.
All there is to know about early pregnancy tests and pregnancy testing in general. Today's special: how to fake a pregnancy test
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