Pregnancy test is considered a useful tool for many women to know the results to see if they are pregnant or not. Understanding this handy yet economical pregnancy test tool helps you to use the correct pregnancy test for the most accurate results.
You want to use a pregnancy test but still wondering about its usage and worried about its accuracy because this is your first time using it? The following information will help you get a better overview of this useful tool for more peace of mind when using.
What is a pregnancy test, how does it work?
A pregnancy test is a test tool to detect the pregnancy hormone hCG (Human Chorionic Gonadotropin) in the urine secreted by the body when the placenta begins to form and develop. Currently, this is considered as the simplest and most convenient pregnancy test to determine if you are pregnant.
After the eggs are fertilized, your body produces hCG, also known as the pregnancy hormone. The hCG amount will gradually increase thereafter. Using a pregnancy test to determine if you're pregnant is based on levels of this hormone.
pregnancy test
The pregnancy test contains a strip of fibers covered in certain antibodies that react with the hormone hCG. There is a line on the body of the stick called the benchmark line. If after the pregnancy test, two bars appear on the body, the result is positive, you are pregnant. Conversely, if only one bar is displayed, the result is negative, it means you are not pregnant yet or the pregnancy hormone level is too low for the test to recognize.
When is the most accurate time to use a pregnancy test?
You will become pregnant if your eggs are fertilized, but you may not realize this at that time. Only when a fertilized egg attaches to the wall of the uterus and develops and causes your body to start secreting hCG can a pregnancy test get accurate results.
Therefore, the accuracy of the results shown on the pregnancy test is highly dependent on when you try it. If you have a stable menstrual cycle, about a week after your period is late, use a pregnancy test. Usually, about 7-14 days after you have sex, you can use a pregnancy test.
In addition, experts also recommend that you should use a pregnancy test in the morning when you first wake up. The reason is that the concentration of pregnancy hormone in the urine is at the highest level, so the results will be much more accurate.
How to use a home pregnancy test correctly
If you have never used a home pregnancy test, don't worry because it's so easy to use, you just need a little caution. Read the directions carefully as each test has different uses. To use the pregnancy test to achieve accurate results, you need to do the following 4 steps:
Step 1: Take the urine sample into the cup.
Step 2: Tear off the aluminum foil containing the pregnancy test.
Next, in step 3: Insert the test stick into the urine cup so that the surface of the urine does not cover the arrow and the arrow points down.
Step 4: Wait 5 minutes and then read the test results.
Some pregnancy test strips require that you expose the strip to direct contact with the urine stream. Others require you to dip a portion of the test strip in a cup of urine or just put a few drops of urine in the test area.
pregnancy test
Please wait patiently for about 5 minutes before checking results. Results of a home pregnancy test can happen in the following cases:
1. The pregnancy test has 2 pink bars
Congratulations, you have become a mother already. Try calculating the age of the fetus by estimating the date of conception and then go to the maternity hospital to be examined and advised by the doctor during pregnancy.
A newly formed embryo is an important time for you to plan your health care, eat well and diet specifically for a healthy pregnancy. In addition, early examination also helps you to eliminate the risk of ectopic pregnancy.
2. Test stick 1 dark or 1 blurred line
Usually, a pregnancy test with 1 dark line or 1 blurred line indicates that you are not pregnant. But do not be disappointed, you wait a few more days and check again for the most accurate results. The reason may be that you are pregnant, but you check too soon, causing the levels of pregnancy hormones not enough to have a clear response to the test.
3. The results are different after many tests
Sometimes the test results on a pregnancy test make you confused about whether you are pregnant or not? The scenarios that you may encounter are:
1 dark line 1 fuzzy line
1 dark line 1 very fuzzy line
2 fuzzy lines
1 fuzzy line.
The causes of these unclear results can be due to:
You take a pregnancy test too early so the concentration of hCG in your urine is very low, the test has detected hCG, but the reaction is not strong enough for the test to show clearly.
Early miscarriage prevents an embryo from developing, but it previously stimulated your body to produce small amounts of the hormone hCG.
The effects of some of the drugs you are taking such as diuretics, sedatives, antibiotics ... These drugs are more or less likely to cause false pregnancy test results.
If you have an ovarian cyst, it can also cause the pregnancy test to show 2 bars.
Ovulation method is inaccurate or incorrectly remembers the first day of your last period or does not remember the exact date of sex (about 10 days before the test.
You are using the pregnancy test incorrectly: You may just soak it for a while or for too long.
You drank too much water before the pregnancy test, causing a lot of urine to dilute the hCG concentration in the urine.
Poor quality or expired pregnancy test: These can make the sensitivity of the test worse or not available.
If you have had a pregnancy test multiple times and get different results, go to the maternity hospital or specialist clinic to see your doctor. Maybe your doctor will order you to have an ultrasound for the most accurate results.
How do I know if the pregnancy test is correct?
Is the pregnancy test accurate? This is a question many women ask about while expecting good news. In fact, this pregnancy test device delivers 97% accurate results under ideal test conditions. This means that the test conditions greatly determine the accuracy of the results.
There are many different reasons for inaccurate pregnancy test results such as the quality of the test strip, the time of the urine test, the time of reading the results, pregnancy complications such as early miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy or the effects. of infertility and infertility drugs if you are taking it.
Where can I buy a pregnancy test?
pregnancy test
A pregnancy test is so popular that you can buy it at any drugstore and can be used at home without consulting your doctor, unless you are on medication. infertility infertility has a prescription. In this case, consulting your doctor will help you to have a more accurate test method.
Important notes when using a pregnancy test
Use the test at the appropriate time: 7 days after your period is late (if your period has stabilized).
Choose a time in the morning to test because the urine is now concentrated, with the highest hCG concentration.
Wait patiently for about 5 minutes before reading the results.
Calculating your ovulation date and your period to make sure you're late is a sign of early pregnancy, not for other reasons.
Some drugs that you are taking such as sedatives, infertility drugs ... may affect the results of pregnancy tests, need to consult your doctor.
Cheap test strips do not mean they are not correct.
We hope that the above information is useful for mothers in determining whether they are pregnant or not by using the correct pregnancy test!
-Ele Luong-
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