One of the most long-awaited moments in the life of every woman is the onset of pregnancy. It is not surprising that many future mothers confuse sensations by accepting what is desired as reality. There are several signs of pregnancy:
- Change in the taste preferences and olfactory sensations of a woman,
- nausea and vomiting,
- loss of appetite.
From the nervous system - drowsiness, frequent change of moods, changes in emotional background. Obviously, these signs can not serve as an accurate proof that the pregnancy has occurred. Termination of menstruation, increase and soreness of mammary glands, allocation of colostrum. Such signs are more likely to indicate pregnancy. However, they are not a guarantee, because they can occur because of hormonal failure in the body. Visualization of the fetal egg in the uterine cavity, fetal movement, listening to heart rhythms. It is these signs that most accurately allow you to diagnose pregnancy, so they are called authentic. If doubtful signs can arise already in the first weeks of pregnancy, the reliable ones appear only after 4-6 weeks and are determined with the help of ultrasound. Obviously, it is ridiculous to diagnose the onset of pregnancy in doubtful signs. And if you do not have to wait any longer, and want to quickly make sure that the long-awaited event has come, use modern methods of diagnosing pregnancy.
- Measurement of basal temperature
The thermometer is injected into the rectum for 5-7 minutes. The temperature is measured immediately after waking up, and you can not get out of bed. If the basal temperature for several days exceeds 37 ° C, then it means that you are pregnant.
- Test for early diagnosis
It is measured 1-2 days after the delay in menstruation, at any time of the day (preferably in the morning). The test is lowered into a container with urine, and as a result of the interaction of reagents and the hCG hormone (which is produced during pregnancy), indicator strips appear. The accuracy of the answer will be higher if you run the test 2-3 times. During the first 9-12 weeks, the concentration of the hormone hCG increases. So if, for some reason, the first test did not work, then repeated testing should definitely determine the pregnancy. One line is a control line, it says that the test is working. The second line indicates the onset of pregnancy. Despite the external differences in the tests, the principle of their operation is the same. The basis is the reaction to a specific hormone human chorionic gonadotropin - hCG. It begins to develop in women during pregnancy from the very moment when the fertilized egg was implanted into the wall of the uterus. This substance serves to protect the fertilized egg and immune responses. Chorionic gonadotropin is excreted together with urine. The test plate is impregnated with special antibody reagents. They interact with the hormone, and staining appears in the localization zone. The sensitivity of the test is almost 100% accurate.
What are the types of tests
- Test strip
The test should be placed in a container with urine, strictly up to a certain mark at the time indicated in the instruction. If you do not follow the rules described in the instructions, the indicator may not be saturated enough. As a result, the test will give incorrect information. The price category of the test: the cheapest of all kinds of tests.
- Tablet test
This is a box with two "windows". In the first you need to drop a little urine, so that a chemical reaction occurs. Soon in the second window there will be a result. The price category of the test: the average cost.
- Inkjet test
The most modern type of tests. It needs to be substituted for a stream of urine and after 5 minutes you will know the result. If there is an additional strip, then you are pregnant. Price test category: the most expensive type of tests. If there is an opportunity, you should not save money. First, it's easier to use such a test. Secondly, it is impregnated with better reagents and more sensitive. Tests labeled with 20 ml recognize the "pregnancy hormone", even if it is present in a small concentration. Hence, such a test will more accurately determine the earlier term of pregnancy. A test labeled 10 mM / ml is less sensitive and informative.
Remember one very important point. The test will show a positive result for any pregnancy, whether it is a normal, pathological or ectopic pregnancy. Therefore, in order to diagnose a normal uterine pregnancy, a woman must confirm it with a doctor. And, of course, take the tests.
- Linked immunosorbent assay
The blood test is measured in the first weeks of pregnancy. It also determines the level of hCG in the blood. A woman is not pregnant at a hCG level of less than 5 units / liter. If the indicator is less than the norm, there is a threat of miscarriage. This is the most accurate diagnosis of pregnancy, because the results are processed by a laboratory method.
- Blood test
Measured in the first weeks of pregnancy. It determines the level of the hormone trophoblastic beta-globulin, one of the proteins of the placenta, which enters the blood of a woman during pregnancy. For this analysis, you will have to donate blood from the vein. This is a laboratory method, and it gives the most complete information about the estimated duration of a possible pregnancy.
- Ultrasonography
It is measured at 6-8 day delay. Depending on the method of investigation, it can be transabdominal (ie, through the anterior abdominal wall) or transvaginal (when the sensor is inserted into the vagina). Ultrasonic examination of pelvic organs. Already at such an early time in the uterus, you can see a fetal egg 4-6 mm in diameter. There is also a myth that it is harmful to do ultrasound at such an early time. In fact, it has no scientific justification. This is the most accurate method of determining pregnancy. Since the beginning of the delay, a few months have passed, a pregnancy test or a blood test gave a positive result, but you feel quite normal - is it worth going to a gynecologist or waiting? The answer is unequivocal - of course, it costs, and the earlier, the better.
No test or analysis, even confirming pregnancy, will be able to tell which pregnancy has occurred - the uterine or ectopic. After all, the whole point is that fertilization has occurred, the "pregnant hormone" begins to be allocated. Just remember: a fertilized egg should still reach the place of implantation by the fallopian tube. However, it may happen, we wrote about this above, that it does not get into the uterus cavity, then there will be an ectopic pregnancy. Therefore, it is very important immediately, after confirmation of pregnancy, to appear to the gynecologist. Also, if the test gives a negative result, and you have a delay in menstruation, do not wait, go to the gynecologist and endocrinologist to quickly identify and eliminate any problems. Now we know how to determine pregnancy in the early stages of development.