WHEN TO TAKE PREGNANCY TEST ?

A pregnancy test that you can buy at a pharmacy or order online doesn't make sense until (at the earliest) the first day you expect your period.

This urine test is convenient and fast and can be done at home. It tests for the presence of the pregnancy hormone hCG in your urine.

Concentration of the hCG hormone is the highest in the morning, so it makes sense to take the pregnancy test in the morning.

However, by no means is this a must!

A positive pregnancy test - showing "pregnant" - is very reliable and 99% accurate.

Should the pregnancy test come back negative - indicating "not pregnant" (but you took the test too early), the result is not 100% accurate.

It may be that concentration of the hCG hormone is not high enough yet to be detected by the pregnancy test. This means that, if you think you're pregnant, you really need to repeat the test a few days later.

Usually, your gynecologist asks you to make an appointment not until two months after your last period.

Can my gynecologist determine pregnancy (e.g. with a blood test) earlier than I can with a pregnancy test from the pharmacy?

Yes, your gynecologist can determine pregnancy the most accurate and the earliest.

With a blood test, pregnancy can be determined as early as five to ten days after conception. The reason for this is that the hCG hormone can be found in the blood before it is evident in the urine.

Should you have any unanswered questions regarding pregnancy tests, please contact us.