The Pregnancy Test Guide

When a woman misses her periods, the only thought that comes to her mind is unwanted pregnancy. Whether you are trying to conceive or not, it’s generally considered a clear sign of pregnancy. This situation can be quite stressful. It can be an overwhelming experience to deal with the thought of an unexpected pregnancy. It certainly does take a toll on your emotions.

At home pregnancy test kits come to your rescue in such a case to alleviate your stress. These kits are designed to detect if the woman is pregnant or not within the comfort of her house while maintaining her privacy. The method of using this kit is not very complicated, it’s easy to perform. This kit provides you with instant results and enables you to take necessary further actions as soon as possible.

How Does Home Pregnancy Kit work?

These home pregnancy kits are very accurate as they are quite sensitive to the hormone Human Chorionic Gonadatropin (HCG) that indicates pregnancy. When an egg is fertilized an attached to your uterine wall, the formation of placenta begins. This placenta forms HCG that flows through your bloodstream and urine (the peeing part of pregnancy test). As your pregnancy gets older, the HCG levels rise very rapidly and double in a couple of days. At home pregnancy tests are used to measure the HCG levels in your urine.

When Should I Take The Pregnancy Test?

Most of the pregnancy kits claim to be accurate on the first missing day of periods. However, it is recommended to wait at least for one week from the first missing day of your periods, to get more reliable and accurate results.

How to Take the Pregnancy Test?

Most experts recommend taking this test in the morning right after getting out of bed because this is the time when the HCG levels are highest.

Important tip: To get the most accurate results, its advised to catch the “midstream sample”. This means that you are supposed to pee a little in the toilet before peeing onto the test.

You can directly pee on the test for 5-10 seconds (depending on what the instructions say) the second option is to pee in a cup, then put the pregnancy test stick inside the cup for upto 10 seconds. Choose whatever feels comfortable to you. You have to make sure that the result window of the stick is facing you when peeing on the stick. Pregnancy tests generally take a few minutes to show results.

Some important steps to keep in mind before taking the test:

· Read the directions given in the box very carefully.

· Consult your doctor if you are consuming any fertility drugs.

· Always check the expiration date of the test kit.

· Do not drink excessive water before peeing.

Steps to Read Results- Positive/Negative

Some steps to reading the pregnancy test are as follows:

1. A single window test would show both the test and another line which indicates that you are pregnant. A single test line shows negative results which indicate you are not pregnant.

2. In a two window test, a test line appears in one window and a plus (+) sign appears in the second which indicates that you are pregnant. If the first window shows a test line and the second window shows a (-) minus sign that means the results are negative and you are pregnant.

3. Digital tests are preferred by some women as they are easier to read. In a digital test, it will say “you’re pregnant” or “yes” to indicate that you are pregnant.

What does the faint line mean?

Some women end up with a faint line, it is also called as evaporation line, this line is usually seen after several minutes of taking the test and it appears due to evaporating of the urine. In such a case, you are recommended to take another test.