What happens if you take pregnancy test too early

For women trying to get pregnant, nothing is more tempting than running to the store and buying a pregnancy test the moment you start experiencing the earliest signs of pregnancy. Even if you haven’t missed your period yet, symptoms like nausea, headaches, and mood swings might spark both hope and temptation to find out if you’re pregnant or not right away. As a Reproductive Endocrinologist, I’m here to tell you to resist that urge and wait a bit before taking a pregnancy test at home. Taking your test too early can give you a false positive or a false negative result, both of which can be disappointing and confusing and contribute to your stress levels as you try to conceive.

Table of Contents Show

When Can You Take a Pregnancy Test?
What Causes Inaccurate Tests?
When You Should Take a Pregnancy Test
Which Type of Pregnancy Test is Best?
When you can do a pregnancy test
Where you can get a pregnancy test
How does a pregnancy test work?
Will a pregnancy test work if I'm on the pill?
Pregnancy test results
Continuing with the pregnancy
If you're not sure you want to be pregnant
Video: Is the pregnancy test accurate?

When Can You Take a Pregnancy Test?

Technically, you can take a pregnancy test whenever you want, but that doesn’t mean that you should. If you start experiencing the early signs of pregnancy (like nausea and fatigue) it will probably be extremely tempting to take a pregnancy test before you’ve even missed your period. But taking the test too early can give you a false result – which can be devastating, especially for those who are having difficulty conceiving.

What Causes Inaccurate Tests?

At-home pregnancy tests are designed to detect the hormone hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) in your urine, which is produced by the body when you are pregnant. Your body begins producing hCG as soon as an egg is fertilized. In some cases, a chemical pregnancy can occur, where the egg is fertilized but then doesn’t fully implant, and is shed with the lining of the uterus. This can give you a false positive result on a pregnancy test, as the pregnancy is not viable. Taking a pregnancy test too early can also give you a false negative, because even if you are pregnant, your hCG levels may not be high enough to be detected by the test. Many women get trapped in a cycle of testing and testing over and over again, whether their results were positive or negative. The best way to get an accurate test is simple – follow the directions!

When You Should Take a Pregnancy Test

For the most accurate results, wait to take a pregnancy test until after you have missed your period. The longer you wait, the better, and waiting until you’ve missed your period is the best way to avoid disappointment. hCG does not usually become detectable in the body until seven to twelve days after successful implantation of an egg, so taking your test too early can easily lead to confusion and disappointment. Early testing may even leave you with results that are difficult to decipher, which no one wants to deal with.

Which Type of Pregnancy Test is Best?

Although there are some at-home pregnancy tests on the market that are designed for early testing, be wary. They may be perfectly fine, but as I mentioned earlier, testing too early can bring you an inaccurate result, no matter the quality of the test you take. If you test after your missed period (like you should!) most tests currently on the market are highly reliable. You should also consider the ease of use of the test and the price, and don’t forget the way the test displays your results. If you’re worried about the results being unclear or difficult to read, it might be best to go with a test that says “yes” or “pregnant” when the result is positive.

If you want your pregnancy test to be as accurate as possible, wait to take it until after you have missed your period. It might be difficult to wait, but waiting is the best way to avoid confusion and disappointment about your results. Do you want to learn more about pregnancy tests, pregnancy, and fertility in general? Please reach out to me and we can chat. I’d love to talk to you about any fertility issues you may be facing, and provide advice and tips to guide you along your journey.

When you can do a pregnancy test

You can carry out most pregnancy tests from the first day of a missed period. If you don't know when your next period is due, do the test at least 21 days after you last had unprotected sex.

Some very sensitive pregnancy tests can be used even before you miss a period.

You can do a pregnancy test on a sample of urine collected at any time of the day. It doesn't have to be in the morning.

Where you can get a pregnancy test

You can buy pregnancy testing kits from pharmacists and some supermarkets. They can give a quick result and you can do the test in private.

The following places provide free pregnancy tests:

sexual health services
some young people's services – call the national sexual health helpline on 0300 123 7123 for details
Brook centres for under-25s – find your nearest Brook centre

You may also be able to get a pregnancy test free of charge from your GP.

How does a pregnancy test work?

All pregnancy tests detect the hormone human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG), which starts to be produced around 6 days after fertilisation.

Most pregnancy tests come in a box that contains 1 or 2 long sticks. You pee on the stick and the result appears on the stick after a few minutes. All tests are slightly different, so always check the instructions.

Will a pregnancy test work if I'm on the pill?

Yes.

Some methods of contraception, such as the contraceptive pill, contain hormones, but these hormones will not stop a pregnancy test working.

No method of contraception is completely effective, so it's important to take a pregnancy test if you think you might be pregnant.

Pregnancy test results

Home pregnancy tests are accurate as long as you follow the instructions correctly.

A positive test result is almost certainly correct. However, a negative test result is less reliable.

The result may not be reliable if you:

do not follow the instructions properly
take the test too early

Some medicines can also affect the results.

If you get a negative result and still think you're pregnant, wait a few days and try again. Speak to your GP if you get a negative result after a second test but your period has not arrived.

Continuing with the pregnancy

If you're pregnant and want to continue with the pregnancy, contact your GP or a midwife to start your antenatal care. You can use the pregnancy due date calculator to work out when your baby is due.

If you're not sure you want to be pregnant

If you're not sure about continuing with the pregnancy, you can discuss this confidentially with a healthcare professional. Your options are:

continuing with the pregnancy and keeping the baby
having an abortion
continuing with the pregnancy and having the baby adopted

As well as a GP or a nurse at your GP surgery, you can also get accurate, confidential information – from the age of 13 – from the following:

sexual health services
the MSI Reproductive Choices website
the British Pregnancy Advisory service website
the National Unplanned Pregnancy Advisory service website

All these services – including community contraceptive clinics – are confidential. If you're 13 or older, the staff won't tell your parents. They'll encourage you to talk to your parents, but they won't force you.

If you're under 25 and would prefer advice specifically for young people, the sexual health charity Brook provides a range of services for young people. The Brook website contains information on pregnancy choices. You can also use the Ask Brook 24/7 service.