March 3, 2013/in MacArthur Minute/
This is recurring question for me in practice. Each day someone comes to the office asking if they might be pregnant. In today’s world there is no reason for anyone to be asking this question. There is no reason to guess. There is no reason to wonder if you might be pregnant because you are feeling certain symptoms like nausea and breast tenderness. There is a simple solution everyone can use and in minutes you will have your answer. Home pregnancy tests are very accurate. They are the same tests used in a doctor’s office. Pregnancy tests are available at any pharmacy. They can detect a pregnancy 7-10 days after conception. The best time to take one is when you miss your period. If you doubt the result you can repeat it in 1-2 days. If you were pregnant the hormone level would rise enough for detection. If you miss your period or if you think you might be pregnant here is what you do. Wait until it has been
at least 10 days from the date of possible conception or even better wait until you miss your period. Buy a home pregnancy test and follow the directions exactly as written on the box. It is best to use the first urine of the morning as it is more concentrated. The tests ability to detect HCG hormone will be higher allowing an earlier positive result if you are pregnant. Usually the tests recommend waiting about 3 minutes before reading it. If you let the test sit too long the the test may show
a false positive result. A false positive is when the tests shows you are pregnant when you actually are not. Pregnancy tests work by detecting a hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin, HCG. A hormone is chemical produced in your body. As soon as fertilization and implantation occurs this hormone begins to be produced. It then roughly doubles (increases by 66%) every 48 hours. Because of this predictable rise in HCG, a home pregnancy test will be accurate about 7-10 days after
conception. By the time you miss your period a pregnancy test has an extremely high likelihood of being correct. A home pregnancy test can detect an HCG hormone of about 20. This highly sensitive test allows very early detection. In other words – you can trust the test results. A blood pregnancy test done in a doctor’s office works a little bit differently. A blood test still detects HCG hormone but with this test an actual numeric level is given instead of a yes or no answer. A blood
pregnancy test is slightly more accurate, but they also take longer and require a doctor’s visit. To simply answer the question “Am I pregnant?” a blood test is rarely needed. Here is an example:. Let’s say you had unprotected intercourse and were concerned you might be pregnant. Ten days later you did a home pregnancy test and it was negative. On that same day you also did a blood pregnancy test. The home test said not pregnant but the blood test showed you were in fact pregnant with a
BHCG level of 19. Notice this BHCG level is 1 point too low to for a urine pregnancy test to detect it. It is true that the home test gave you the wrong result, but remember that HCG doubles every 48 hours. If you waited two days and repeated the test urine test your hormone level would be about 38. The urine test would easily detect it. Had you simply waited until you missed your period before taking the home test the HCG level would be way above 20. The home test would have worked fine in the
first place. Often patients have done a home pregnancy test which showed they are not pregnant but they do not believe the result. My advice is to TRUST THE TEST. If you do not believe a negative result simply repeated in 1-2 days. If your test is still negative then you are not pregnant. You may need to schedule a visit to discuss irregular menstrual cycles if your period does not come. If your test is positive then there is no reason to keep repeating the test. Save your money for diapers because you are pregnant. Take your prenatal vitamins and schedule your first prenatal visit. https://macarthurmc.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/wud_pregnancytest.jpg 318 460 Dr. Jeff Livingston https://macarthurmc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/macrthurmc-1-300x138.pngDr. Jeff Livingston2013-03-03 02:04:422020-07-28 05:45:09Am I Pregnant? More Than You Ever Wanted to Know About Pregnancy TestsPeriodically, a pregnancy test will yield a false positive, this means that the test shows positive when a person is not actually pregnant. When this happens, it is almost always as a result of user error. Maybe you were flustered or anxious when taking the test and read the result wrong, or maybe you took the test incorrectly. Regardless of the cause, the resulting inconclusive or incorrect test result is probably the last thing you want, especially if the potential pregnancy is unexpected. Thankfully, there are some simple things you can do to ensure the accuracy of your at-home pregnancy test results and avoid any test-related confusion or anxiety. Don’t Take A Pregnancy Test Too SoonIf you had unprotected sex or think you might be pregnant, it’s tempting to consider taking a pregnancy test before your missed period. Resist the temptation. HCG or Human chorionic gonadotropin is a hormone produced by cells that are surrounding a growing embryo, which eventually forms the placenta after implantation. The elevated presence of hCG is used to signal pregnancy. However, hCG takes time to build up in the body. So, even if implantation of an embryo occurred on a Monday, if you take a pregnancy test on Wednesday, it may still give a negative result. Don’t take a test too early—wait until at least 10 days after a missed period to take a pregnancy test otherwise you might get an inaccurate result. If you think you might be pregnant and already missed your period, wait 3 days and take another test. Take Your Pregnancy Test As Soon As You Wake UpIf there is hCG in your body, indicating a pregnancy, it will build up in your urine overnight and peak in the morning. Using a pregnancy test first thing in the morning will help you get an accurate result. Dip Test In A CupMost tests instruct you to hold the test under your urine stream, but this is messy and risks error, like not getting enough urine on the test strip. This method also increases the likelihood of the test falling into the toilet by accident. Instead, collect your urine in a small, plastic cup and immerse the test strip in the urine for the amount of time indicated in the instructions. Don’t Let The Test Sit For Too LongThere is a time limit involved in reading an at-home pregnancy test—if you read the test outside the window of time outlined in the instructions, you could end up with inaccurate results. Most non-digital tests show lines to indicate the presence of hCG in the urine. One line will be a control line that shows up no matter what, and the second line typically indicates a pregnancy. If your test is negative, there is a chance you may still see a faint, colorless evaporation line that appears as the urine dries. If you're not familiar with evaporation lines, you might see this line and think you're pregnant. Avoid letting the test sit too long, otherwise you may read an evaporation line and think you are pregnant. Don’t Read The Results Too EarlyLikewise, avoid reading your pregnancy test results too early. As your urine travels through the test indicator window, it might look like the results are showing, but the test needs time to completely work. Follow the test’s instructions as closely as possible and avoid checking on the results too early. If needed, set a timer to let you know, according to the instructions, when the results are ready. Don’t Take An Expired TestYes, you read that right—pregnancy tests can expire. If you take an expired test, the chemical used in the test may no longer accurately detect the presence of elevated hCG in your body. An expired test can present inaccurate results, so it’s worth buying a new test to confirm your pregnancy if you have an expired test. Don’t Drink A Lot Of Water Before Taking The TestDon’t drink too much water, or any liquid, before taking a pregnancy test. Excess fluids can impact the accuracy of the test results, so if your urine is diluted or pale yellow, hold off on taking a test. Diluted urine tends to also have diluted hCG levels which can skew the test results. Take a test when you naturally need to pee. This way, you'll avoid diluting your hCG level and getting a false 'Not Pregnant' result. Don’t Solely Rely on Pregnancy TestsPregnancy tests are typically accurate at signaling a pregnancy. However, you shouldn’t rely on those results alone. An ultrasound will confirm the pregnancy and check the early health of the embryo to see if the pregnancy is viable—this assurance is important for women who are experiencing pain or bleeding during pregnancy and those who have had previous miscarriages or ectopic pregnancies. Visit TheSource.org today to schedule a free pregnancy test or ultrasound to confirm your pregnancy. Our clinic staff is available to help you tackle these early days of pregnancy and give you the support, medical care, and the guidance you need. Click the image below to book your pregnancy test or ultrasound today.  |
If you leave a pregnancy test overnight now positive
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